Congregational Leaders

Looking for resources to further your religious education and spiritual growth?  Check out the selection of online resources for congregational leaders on a variety of Growth and Learning topics below.

 

beliefs and values (growth and learning)

  • Religious Education Trainings:  Trainings for leaders in religious education programs including Our Whole Lives Facilitator Trainings, Renaissance Modules, and other trainings for religious education leaders.

 

  • Resources for Religious Educators and Teachers:   Resources created by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), Unitarian Universalist (UU) religious educators, and others working in the field of religious education in various faiths.

 

 

  • Call and Response (UUA Faith Development Blog): Voices of our faith, for the journey we make together in spirit, justice, and love. Please read, respond, and share!

 

  • Adults in Youth Ministry:  Vital youth ministry and resilient Unitarian Universalist youth begin with healthy, spiritually mature adults.

 

spiritual growth (worship)

  • WorshipWeb:  meaningful, inspiring resources for Unitarian Universalist (UU) worship services and personal spiritual practice.

 

 

life issues (caring community)

  • Safe Congregations:  The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has been a leader in creating both resources and recommended processes to help make congregations safe and welcoming places to all.

 

  • Disability and Accessibility:  Unitarian Universalists (UU) are committed to welcoming and affirming people of all abilities.  For everyone, whether having a disability or not, the environment in which we live, learn, play, sing, work, meditate, reflect, and pray must feel welcoming in order for everyone to grow and thrive.

 

  • Pastoral Care:  Caring for one another is a core spiritual practice for Unitarian Universalists. Pastoral care is the term we use for the ways we offer support and compassion to each other in community.

 

  • Pastoral Care with Youth:  Pastoral care is important in our youth ministry. In times of need, youth are most likely to turn to the adults they know best. Volunteers and staff need to know how to share concerns and enlarge the circle of confidentiality when necessary by bringing in a minister, religious educator or parents.

 

social responsibility (social responsibility)

  • Congregational Study/Action Issues: We are stronger together. Our combined efforts to make the world more fair and humane can accomplish more than any one of us working alone. As Unitarian Universalists, we set priorities for our social justice efforts by investing in key issues that exemplify our commitments to justice, equity and compassion.

 

  • Congregations Take Action: Justice is at the core of our faith. Our congregations are called to make a positive difference in our wider communities. We work to serve, to raise awareness, and to support and partner with people who face injustice. We advocate, organize, and act for justice to live out the values of our faith.

 

  • LGTBQ Justice: As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), we not only open our doors to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, we value diversity of sexuality and gender and see it as a spiritual gift. We create inclusive religious communities and work for LGBTQ justice and equity as a core part of who we are.

 

  • Racial Justice and Multicultural Ministries:  We work to end racial discrimination and injustice, starting within ourselves and moving out into the world around us. We support multiracial, multiethnic congregations and advocate for stopping racist policies like mass imprisonment and attacks on voting rights. Our multicultural ministries will continue until there is peace, liberty, and justice for all.

 

  • Green Sanctuary Program:  Our congregations demonstrate their commitment to environmental justice by aligning their values with their actions through becoming certified Green Sanctuaries. For 15 years the Green Sanctuary program has helped more than 230 UU congregations live out this commitment through spiritual connection, education, sustainable living, and social justice.

 

  • UU Class Conversations:  Educates Unitarian Universalists about class awareness and inclusion – empowering our religious movement to dismantle classism within our congregations and communities

 

Unitarian Universalism (stewardship, outreach, leadership, and governance)

  • Leadership Development:  Congregational leaders need more than technical training, they need a combination of skills, sensibilities and internal qualities to enable them to be both effective and faithful.

 

  • Membership, Growth, and Outreach: Congregational growth is about many things—not just numbers. People are motivated to join congregations that lead meaningful worship and programs and offer many ways to engage.

 

  • Congregational Finances and Fundraising:  The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) provides many resources—web pages, publications, and people—that can help congregational leaders charged with fiscal oversight and management of financial issues.

 

  • Congregational Governance:  Leaders in all sizes of congregation struggle with how to best govern their congregation’s affairs in ways that are effective, efficient, and faithful to our liberal religious tradition. We have spent a lot of time studying congregational governance and working with congregational leaders as they explore models and practices. Here are online resources that may be helpful to you as you consider your own congregation’s governance.

 

  • Communications and Social Media: Congregations can communicate in many ways to establish and strengthen their religious community, grow their membership, and raise awareness of Unitarian Universalism beyond your congregation’s doors.

 

  • Growing Vital Leaders: a forum for sharing ideas, tips and tools for leadership formation in our congregations.

 

  • Youth Leadership:  Are you a youth leader? Do you want to develop your leadership skills? This page offers resources to assist youth leaders as well as opportunities for youth to expand their leadership experience and be recognized for their work.

 

 

We welcome your suggestions for resource content for this page. What have you found that is exceptional?

 

Explore More: 

Ages and Stages

parents and families

young children (birth-age 5)

children (ages 5-11)

youth (ages 11-18)

young adults (18-35)

adults

older adults