What’s Going On with the Search for a Director of Faith Formation?
Wait, I thought we were hiring a Director of Religious Education. What is a “Director of Faith Formation” anyway? Why did we change the name?
Don’t worry dear congregants, let us explain.
Faith Formation is the direction many UU churches are going these days, as it more aptly describes the ongoing work of seeking to inculcate UU values through educational experiences. So we decided to stay current and use that language. And, there’s still room for discussion as we’ve noted in the job posting.
Follen Church has traditionally given this job a title of Director of Religious Education, and the search team discussed several possibilities for how the job might be titled going forward. We are open to having the job title discussion with candidates.
See more information about the Director of Faith Formation position here. Please share it in your networks. The Search Committee would greatly appreciate your help to spread the word about the DFF position.
Thank You for Your Feedback
The Search Committee has been hard at work since the fall gathering your feedback and developing a job description that reflected what we heard from you.
Thank you for all your feedback! Your input was very thoughtful and has driven our process. We received over 90 responses to our online survey, written feedback from questions in the Order of Service, and input from our two listening sessions held after services in the fall.
Survey Results
The congregation is interested in a Director of Faith Formation with deep love of children and youth, direct experience working with children, a clear passion for this work, and high emotional intelligence. Follenites prioritize the ability to collaborate with a variety of audiences – lay leaders, volunteers, parents, and youth, among others – and experience managing educational programs. You identify management skills– such as delegating – as well as knowledge in specific areas, such as UU curriculum and safe congregational practices.
Read the full survey findings here.
A Binding Force in the Community
RE was characterized by one Follenite as a binding force for the entire church community:
“It should be a priority to use RE as a way of fostering intergenerational exposure. Children, teens, adults and seniors all get to know each other through RE. The new DRE should understand the role of RE as the central way people experience the church.”
Next Steps in Search
The Search Committee now eagerly awaits applicants and resumes have begun coming in. In the meantime, we are working hard on designing a robust approach for vetting candidates, reaching out broadly and with particular intention to include forums that are racially diverse, and developing interview questions designed to get at the core skills and characteristics you have helped us to discern.
Thank you for entrusting us with this process, and certainly feel free to share any concerns, questions or feedback with any of us. Stay tuned. We’ll be sending future updates.
Respectfully,
Lisa Levey, Chair
Search Committee — Lynn Arenella, Ann Bobo, Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn, Adria Goodson, Janet Lane, Hugh Truslow