DRE Search Process

The DRE Settlement System is a new on-line system. Through it, congregations can publicize open positions in lay professional religious education, and religious educators who have been credentialed by the UUA Religious Education Credentialing program and are in good standing with the Religious Education Credentialing Committee can indicate their interest in these positions. Religious Educators who are have not yet been credentialed but are participants in the Religious Education Credentialing program may view the publicized open positions, but may not indicate their interest through the system.

The following is some informal guidance that may be helpful to your congregation if you do not choose, or are unable to use the DRE Settlement system.

As a preliminary, if you have not already done so, you should read "The Search for Religious Education Leadership: Best Practices for Unitarian Universalist Congregations" .

Also, you should contact the program R.E. program consultant, R.E. contact person, or district executive in your district. This person can also serve as a resource for you, and will certainly want to keep in touch with you during your search. Any informal consulting on a DRE search done by the UUA Office of RE Credentialing with a congregation is done in conjunction with district staff.

We can then do the following:

Review and provide feedback on your job description, advertisement, salary and benefits. Please see "A Guide to Creating a DRE Job Description Advertisement" for hints about this the process.

Submit the job description or other advertisement to the readers (mostly religious educators across the continent) on the Reach-L and the LREDA-L e-mail lists.

Other pertinent information:

You can see the job descriptions of other UU congregations in search for a DRE by accessing Openings at UU Congregations. This web-page will also explain how you can submit a link to your job description to the site.

You may contact your district staff to see how you might submit an advertisement to your district's newsletter, their website, and any e-mail lists that serve religious educators in your district.

You may contact Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA) directly for the following:

• They will email your job description advertisement to all LREDA members who have a known email (this is many more than are on the LREDA "list") at no charge.
• If you provide them with a URL (web address) they will include a link to your job description web page on their Employment Opportunities web page at no charge.
• A set of LREDA mailing labels can be purchased for $35, sorted any way desired. The LREDA membership has voted to support only this outside use of their membership list.
• A Job Description Advertisement flyer can be included in their regular mailings for a charge of $50 for 8.5x11 one sided - and $25 for additional side.
• If you would like to provide your own flyers or brochures for the LREDA mailing, they will need 700 copies and the stuffing charge is $25.
  Deadlines are typically March 15, July 15, and November 15 for a mailing early in the next month.

You can request mailing labels from the UUA in order to do your own mailing of your advertisement or job description to all religious educators in the UUA database. You may contact us to receive the PDF documents describing the UUA policy and form for this request.

Unitarian Universalist Association
25 Beacon St. | Boston, MA 02108 | 617-742-2100