From Your Director of Lifespan Religious Education

Recently, I took a little bit of time away from the office for study leave and I will have more study leave coming up this month.  If you saw my “out of office reply” or my section in the weekly update the week that I was away, you may have seen me reference “credentialing.”  When I was hired at UUS, I agreed to pursue the credentialing process through the Unitarian Universalist Association.

“The Religious Education Credentialing Program is a three-level program for religious education professionals that nurtures the call to religious education as a profession, provides a comprehensive path for professional development, and articulates and upholds professional standards and guidelines in religious education leadership.”

Through this program, I am regularly taking classes and doing additional independent study to complete the requirements by February of 2025 for becoming a Credentialed Religious Educator – Advanced Level.

I have taken classes on Unitarian Universalist theology, family ministry, teacher development, and system theory.  Over the winter, I am already registered for curriculum development and leading UU culture change classes.  Those five classes, along with the Our Whole Lives facilitator trainings and advanced level small group facilitation classes I have taken, covers my requirements for learning modules.  However, as a self-proclaimed lifelong learner, I expect that I will continue to take applicable classes as I am able.

Along with the class requirements, I have eight required competencies and one elective competency in which I need to read multiple books, explore countless resources, and provide documentation of my work and volunteer experiences, being sure to highlight five of them through an anti-racist, anti-oppression, and multicultural lens.

I thoroughly enjoy my classes and all the books I am reading.  I love how applicable many of them are to our daily lives as Unitarian Universalists and I plan to find ways to share some of them with you soon.  Be on the lookout for a special book discussion to be added to the calendar soon.  Educators and caregivers of minors will be especially interested in this book I will be sharing with you.