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Ohio-Meadville District of the UUA |
“Balancing Acts” http://courses.neari.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=student.detailCourse&coid=1
Guidelines on screening practices for use by UUA organizations when adding clergy, professional leaders, staff and volunteers. www.uua.org/programs/ministry/responsiblestaffing.html
From Live Oak UU Church in Austin, TX (excellent!) www.liveoakuu.org/abusepolicy.pdf
From the North Shore Unitarian Church in suburban Chicago, IL www.nsuc.org/education/SafeChurch_Policy.pdf
Most of our congregations hold policies with Church Mutual. They are very generous in providing churches with a variety of resources, including a reduced subscription to ScreenNow, their database for child sexual offenders. Their very useful website can be found at www.churchmutual.com You can view a list of their resouces that are in our district office and can be borrowed by clicking here.
Reducing the Risk II: Making Your Church Safe from Child Sexual Abuse. James F. Cobble, Jr., Richard R. Hammar and Steven W. Klipowicz. Available from Christian Ministry Resources, 1-800-222-1840 and www.reducingtherisk.com. It includes a manual, training guide and DVD that cover every aspect of advocating for a Safety policy, the creation process, implementation and responding to reports of abuse. Purchasing the program includes a one-year subscription to their online learning program.
Upcoming Trainings and Professional Opportunities, November 2007
Here is a list of the upcoming events of particular interest to religious educators. Note that the OWL Elementary Training has been rescheduled and requires your speedy response! Download this flyer as a pdf file by clicking here.
Gathering of RE Leaders to discuss “Including Children with Special Needs”
November 9th from 9:00 a.m. until noon at the Maumee Valley UU Congregation
Hosted by the Northern Cluster of the Heartland District who have invited OMD RE Leaders to join them for their meeting. Heather Dinklage-Travis, DRE at the MVUUC, will be the program presenter. For more details and to RSVP, contact Heather at mvuuc_dre at yahoo.comOur Whole Lives (OWL) Training for the Elementary Units
(Kindergarten and First Grade, Fourth through Sixth Grades)
January 4-5, 2008 at the First UU Society of Marietta
The Lifespan Faith Development Committee has rescheduled this training. It may not be offered again until fall 2009, so plan to send folks to be trained if you are considering offering this program in the next couple of years. Click here for details and a registration form.Peer Chaplain Training for Youth, Adult Leaders of Youth and Young Adults
January 25-27, 2008 at the UU Church of Kent (tentative site)
This UUA sponsored and led training is designed for youth, youth leaders and young adults to gain needed to effectively listen to, affirm, and emotionally support conferees at youth and young adult events. Chaplains are individuals who help manage crises, ensure a healthy and safe atmosphere, and bring spiritual resources and support to the community. The flyer and application forms are forthcoming. Contact klapidus at ohiomeadville.org for more information.Renaissance Module Ministry with Youth
February 22-24, 2008 at Loyola of the Lake Retreat Center near Akron
Look for the registration materials included in this packet or click here for the webpage. The deadline for registration is January 11, 2008.Curriculum Fair
March 15, 2008 at the UU Society of Cleveland
This annual OMD RE Community event is a highlight of our spring.Spirit Play Training
April 26, 2008 at the UU Fellowship of Wayne County in Wooster, OH
See registration form elsewhere in this packet for opportunity to create a story-based, highly engaging RE program. The leader is Nita Penfold, co-developer of Spirit Play. Click here for the webpage.Our Whole Lives (OWL) Combo Training for Grades 7-9 and Grades 10-12
May 15-17, 2008 at the Maumee Valley UU Congregation in Bowling Green, OH
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TRAINING WILL RUN THURSDAY-SATURDAY
Registration forms will be available on the OMD website in the near future.
UU
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Introducing the Religious Education Consultant Team, March 2006
For a number of years, the OMD has used the services of consultant teams to provide on-site workshops and other services to congregations. Currently we have the Congregational Consultants who facilitate Board Retreats and Visioning Workshops (among others), the ACT (Accessing Creative Tension) Team that helps a congregation create a Behavioral Covenant and the SCRLs (Small Congregation Resource Liaisons) who keep our smallest congregations connected and supported.
We now have a team of religious education consultants. The Reverend Lynn Kerr, Minister of Religious Education at the First Unitarian Church of Toledo and Vernie Hill, Director of Religious Education at the East Shore Unitarian Universalist Church have completed the RE Consultant training for the Mid-America Districts Region. They are available to facilitate on-site workshops on a variety of RE topics, such as:
Please notify me to set up a workshop or for more information on how Vernie and Lynn might support your congregation’s program of religious education. The congregations pay an honorarium of $250 for a day-long workshop and the district pays for travel expenses.
When planning a workshop, consider inviting RE Leaders from your cluster or geographic region. Not only would you share the costs of the consultation, the event would offer opportunities for collaboration and relationship building—two of the over-arching goals of the Ohio-Meadville District’s new vision for serving our congregations.
