Mission, Vision, and Values of the Religious Education Credentialing Committee

Mission

The Religious Education Credentialing Committee (RECC), a Committee of the UUA Board of Trustees, is tasked with stewarding and shepherding the religious credentialing process for those religious educators seeking increased professional development. We create a comprehensive path towards professional proficiency, excellence, and status. The Committee is oriented and committed to providing an encouraging and affirming process. Recognizing how essential it is for the UUA and its congregations to have a broad array of religious educators, we encourage, commit, and advocate for fully engaging diversity among our stakeholders and those pursuing RECC credentials.

Vision

The RECC envisions:

  • Professional religious educators taking full advantage of the credentialing path that supports and affirms candidates bringing their whole selves and diverse lived experiences as religious educational professionals.
  • A community of religious educators seeking credentialing that represents the full diverse array of social identities, including but not limited to – race/ethnicity, gender expression, immigration status, geography, economic class, physical ability, neurodiversity, relationship orientation, and educational levels.
  • Religious educators who are compensated appropriately and adequately in their roles that reflects the impact and responsibility of shepherding the learning and growth of congregations and organizational entities within the UUA.
  • A credentialing process that understands and affirms the impact religious educators have on congregations, including educational, spiritual, maturational, and systemic growth.
  • A religious education credentialing process that engages religious professionals along their full journey of credentialing — from initial inquiry to completion and celebration of credentialed status.
  • A religious educators’ credentialing process and religious education credentialing program eco-system that establishes and supports appropriate structures, policies and procedures.
  • A RECC whose members represent the diversity of stakeholders influential and critical to the successful and impactful creation of religious educators that serve UU Congregations and other settings with grace, intellect, empathy, creativity, and spirit.
  • Creating mutual accountability between religious professionals seeking credentialing and the work of the RECC that manifests grace-filled, respectful, kind, empathetic, and dynamic professional development experiences.
  • A process that provides the opportunity and supports any and all of those seeking a path towards professional religious education in a way that nurtures all aspects of who they are, and provides access to credentialing in a respectful, nurturing and holistic way.

Values

We believe in the importance of embodying and supporting:

  • Respect and appreciation
  • Bringing one’s whole self
  • Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
  • Economic accessibility
  • Collaboration
  • Professional excellence
  • Acceptance and support of various learning styles
  • High quality ongoing professional growth opportunities

RECC Mission, Vision, and Values 2022 (PDF, 3 pages)

RECC Rules (PDF)

RECC Policies (PDF)

UUA Bylaws and Religious Education Credentialing