Religious Education and Faith Formation

The ministry of Faith Formation and structured programs of Religious Education are vital elements of thriving congregational life. Religious educators - both professional and lay - are key players in making religious education meaningful and effective. In an effort to support RE providers and programs, we offer:

• OWL Facilitator Trainings
• Religious Educator continuing education through Renaissance Modules
• Additional workshops listed on the right-hand column of this webpage
• Start-Up Workshops for professional Religious Educators with congregational leadership. A Start Up Workshop is designed to foster healthy working relationships between new or newly hired Directors and Ministers of Religious Education and the congregational committee that volunteers to work with them. They are generally held early in a new DRE's tenure, but may also be of help when a DRE's full-time / part-time status changes, or when other significant changes have happened in the congregation during a long-term DRE's tenure 
• Regional staff services specific to the support of religious educators.

Other resources for religious education professionals

• Liberal Religious Education Directors Association (LREDA), the professional association of religious educators
• LREDA North Atlantic Chapter, which provides networking and professional support for DREs and other religious professionals. For more information, contact Chapter Convener RKScholl [at] gmail [dot] com (Rebecca Keller Scholl).

For more resources for Religious Educators, see our Youth Ministry Resources page, or contact ksweeney [at] uua [dot] org (Kim Sweeney).