Connecting the Region: Innovating Together
United Religions Initiative North America Regional Assembly
July 27-29, 2018
A weekend-long retreat-style gathering for interfaith peacebuilders from URI Cooperation Circles and Affiliates in the US and Canada to meet one another, share skills, learn new ways of doing things, find inspiration and get refreshed.
Purpose
Our theme says it all, we are "Connecting the Region: Innovating Together"! This gathering will provide URI Cooperation Circles and Affiliates located in Canada and the United States the opportunity to find a sense of belonging in a community of like-minded people, to meet and learn from one another in ways that will enhance their local work and to provide them with the opportunity to give input into URI’s future development. Our theme is "Connecting the Region: Innovating Together". Our gathering will be facilitated by Susan Coleman and will be run in 'Open Space' – a meeting design that will enable all of us to work with maximum creativity and give everyone an opportunity to share their ideas and aspirations around this theme. By the end of the weekend, our goal is to achieve the following: The Open Space meeting process has been used around the world with great success in getting groups of people to take creative action on complex tasks quickly. For more information about Open Space we refer you to the Open Space website. What we request most from all of you is that you bring your passion, engaged presence and creative participation, including – only if you like – any offering or short workshop you think might be useful for the community. More generally, by the end of the weekend, we hope that:
Time and Location
The gathering will start on July 27 and end on July 29. We have yet to announce an exact start time for the gathering but we will begin sometime in the late afternoon of July 27 and go 1 pm on July 29, 2018. We will meet at the beautiful Pearlstone Center, a non-profit Jewish conference and retreat center in Reisterstown, Maryland. Views from your lodging and our meeting rooms include rolling green hills, expansive blue sky, farmland and more. In addition, all meeting rooms are handicap accessible. Pearlstone is located on 180 acres of land, with a 2.2 mile hiking loop around the property, a meditation garden and an on-site organic farm. Pearlstone is also firmly committed to nature and the environment through sustainability programs.
Attendance and Cost
While we sincerely wish that every person that would like to attend this gathering could come, that is simply not possible due to various logistical issues, including space and finances. Attendance limitations are as follows. Each of the following groups is invited to send one (1) representative to the Assembly. Living into URI’s values of “equitable participation by all people,” we expect that each group will engage in a consensus-building decision-making process to choose who this representative will be. To support the building of community and retreat-style feel, the person selected should be able to stay for the entire event (late afternoon of July 27 through 1 pm on July 29, 2018). That’s exciting! And the last thing we want to be is a damp towel on enthusiasm. So, after your group has gone through a consensus-building process to decide who the one guaranteed representative will be, additional members of the group who wish to attend can place their name on the waiting list. Spots may become available based on any number of factors and, as they do we will take people off the waiting list equitably from all CCs/Affiliates. The 2nd person from a Cooperation Circle/Affiliate who attends is welcome to attend the gathering on a "pay what you can model" and to request financial assistance for travel. Any additional representatives will be responsible for the full cost of their travel to the gathering as well as registration. Registration is approximately $320, which is URI’s cost of putting on the gathering and includes room, board and all programs. Decisions regarding the waiting list will be made in May 2018. Registration is now open and the deadline is April 1, 2018! For questions regarding cost, please see the answers to "How much does it cost to attend the Assembly?" and "I cannot afford to travel to the Assembly. What should I do?" Any questions can be directed to na.assembly@uri.org or 415-762-2713. Due to URI’s funding structure, the cost of attending the assembly is different for Cooperation Circles listed in the North America Region versus the those listed in the Multiregion. If you are selected as the one (1) representative of your North America Cooperation Circle or Affiliate: We understand that every organization and individual is in a unique financial situations; some organizations will support their representatives with funds from their budget and some individuals will be paying out of pocket. Some groups operate with a budget of hundreds of dollars while others have tens of thousands of dollars to work with. Simply put, all of us have different abilities to contribute financially toward valuable experiences like this one. That is why the cost of the gathering is on a “pay the most you can” model. Here is how it works: Every person and organization evaluates the very most they can pay to attend this gathering, taking into consideration the value of local transportation, food, lodging, programming, the prep work done by the team and experience you will have and skills you will gain. Once you have arrived at that number -- it may be $25, it may be $1000 -- that is the amount you will pay. We truly welcome you at any price that you or your organization can pay. If what you are able to pay is more than our cost per person, your funds will go to support someone who was able to pay less. And vice versa. If you are selected off the waitlist and someone from your group is already registered: Any additional representatives accepted from the waiting list will be responsible for the full cost of their participation. The 2nd person from a Cooperation Circle/Affiliate who attends is welcome to attend the gathering on a "pay what you can model" and request financial assistance for travel. Any additional members will need to pay URI's cost for food, lodging, transportation, and program materials, which is $320 per person. Decisions regarding the waiting list will be made in May 2018. If you are a member of a Multiregion Cooperation Circle: All Multiregion Cooperation Circles with a strong presence in North America are invited to send one member to this gathering. Multiregion attendees must pay the full cost of the retreat, which is approximately $320. This amount is URI’s cost of putting on the gathering and includes room, board and all programs. Limited financial assistance is available through the Multiregion, and will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Any questions regarding this should be addressed to URI Multiregion Coordinator Frederica Helmiere at fhelmiere@uri.org by May 15, 2018. At that point all final allocations will be made. There is need-based financial support for travel available. On the registration form, there will be a place for you to note the amount of support you need. Requests for support will be reviewed promptly. Any financial support we are able to provide will be given to representatives at the gathering, after receipts have been submitted. If you need an exception to this timetable, please make note of this on your registration form and our organizing team will follow up with you. If you are selected off the waitlist and someone from your group is already registered: The 2nd person from a Cooperation Circle/Affiliate who attends the gathering can request financial assistance for travel. For any additional representatives, you and your organization are responsible for the full cost of your travel to the gathering. If you are a member of a Multiregion Cooperation Circle: Unfortunately, URI North America is not able to provide travel support for members of Multiregion Cooperation Circles. Limited financial assistance for registration and/or travel is available for Multiregion participants through the Multiregion, to be determined on a case-by-case basis and dependent upon total number of attendees. Multiregion participants requesting financial assistance are asked to contact the URI Multiregion Coordinator, Frederica Helmiere, at fhelmiere@uri.org before Monday March 26, 2018. All final Multiregion allocations will be made at that time.
What if more than 1 person from my group wants to attend?
If you are selected as the one (1) representative of your North America Cooperation Circle or Affiliate:
Travel and Accomodation
We will be eating delicious farm-to-table food prepared on-site at Pearlstone. Many of the herbs and vegetables are grown on site. Their kitchen is able to accommodate a variety of dietary restrictions, which you can share with us on your registration form. All food prepared at Pearlstone is OU Kosher. Because it is a kosher facility, you are not allowed to bring any outside food into the main building. You may have outside food in your lodging area as long as you keep it free from pests. The address is 5425 Mt. Gilead Rd., Reisterstown, MD 21136. You can find detailed driving directions here. Parking is available on site. You can check in to your room at Pearlstone and begin exploring the grounds starting at 3 p.m on Friday the 27th. If you arrive at Pearlstone earlier than 3 p.m., you will be able to explore the grounds and common areas, but will not be able to check into your room. To ensure you are present for the beginning of the gathering, arrive no later than 5 p.m. We recommend that you fly into Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), a large international airport that is serviced by all major airlines as well as several budget airlines. So that you can be present for the beginning of the gathering, book flights arriving to BWI no later than 4 pm. We will be providing transportation support for you to get from the airport to Pearlstone. You can check in to your room at Pearlstone as early as 3 p.m., making the ideal arrival at BWI between 1 and 4 p.m. If you arrive at Pearlstone earlier than 3 p.m., you will be able to explore the grounds and common areas, but will not be able to check into your room. 
Accommodation will be on-site at Pearlstone in hotel-style rooms just a few hundred steps from our meeting rooms. All participants will be accommodated in triple-rooms with a private bathroom. Handicap accessible rooms are available. Arriving
Departing
Volunteering
We’re so glad you’re interested! There are three Working Groups that will support the planning of the Assembly -- the Program Working Group, Outreach Working Group and Logistics Working Group. Please note that these are NOT advisory committees -- these are working groups. These volunteer teams will give their time, energy and talents to much of the leg work of planning the gathering. Volunteers on these working groups can come from any geographic area but must be able to commit time to attending meetings and completing agreed-upon tasks. If you are interested in supporting the planning of the assembly by being a part of one or more working groups, please fill out this form.
What other interfaith events are happening around this time?
The interfaith movement is truly expanding, and with it are the number of opportunities for us to gather. We are excited that this summer, in addition to our URI Assembly, there will be several other incredible interfaith events. If you are interested and able, we encourage you to consider attending one (or both!) of these gatherings. Due to the geographic proximity of the URI North America Regional Assembly and Reimagining Interfaith, we will be providing some support to those wishing to attend both gatherings. Click here for more information!
I have more questions! Who can I contact?
Email na.assembly@uri.org and one of our Assembly Planning Team members will be in touch with you!