In-person and online trainings are now 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 the public.

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.

Registration opens six weeks before the first day of the training. Facilitators submit an application form, which generates an email to their endorser with a link to complete a recommendation. Upon acceptance, the facilitator 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 Pacific and Eastern/Canada time zones 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). 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.

Eastern and Pacific time zone trainings are offered on the same days and times; please register for the time zone closest to your own.

Registration for all trainings will begin six weeks prior to the first live session for that month's trainings. To avoid confusion, the trainings will not appear on the calendar until the opening day of registration. The following dates are provided so future applicants can reserve the dates/times on their calendars.

Training slots fill quickly and are limited to 14 UU and 14 UCC participants per month. We accept applications in the order received, and upon filling all slots, we maintain a wait list.

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

May. Grades 7-9/10-12 6-8:30 pm ET/PT May 2, 5, 9, 12, 16, 19 plus10 am to 3 pm May 21

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

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

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

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

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

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