Updates from the UTO Formation and Development Committee

UTO Mid-Year Training for Parish and Diocesan Leaders: Saturday, Jan. 10, at 11 a.m. Eastern time

Please join us as we gather to celebrate and give thanks for the life of Julia Chester Emery on Saturday, Jan. 10.  We’ll gather for one hour beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern. Join us for prayers and discussion on the early days of UTO and Julia Chester Emery with the Rev. Erin Jeane Warde, who is working on our UTO history booklet (for release in 2027). 

Please register here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/JSd9ZWHURaKjwEOUZqByZw
Those who register by Dec. 7 at midnight will receive a swag bag in time for the meeting. For those who register after Dec. 7 and want a swag bag, it will be shipped, but we cannot guarantee that it will arrive in time for the gathering.

Agenda:

1. Introductions and welcome
2. Presentations from the committees of the Board on what you need to know for the winter/spring of 2026
3. Reminder that the deadline to order Lenten materials is Sunday, Jan. 11, at midnight

Diocesan UTO Leaders:

If you are a diocesan coordinator, we’re going to have a special add-on gathering time after the training to learn more about how we can better support and equip you in your role in 2026, so be sure to join us! We’ll stay on Zoom for an extra 30 minutes to share ideas we’re working on and listen for ways we can help support you in your role, regardless of whether you are a diocesan staff person or volunteer UTO leader.

Materials for Lent 2026: Gratitude and Reciprocity

We are pleased to present our materials for Lent 2026 (you can read more about them and see all of the materials here.) Our Lenten materials will focus on the themes presented in the book “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Each week you’ll have a theme for reflection, gratitude, engagement, and self-care that helps ground your Lenten journey on giving thanks and giving back. 

Our Lenten materials are a bit different this year because we’ve heard from a lot of you that the materials we make for our families sometimes are more appealing than the daily reflection question. We get that! We are all busy, and sometimes doing something once a week is easier than once a day. This year the Lenten materials are formatted like a newsletter, with information about Lent on the front, the daily calendar in the middle, and the weekly activities on the back. Choose whichever process works best for you. Lenten kits will come with a faith formation lesson plan, bulletin insert, and digital kit for bulletins and newsletters…you get everything in one place. Kits ordered through our shop (you can order your kit here) will also come with a Lent 2026 bookmark and a blue seed paper butterfly that you can plant to grow wildflowers. Materials are available in English and Spanish but must be ordered by Jan. 16 to allow time for processing and shipment by Jan. 30 in order to arrive in time for Lent. 

This year we’re also bringing back some of our favorite traditions: UTO Book Group and Lenten text messages. (You can sign up for either or both here.) Our Lenten Book Group will focus on “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World” by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The final week will feature a panel of Indigenous Episcopal leaders talking about the book from an Episcopal perspective as well as from their own life experiences, community teachings, histories, and beliefs. This is a panel discussion you won’t want to miss, so mark your calendars now for Tuesday, March 24, at noon Eastern time. Last year we found it helpful to record the presentations that we use to open book group so that folks can use it for small group discussions at their church. We’ll continue that tradition again this year—just be sure to register for book group to get access to those recordings as soon as they are available on Wednesday.

If you have any questions about our Lenten materials for 2026, please email Heather for more information.