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Exploring religious truth, meaning and experience is central to Unitarian Universalist faith, and faith development is central to our liberal religious education. The St. Lawrence District is committed to helping our congregations enhance their religious education offerings and opportunities for going deeper. We encourage you to explore the many resources and links on this website, and to read the message from Karen LoBracco below.
SLD Lifespan Faith Development Staff
SLD Religious Education
Committee
Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) contact people
The Program Consultant for Lifespan Faith Development and the members of the St. Lawrence District Religious Education Committee extend a warm welcome to all religious educators in the district. (And yes, we are all religious educators of one sort or another!) We on the district staff and RE Committee offer you information, training and support. We know from experience that it can be very isolating to be responsible for religious education and faith development in a Unitarian Universalist congregation. Often we feel alone and unprepared. By networking with others, we increase our effectiveness and better serve our congregations and communities. As part of the St. Lawrence District, we serve the religious educators and religious education programs of upstate New York, from Buffalo to Albany, Plattsburgh to Binghamton - plus one congregation located in Athens, PA. The Religious Education Committee is made up of experienced volunteers, and thanks to the generosity of our member congregations, the Program Consultant is now a key member of the district leadership team. What are the services we offer you? • Information and support through cluster representatives. Each of the seven clusters of congregations in the St. Lawrence District has a representative on the District Religious Education Committee who regularly contacts the religious educators in her/his cluster to offer leads on trainings, tips on resources, or just plain moral support as needed. You should feel free to contact your cluster representative, any other member of the district RE Committee, or the Lifespan Program Consultant (PC), at any time. We are all here to help! • Gould Library. One of our most popular services is our lending library of faith development materials. These include resources for multi-generational worship, curriculum for children, youth and adults, guides for effective program administration and much more! The Program Consultant administers the library, and mails an updated catalog in late September or early October every year. The catalog can be downloaded by clicking here. We encourage you to carefully review the listings, and consult with the Program Consultant to find curricula and other resources that will help meet your programming needs. • Training. You don't need to reinvent the wheel! Various trainings, from short workshops to weekend-long seminars, will broaden your knowledge, deepen your skills, and extend your professional network. We start off the year with our annual R.E. Fall Ingathering, which provides a wonderful opportunity for networking and sharing of ideas with your colleagues within the district. Especially important for leaders such as Directors of Religious Education, ministers, RE Committee chairs, etc. are the Renaissance Modules developed by the UUA and offered throughout the U.S. and Canada. Each of the 9 Renaissance modules provides 15 hours of a structured learning experience in a particular area of religious education. We offer one per year in the St. Lawrence district, and you are strongly encouraged to attend our offerings as well as out-of-district modules when possible. The New DRE Workshop, a very valuable resource for incoming religious educators, is offered as needed. We also offer a facilitator training for one of the Our Whole Lives curricula each year, usually in the spring. Customized workshops can be arranged for clusters or regions. You provide the people and topic, and we will work with you to make it happen! Check the district calendar for our upcoming trainings, as well as the UUA website for a listing of all scheduled Renaissance modules and O.W.L. trainings in the St. Lawrence District as well as the rest of the country. • Scholarships. Not all congregations can provide the professional development support needed to attend the above educational opportunities. We are fortunate in being able to offer some financial assistance in these cases. Scholarship assistance is available because of the generosity of Fair Share congregation in the district. The scholarship application form is included with our mailings, and may also be downloaded here. • Services of the Program Consultant for Lifespan Faith Development. The Program Consultant assists and supports congregations become vibrant multi-generational communities of faith. In particular, the PC provides congregations with information and support in developing, maintaining and growing their religious education programs for all ages. This is accomplished through email and phone consultations with religious educators and congregational leaders, as well as through on-site visits to lead workshops or meet with committees. The PC works with individual congregations and clusters of congregations to provide services. Central to the role of the Program Consultant is support for the career cycle of the district's religious educators: assisting with the search and hiring process; connecting our religious educators with each other and the broader UU world; providing training, visioning, resources and support - and finally assisting with exit interviews and smooth transition processes at the end of the cycle. The PC also works with and supervises the District Youth Coordinator and the District Young Adult-Campus Ministry (YA-CM) Consultant, and collaborates with the district's Religious Education Committee. Please see the Youth-Adult Committee (YAC) and YA-CM webpages for more information about the services provided by these staff members. • Beyond the District. In addition to the services offered by the district, you will want to access other important sources of information and support. Check “Resources for Religious Educators” on this site for a comprehensive listing of online and printed resources, training opportunities and professional resources. We strongly encourage our religious educators to join LREDA (Liberal Religious Educators Association), and to become involved with our local Seaway chapter. One of LREDA's many services is its Good Officer program - the organization appoints and trains experienced religious educators to serve as counselors for colleagues in need of help with professional problems and concerns. Jan Gartner, DRE for the First Unitarian Church of Rochester, is the Good Officer for our local chapter. The St. Lawrence District Lifespan RE team would love to hear from you at any time - please contact us with your questions and creative ideas! We send you all our best wishes for a productive and joyous year in your congregations. In faith, Karen LoBracco, SLD Program Consultant for Lifespan Faith Development and members of the SLD Religious Education Committee (Jacki Thompson, Chair)
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Lifespan Faith Development