In-person and online trainings are available. Online trainings are open only to those using OWL in Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ settings. In-person trainings are open to people using OWL in any setting.

Online trainings. Cost is $250 per person, limited to applicants using OWL in UU settings in the US and Canada as well as applicants from United Church of Christ churches.

Application process: Applicants submit an application form, which generates an email to their endorser with a link to complete a recommendation. Applications are accepted in the order they arrive and are checked for completion. Upon acceptance, the applicant will receive a payment link. Full payment is due 30 days before the first synchronous session, and $100 of that is non-refundable within 7 days before the first session.

Time Commitment. Online training is more time intensive than in-person training, requiring up to 35 hours of your time over three weeks. You will have 20 hours of synchronous (live, on-camera) weeknight and Saturday sessions plus 10-15 hours of asynchronous tasks to complete (reading, webinar viewing, and written assignments) on your own time. Do not register unless you can commit to attend every synchronous session and complete the assignments. Your most intense time commitment will be during the week prior to the first live session (approximately 3.5 hours to complete assignments) and between the first and second sessions (~2 hours to complete assignments).

Training Schedule. Synchronous sessions for all online trainings are from 6-8:30 pm on Mondays and Thursdays for three weeks, ending with a 10 am to 3 pm Saturday session (with a one-hour lunch break at noon). Times are the same for Pacific and Eastern time zones, while Mountain and Central times will vary depending on which training you register for. Please choose the training closest to your time zone.

Upcoming Online Training Dates and Grade Levels.

The application period opens seven weeks prior to the first live session for each training.

Training slots fill quickly and are limited to 16 UU and 16 UCC participants per month. Upon filling all slots, we maintain a wait list.

Training requires live, on-camera attendance for six (6) live sessions plus one (1) Saturday as shown below. You cannot mix and match dates from ET to PT trainings or months.

July. Grades 7-9/10-12  6-8:30 pm ET/PT July 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 28, plus 10 am to 3 pm July 30. Registration opens 9 am ET, May 23. Registration is now closed; all slots are full. 

August. Grades K-1/4-6 6-8:30 pm ET/PT Aug. 1, 4, 8, 11, 15, 18, plus 10 am to 3 pm Aug. 20 Registration opens Noon ET, June 16. Applications limited to those who have not already taken an online OWL training in the past year.

September. Grades 7-9/10-12 6-8:30 pm ET/PT Sept. 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 29, plus 10 am to 3 pm Oct. 1 Registration opens Noon ET, July 25.

October. All Adult Levels 6-8:30 pm ET/PT Oct. 3, 6, 10, 13,17, 20, plus 10 am to 3 pm Oct. 22 Registration opens Noon ET, August 15. Do not apply for this training if you have taken OWL Young Adult/Adult facilitator training in the past five years. Instead, watch the "Orientation to OWL for Older Adults—for Facilitators (Vimeo)" webinar, send confirmation per the instructions in the webinar, and we will approve you to facilitate OWL for Older Adults.

November. Grades 7-9/10-12. 6-8:30 pm ET/PT Nov. 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, plus 10 am to 3 pm Nov. 19 Registration opens Noon ET, September 12.

Age Minimums for Trainings: Participants must be at least 21 years of age to register for any training, and if working with teens, they should be at least four years older than the oldest teen in the program. This is a change from previous UUA policy, which set an age 25 minimum for the Elementary and Secondary trainings.

Trainings require the most-current edition of the curriculum Familiarize yourself with the material n advance of the training. Use only the second editions of the Grades 7-9 and 4-6 curriculums.

Adult-level trainings now include Young Adult, Adult, and Older Adult curriculums. Facilitators previously approved to implement only Young Adult and Adult levels may attend a free webinar to become approved to facilitate the Older Adult level. The Religious Education page has archived that webinar and other Our Whole Lives-related webinars under Faith Development Webinars.

Visit the United Church of Christ Our Whole Lives Training Calendar, which may include trainings not listed here. If you would like to host your own training, please read through the Planning Guide and request a Directory of Trainers, owl@uua.org

If you do not see a training listed for your area, please contact your UUA Region's administrator or faith formation specialist. They will have the most up-to-date information about the trainings they are scheduling.

If you wish to sponsor and schedule your own training, please notify your region's faith formation specialist before firming up your plan and before submitting your training for listing here.

We list only trainings for which hosts have engaged two trainers, both of whom are approved for the grade level of the event. If you have not yet engaged both approved trainers, please wait to submit your event.

Submit a training for listing.

Registering Participants in a Training

Please use the official Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) OWL Training Roster (Excel) for registration (note the tab at the bottom). Provide the participant roster to your trainers before the training takes place.

• Submit a Training for Listing
• Planning Guide for OWL Leader Training