TJ Connection - Fall 2002

It has been an inspiring summer for me. On a personal level, I have had the pleasure of being with my daughters, Nicole (15) and Christine (19), at the UUA General Assembly in Quebec City. I have come to more fully realize and value the strengths of my family in facing the inevitable challenges life brings. I have grown in my faith through my experiences with other committed Unitarian Universalists I have had the privilege to meet and spend time with along my way: in my encounters with individual UUs of all ages, in my visits to congregations, in my work around the association, with leadership school faculty and participants, and with my RE and ministerial colleagues.

On a professional level, I am inspired by the work of the Liberal Religious Educators' Association (LREDA), Unitarian Universalist Association (including the Thomas Jefferson District!), and the Mountain Retreat & Learning Centers in promoting transformational excellence in our movement and its professional and lay leadership. Though the changes have been many, our Association is moving toward higher professional standards and support of religious professionals: ministers, religious educators, musicians, and church administrators.

I am most in touch with the new Professional Standards for Religious Educators, a three-tiered program of recognition and credentialing designed by a joint task force that included LREDA and the UUA Departments of Religious Education, Ministry, and Congregation, District & Extension Services. This new set of professional standards will roll out in the coming year, and will be overseen by the Rev. Beth Williams, Director of RE Credentialing for the Ministry and Professional Leadership Staff Group.
Congregation leaders will be receiving more information about this exciting development in the months to come.

Our Association President, Rev. Bill Sinkford, came before the LREDA membership at our Annual Meeting at General Assembly. There he underscored his and his administration's commitment to religious education and RE leaders as a means to the institutional change he aspires to in his presidency.

Bill stressed the importance of the continued dialogue about issues related to professionalism, fair compensation, lay leadership development, and growth of the UU movement. He urged religious education and district professionals to help congregations understand and clarify the important role of religious education, saying, "District structures must be involved in shifting our congregations toward health-RE health and role will be key in this shift."

When asked how long such an institutional change such as this will take, Bill Sinkford replied, "Faithfulness is holding firm to the goal and realizing that persons who may be resisting growth are also very committed to our faith." In his message, Bill Sinkford said, "We must stay in relationship. Religious Education is the single most important engine for growth in our movement." When asked by a LREDA member if he could be quoted on that, Bill responded quickly with a sincere and determined expression, "You can not only quote me; you can send them to me for further explanation." And may it be so!

Yours in Faith,

Laurel