Liberal Religious Educators Association
2008 General Assembly in Fort
Lauderdale, FL
Links regarding security measures at the Fort Lauderdale site:
Open
letter from UUA to UU Congregations Concerning the Fort Lauderdale General
Assembly
Frequently
Asked Questions
Letter from the LREDA
Board to the UUA Board
Letter to LREDA Members from
the LREDA Board
LREDA
PROFESSIONAL DAY 2008
Wednesday, June
25
Hyatt Pier 66 in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Click here for LREDA
PROFESSIONAL DAY REGISTRATION FORM
Click
here for SCHOLARSHIP FORM FOR LREDA PROFESSIONAL DAY
Please note:
LREDA will offer two trainings for Good Officers this year - one during
Pre-GA
Professional Days, and the other in October just prior to the opening of
LREDA
Fall Conference
in Albuquerque, NM.
Schedule
8:00-9:00 AM
Continental Breakfast and Registration
Crystal Ballroom
Foyer
9:00-9:30 AM
Worship
Crystal Ballroom
3
10:00 AM-Noon Keynote
Presentation: “Finding the Divine in Nature”
Joseph Cornell
Crystal Ballroom
3
Noon-1:15 PM Box
lunch
Noon-3:00 PM Good
Offices Training (pick up box lunch first)
Chairman's
Boardroom
1:30 PM-3:00 PM
Choice of Workshops
(detailed list
follows)
3:30 PM LREDA
members are invited to attend the UUMA’s
Berry Street Lecture at the
Signature Grand Catering Center
in Davie, about 8 miles (15
minutes) from the Convention
Center area.
Carpooling or cab-pooling recommended.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: JOSEPH CORNELL
"Finding
the Divine in Nature"
Internationally acclaimed naturalist and author Joseph Cornell will
share
the secrets and insights used by mystics such as Henry David Thoreau to
feel the Divine in nature. Joseph will also re-enact inspiring stories
from
the life of John Muir to communicate the joy that comes from living
close
to Nature’s heart. To help inspire others, you’ll learn
uplifting Sharing
Nature techniques to experience God’s love, stillness, and
grandeur while outdoors. These games,
stories, songs, and meditations expand one’s sense of self and
help children and adults feel greater
love and empathy for our world. You will also learn about Flow
Learning, a simple yet subtle and
powerful method of teaching based on universal principles of awareness
and spiritual awakening. The
four stages of Flow Learning gently and beautifully guide people, step
by step, to deeper, more
profound experiences of nature and God.
Joseph Cornell is
“one of the most highly regarded nature educators in the world
today.” His award-winning
Sharing Nature Books
have
been published in twenty languages and have “sparked a worldwide
revolution in
nature
education.” Joseph is the president and founder of Sharing Nature
Foundation and is the honorary
president of
Japan Nature Game Association, an organization of over 11,000 leaders. For
over thirty years
Joseph has been a
disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda and a student of Swami Kriyananda. Joseph
serves at
Ananda Village as a minister and meditation
teacher. For more information, see: www.sharingnature.com
and www.josephbcornell.org.
Wednesday
Afternoon Workshops 1:30—3:00 PM
A. Flow Learning
in Religious Education Programs
Presenter: Joseph
Cornell
~ Crystal
Ballroom 3 ~
In this workshop
you will experience joyful and inspiring nature activities and Flow
Learning’s four stages: 1)
Awaken
Enthusiasm; 2) Focus Attention; 3) Experience Directly; and 4) Share
Inspiration. Flow Learning can
help you generate
more enthusiasm among students, increase their receptivity, give students
deeper intuitive
insights and
actual experience of your subject, and inspire greater appreciation and
idealism for the topic.
Joseph will
discuss ways for adapting the principles of Flow Learning for all your
classes.
B. Rejuvenation
through Song!
Presenters: Jan
Gartner and Pat Kahn
~ Crystal
Ballroom 1~
Singing in
community is an uplifting and spiritual experience, connecting us with
something deep within
ourselves and with
one another. Join us for hymns, songs, and chants – enjoy familiar
favorites and learn some
new ones. Come
prepared to teach a song yourself, if you’d like!
C. You Asked For
It! You Got It! The New, Improved, Updated LREDA GUIDELINES!
Presenter: Patti
Withers, LREDA Board—DRE/Member Concerns
~ Crystal
Ballroom 2 ~
The revised LREDA
Guidelines will be voted on at the Membership Meeting on Saturday. Join us
for an in-depth
look at the
changes.
D. Mentoring for
Formation
Presenters: Gail
Forsyth-Vail and the Religious Education Credentialing Committee
~ Crystal
Ballroom 4 ~
Why does the RE
Credentialing program require mentoring? What is its role in the formation of
religious
educators?
Explore the crucial role of collegial and peer relations in your professional
formation as a religious
educator.
LIBERAL RELIGIOUS EDUCATORS’
ASSOCIATION
2008 General Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, FL
LREDA Workshop
Presenters/panelists: Revs. Lynn
Strauss, Howard Dana, and Judy Welles
Dialogue on Classism within
Unitarian Universalism
Thursday, June 26 –
1:30-2:45 PM, Convention Center 316
Sophia Lyon Fahs Lecture--CANCELED
Our Sophia Lyon Fahs lecturer has
declined to participate in a GA located within a restricted
zone with security screening
requirements.
Dessert and Annual Meeting
Saturday, June 28 –
1:00-3:45 Fort Lauderdale Grande, Ballroom D
Due to the high cost of a luncheon
in Fort Lauderdale,
we are instead having a dessert
and fruit buffet this year before
the meeting begins! Please register for the dessert and
join us for our important annual
GA meeting.
LREDA Booth in the Convention
Center display area
Stop by and sign up for a time
slot to staff the booth – it’s a fun place to be! Meet
colleagues, browse through the
gREat Ideas Notebook, purchase books and R.E.
teacher thank you gifts, get
information about the Fall Conference in Albuquerque!
PLEASE HONOR THE POSTMARK DEADLINE
OF June 10
NO RESERVATIONS WILL BE TAKEN AT
G.A.
============================================================
LREDA DESSERT RESERVATION FORM
Name:
__________________________E-mail:__________________________
Phone: Day -
____________________Evening -_________________________
$ _____Total for dessert buffet @ $25 per person
$______ Contribution to LREDA scholarship fund (optional)
$______ Contribution to the Fahs Lecture Fund (optional)
$______ Contribution to the LREDA Endowment Fund
(optional)
$ ______TOTAL ENCLOSED
Postmark Deadline: June 3
__Yes, I would like to Send dessert reservation form and a check payable to LREDA
to:
volunteer at the LREDA booth Julie Lambert, LREDA, P.O. Box 96, Grapevine,
TX 76099
The Professional Leadership
Coordinating Council presents:
What’s Going
On Here? How Staff Teams Operate
Thursday, June 26, 11:00 AM -
Convention Center 220-221
Each staff member
brings unique talents and gifts to a staff team, and communication is
important! Staff Meetings
are a communication
tool that benefit the congregation and workings of a church. A panel discussion
will discuss
staff covenants,
elements of a staff meeting, and answer questions.
Panel Members:
Minister: Katie Lee
Crane, Sudbury, Mass.
DRE: Mary Ellen
Morgan, Napa, Calif.
Administrator: Mona
Scott, Lutherville, Maryland
Music Director: Beth
Norton, Concord, Mass.
Boundaries and Healthy
Congregational Work Environments
Friday, June 27, 11:00 AM –
Convention Center 304-5
In busy congregational offices,
staff can establish boundaries to help set priorities and reduce the tendency
to
accept work overload. In single-
or multi-staff offices, good boundaries will help establish work priorities
and set a
tone respected by members,
including Boards. We'll explore how to make it work.
Presenter: Dr. Helen H. Bishop
Welcoming All: When Ex-Prisoners
Join Our Congregations
A workshop sponsored by AUUA - of interest to anyone involved in staffing
Friday, June 27, 1:30 PM -
Convention Center—Grand Floridian E
How do you safely include an
ex-prisoner into the life of a congregation? This workshop reviews issues to
consider,
anticipated resistance, policies
and procedures, and special issues raised by sex offenders.
Presenters: Rev. Debra Haffner and
Rev. Patty Franz
LREDA is one of the seven partners
in PLCC which seeks to find areas of mutual interest and cooperation among
our UU Professional organizations.
PLCC includes, in addition to LREDA, the UU Ministers Association,
Association of UU Administrators,
UU Musicians Network, Society for Community Ministry, Association of Interim
Ministers, and UU Retired
Ministers and Partners Association.
Want to volunteer to staff the
LREDA booth in Ft.
Lauderdale?
Just check the box at the bottom
of the GA LREDA Dessert reservation!
Thanks to you, the LREDA members,
our booth continues to get better each year! You make it a friendly
place where colleagues can
connect, exchange ideas, find all kinds of useful information on display, and
purchase books or LREDA
merchandise.
One of the popular features at the
booth is the gREat Ideas Notebook – a collection of (what else?)
great
ideas which you offer to share
with others! It could be:
* A
resource such as an original Bridging service, a supplemental session for a
curriculum, a teacher
recruitment trick, a wonderful
craft…
* An
advertisement ($10 fee payable to LREDA) for an item you would like to make
available for sale
such as jewelry, chalices, note
cards, curricula… Just create a flier (on one piece of paper no larger
than 8½” x 11”
both sides), be sure to give yourself credit, and bring one copy to the booth
so that it
can be included in the gREat
Ideas Notebook. If you’re not going to GA, you may send it with a
check for $10 by June 10 to Cindy
Leitner, 6670 Lochdale St.,
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5B 2M8.
Sorry, we cannot sell or display
the actual item.
********************************
PAST
GENERAL ASSEMBLIES
********************************
2007
General Assembly in Portland,
OR
Please
note: LREDA will offer two
trainings for Good Officers this year - one during Pre-GA Professional Days,
and the other in October just before the LREDA Fall Conference in San Antonio, TX.
LREDA
Professional Day Pre-GA, Wednesday, June 20
Holiday
Inn Portland
Schedule
8:00-9:00 AM
Continental
Breakfast and Registration
Bellmont A
9:00-9:30 AM
Worship
Bellmont B
10:00 AM-Noon Keynote
Presentation:
Your
Surly Inner Waitress's Guide to Keeping Your Sanity
The Rev. Meg Barnhouse
Bellmont B
Noon-1:15 PM
Box
lunches
Bellmont A
Noon-3:30 PM
Good
Offices Training
Windsor C
Participants will pick up their
box lunch and go directly to
Windsor C where the training will
be held.
1:30 PM-3:00 PM Choice
of workshops
(detailed list follows)
3:30 PM
LREDA
members are invited to attend the UUMA’s
Ministerial
Conference at Berry Street
at the Oregon
Convention Center
Keynote Speaker: Rev. Meg Barnhouse
Your Surly Inner Waitress's Guide to Keeping Your
Sanity
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
10:00 AM-Noon
~Bellmont B~
Meg Barnhouse is an hilarious, creative, and
insightful speaker. She uses the
"ha-ha-ha-OH!" format, so audiences learn while laughing. Her tools for changing self-defeating
behavior are profound and easy to grasp, and she mixes in original songs for
a fast moving good time.
Meg’s books and CDS will be available for sale following the
Keynote Presentation.
Meg Barnhouse
grew up in North Carolina and Philadelphia, and she has lived in Spartanburg, SC
since 1981. After graduating from
Duke University
and Princeton Theological Seminary, she worked as Chaplain to Converse College for six years, teaching Public
Speaking, Human Sexuality, World Religions, and other courses. Meg has been active in the community,
helping to found the SAFE Homes Network for battered women. She is credentialed as a Fellow in the
American Association of Pastoral Counselors. She travels nationwide as a speaker,
singer/songwriter and humorist.
She is the mother of two wise, funny and handsome sons. She has a second-degree black belt in
karate, and is a commentator for NC Public Radio on a segment called
“Radio Free Bubba.”
She has also been heard on National Public Radio’s
“Weekend All Things Considered.”
Her books include Rock of Ages at the Taj Mahal, Waking Up the Karma Fairy, and
her newest, Did I Say That Out Loud? Her first CD, July Blue, is a mix of 12 original songs and 3
stories. The new CD, Mango Thoughts in a Meatloaf Town,
has 13 original songs, including Move
Over and All Will Be Well.
Wednesday Afternoon Workshops – 1:30-3:00 PM
A) Just Breathe
(The Rev. Lena Breen)
~ Bellmont
B ~
In the
ancient Sanskrit language, the word for breath is the same as the word for
life. Prana (pronounced prah-nah)
can be your best friend. The
masters of Yoga discovered the usefulness of the breath thousands of years
ago. Hatha Yoga includes a system
for the conscious control of the breath.
You can learn to breathe more completely, breathing your way to good
health. You will feel more alert,
energetic, and alive. We will
literally share each other's breaths and life energy.
B) You Can Say That Again – Finding
Peace through the Use of a Mantra
(Prairie Star Religious Educators Lori Allen and Cheryll Wallace)
~ Windsor B ~
This
workshop is an introduction to the mantra, simple repetitive words, used for
centuries to bring peace and balance in the midst of chaos or calm. Along with an introduction to
time-honored mantras, participants will create a symbol that is a reminder of
these sacred words.
C) Sabbaticals as Professional Practice
(Panel of Religious Educators:
Anne Bancroft, Laura Spencer and the Rev. Judy
Tomlinson)
~ Windsor A ~
Thinking
of taking a sabbatical? Join a
panel of colleagues who took one, and hear about their experience –
before, during and after. Bring
your questions: why, how, what, when…
D) Religious Education Credentialing as
Formation
(Religious Education Committee members Liz Jones
and Rev. Kirk Loadman-Copeland)
~ Cambridge ~
There is
more to the process of credentialing than gathering together your samples for
a portfolio, reading a number of books, and learning a specific core body of
material. There is a
transformation that occurs in the process known as formation. What happens in the formation of a
professional religious educator?
Come and hear from Credentialed Religious Educators and from some of
our ministerial colleagues about the formation process, and the results.
LREDA EVENTS AT GA - Thursday-Sunday, June 21-24
LREDA Workshop
Spirit Moving Within Families, Among
Families, And Beyond
(The Rev. Barbara Hamilton-Holway)
Friday, June 22
– 10:45 AM at the Oregon Convention Center - Oregon Ballroom 204
The theme will be the
spiritual development of families. You may already be familiar with her
curriculum/worship series, "Evensong," including her most recent,
"Evensong for Families." Evensong for Families and other
programs strengthen bonds within families, between families, and between
families and their congregations. Families hear each other's stories,
feel less alone in their struggles and celebrations, grow in understanding
and appreciation of differences. Programs help strengthen
intergenerational community so youngest to oldest feel they belong. Barbara will also be co-preacher along
with her husband, Bill, at this year's Service of the Living
Tradition! They are co-ministers at the UU Church of Berkeley in Kensington, California.
Sophia Fahs Lecture (About the Fahs
Lecture & Past Lecturers)
Home Grown
Religion (Dr. William J. Doherty)
Friday, June 22 –
2:45 PM at the Oregon Convention Center - Oregon Ballroom 201
Religion is taught, or caught,
mostly in the family, but we act as if it’s mostly about church
programs. How can our faith tradition go more deeply into our homes
when we don’t have a creed and a set of traditions parents can rely
on? We need a fresh approach.
LREDA Reception and Conversation for All UU Professionals
Faith
Development in a Too Much of Everything World
(Dr. William J. Doherty)
Friday, June 22
– 4:30 to 5:45 PM at the Doubletree – Oregon Room
Our faith development efforts for
children risk being swamped by the me-first, frantic, turbo-charged consumer
culture. It doesn’t help
that we operate on a provider/consumer model of program delivery with
fragmented niches of children, youth, and adult ministries. It’s time for a new conversation
about community based, countercultural faith development. Bring the professionals you work with
to develop a team approach! All PLCC groups are invited!
Luncheon and Annual Meeting
Saturday, June 23 – 12:30 PM at the
Doubletree - Broadway/Weidler Room
The
Annual Meeting begins at 1:45 PM in the Multnomah Room
The
Professional Leadership Coordinating Council presents:
Staffing for Social Justice: A Shared
Responsibility
A workshop sponsored by UUMA
Thursday,
June 21, 2:45 PM - Oregon Convention Center, Portland Ballroom 252
Many congregations include working toward social
justice in their mission, but few are explicit and intentional about the role
of church staff in supporting it.
This workshop offers a panel of presenters who explore what any size
congregation can do to increase professional staff contributions to social
justice work.
Presenters: Rev. Deborah Holder (Urban Disciples
Coordinating Consultant; Santa Fe,
NM), Rev. Nathan
Woodliff-Stanley (Minister for Social Responsibility; Jefferson Unitarian
Church, Golden, CO), and Keith Arnold (Minister of Music; Jefferson Unitarian
Church, Golden, CO)
Creating a Covenant of Right Relations
A workshop sponsored by SCM
Friday,
June 22, 10:45 AM – Oregon Convention Center, Portland Ballroom 252
How do professionals and volunteers “share the
ministry,” relating to each other authentically and constructively
beyond simply assigning duties to each person? Explore how to develop and live out a
“Covenant of Right Relations” that becomes a safe container for
the thorniest issues, and enables a true sharing of ministry.
Presenter: Rev. Cathleen Cox Burneo
Attracting Quality Employees
A workshop sponsored by AUUA - of interest to anyone involved in staffing
Friday, June 22, 1:00 PM - Oregon
Convention Center, Portland Ballroom 254
Want great employees? Have limited funds? When both the employee and employer
understand the market range for a position and discuss what each brings to
the table, a win-win results.
We'll explore ways your congregation can be a "rich"
employer.
Presenter: Wren Withers
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LREDA
is one of the five partners in PLCC which seeks to find areas of mutual interest
and cooperation among our UU Professional organizations. PLCC includes, in addition to LREDA,
the UU Ministers Association, Association of UU Administrators, UU
Musicians Network, and Society for Community Ministry.
|
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