Director of Religious Education Job in Medford, MA

UU Church of Medford Director of Religious Education Position About the Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford The Unitarian Universalist Church of Medford (UUCM) is a liberal, welcoming community that embraces and celebrates diversity. As the result of a merger of three Unitarian and Universalist Medford churches, today’s UUCM and its forebears have been a spiritual community since 1696, when the Town constructed the first meeting house, becoming independent of the Town in 1824, spanning the history of Medford from its early colonial days up to the modern day. The current church building dates from 1894 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Adjoining the church and housing church offices and the Religious Education (RE) Program is the Osgood House built in 1785 which served as the minister’s residence until 1992. Comprised of approximately 67 adult attendees, our community is a casual, child-friendly congregation that seeks to nurture one another’s spirituality, and expresses our shared values through worship, religious education, community service, and social action. Providing a program of religious education which promotes awareness of spirituality in the context of liberal ideals is a fundamental component of our ministry and service to each other and a major reason for joining our community. About the Position of Director of Religious Education (DRE) (Part Time) The DRE will lead and administer a cooperative religious education program provided by parents and non-parents of our church family which strives to provide a program where children and youth can develop spiritually and ethically, exploring the religious dimensions of life in a safe and caring community, while allowing families to fully participate in the activities of the congregation. The program currently serves a community of about 41 children and teens and provides care for infants and toddlers during church services, with weekly attendance between 13-30. The DRE will work closely with our minister and our RE Committee and will report ultimately to the Board of Directors. The DRE will provide leadership and support to parents and other adults who are or wish to become actively involved in the program. Challenges After many years of enjoying an endowment from its predecessor congregations and several generous gifts, and after shouldering a series of expensive building repairs to our historic structures, UUCM is committed to ensuring that its future programs and activities be conducted on a sustainable basis. This has meant a decision to curtail the hours of paid staff. Our minister is currently serving on a three-quarter time basis (30 hours per week) and our DRE on a quarter-time basis (10 hours per week). Members of the congregation are actively engaged in providing worship and RE assistance. The minister and DRE provide the spiritual and creative leadership in this joint effort to achieve a meaningful and fulfilling spiritual and religious education experience for all members of the community. Responsibilities of the DRE Represent the Religious Education program to the community. • Greet new families on Sunday morning and help integrate them into the RE program. • Maintain contact with and be responsive to parents with children in the program. • Lead and manage the resources provided by the RE committee and the congregation to support the program. Develop, oversee and participate in Sunday RE program. • Develop calendar for, organize and participate in regular Sunday RE classes and the children’s part of our Sunday services (whether part of the regular Sunday service, an inter-generational service, other multi-age activities, or separate Children’s Chapel). • Recommend and update curriculum, and coordinate implementation. • Recruit, orient, and support volunteer teachers. Provide age-related activities. • Guide the formation of a Youth Group or other age-appropriate activities for older youth. • Coordinate the Our Whole Life (OWL) program, offered every few years to the appropriate age group. Administration • Manage RE budget • Keep accurate and complete records of attendance, expenses, records, files with support of office staff. Qualifications and Abilities We seek a DRE who is a warm, welcoming, organized, creative, and flexible religious education professional. Candidates with interest and equivalent relevant experience working with children will be considered. The candidate should possess a clear awareness of the range of children’s learning styles and developmental needs. An entrepreneurial approach to developing a high quality religious experience within a constrained financial budget while maximizing the use of community resources will be important. The ability to energize and motivate a volunteer community to serve in this cooperative program will be a plus. Hours and Compensation This is a 10-hour per week position from August through June with a month vacation in July. Salary is commensurate with experience and within UUA Guidelines for a DRE. To Apply