Professional Religious Educators or Aspirants
Rev. Tom Owen Towle wrote, "The mission of Unitarian Universalist (UU) religious education is to create and sustain an intergenerational community of truthfulness and service, holiness and love. This imperative should undergird and guide our social action, liturgy, and stewardship as well."Unitarian Universalist religious education is neither book nor guru centered. It is not adult or even child centered. It is congregation centered, wherein all ages cooperatively engage in what Starr Williams called 'a cycle of nurturing.' Hence, our educational perspective must be grounded in sound ecclesiology and focus on all members being religious, remembering, re-creative, responsible, respectful, renewable and reverent pilgrims."
The professional leadership of children, youth, young adults, and adults calls the dedicated individuals who choose this path to minister to the head, the heart, the mind, and the spirit of all with whom they come in contact.
The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) provides education for religious educators in local congregations in nine areas: Administration of Religious Education Programs, Curriculum Planning in the Local Congregation, Developing a Philosophy of Religious Education, Ministry with Youth, Training Teachers, Unitarian Universalist History, Unitarian Universalist Identity, Worship for All Ages, and Multicultural Religious Education.
The UUA’s Religious Education Credentialing Office works with persons preparing for credentialing as lay professional UU Religious Educators. In coordination with UUA district staff, the credentialing office provides information on professional development, and on settlement, and staffing issues related to lay religious education professionals.
For more information contact recredentialing @ uua.org.
Last updated on Thursday, February 7, 2008.
