I slept and dreamt that life was joy.
I awoke and found that life was duty.
I acted and behold, duty was joy.

Appreciation of family, friendship and community, generosity of spirit, kindness and compassion, integrity and right relations, creative expression, service to others and justice, ~ these are values I attempt to integrate into how I contribute to the world.    

I’d like to share a little bit about what brought me to where I am now.

I had started out at the University of Waterloo, then I took some educational and career testing and counseling following my mother’s death and learned that I was well-suited to working in the helping profession - counseling, social service, teaching. While at Waterloo, I was taking a course called Recreation for Special Populations and was doing a volunteer placement working with children at a Developmental Centre there. I was clearly hooked after day one.

Upon completion of the DSW(Developmental Service Worker) program at Fanshawe College in London, my employment led me to my work with children, with families and with community. I taught in the Developmental Centre for several years, and worked in respite care. My daughter Jessie was born and life took on even greater meaning for me.

Much of the work I did for the following 8 years included program start up, both though managing a Weekend Parent Relief Program through Community Living London and then coordinating a new friendship and respite program, Extend-A-Family, London. I also enjoyed four years with Fanshawe College supervising students on placement in the DSW program.

I ran a small business, the Open Door, creating and selling for other artists through home shows high-quality arts and crafts, after the birth of my second child, Michael, 8 years after Jessie’s arrival.  (A fun way to enjoy your children, if you have a choice!)

Children ~ helping them become "whole" in body, heart, mind and spirit, while searching for a personal space to call my religious home brought me to the wonderful community I discovered at the Unitarian Fellowship of London. I became an active, involved, committed member! It fit! I was home! This was 1993.

I applied for the religious education director’s position when it came up in 1996.  I truly began a new phase of discovery and growth.  I was thrilled to work with a host of professional and lay leaders and colleagues who both challenged and inspired me.

We applied for and received a RE Extension Leadership grant through the UUA to bring the DRE position from half time to full time and lifespan. I was now the DLRE. I sought out all kinds of opportunities for professional development in the wider UU community. I learned and grew and knew ~ that this was where I was meant to direct my energies and passions and service. It was over six years filled with change and challenge ~ program development, visioning, insight, innovative and experiential worship and social action initiatives and much cooperative good work, both within the UFL and in the wider UU community. My interest in joining the CUC staff team was piqued by a brief stint on the implementation task force and at the CUC Annual Meeting last year in Kelowna I knew I wanted to serve the CUC.

(In 1999 I accepted the opportunity on behalf of the Canadian Unitarian Council to be a part of the faith consortium with the pilot project through Volunteer Canada, the Ontario Screening Initiative, taking over for Ellen Campbell during her sabbatical. I continued in the role, and over the past three years we have all learned much about safety, trust and protecting those most vulnerable in the communities which we serve. We are now beginning to implement these sound volunteer management learnings into our congregational and CUC policies and procedures. Check out www.cuc.ca/safe  to learn more. We hope to secure more funding to the support the on-going work of this initiative)

As to my vision of Lifespan Learning, I am realizing more and more that our faith’s particular vision of  Lifespan Learning (religious exploration or religious growth and learning for all ages) encompasses more than the wonderful, broad scope of curriculum available for children; more than supportive and connecting opportunities for youth and young adults; more than workshops, courses and discussion groups for adults. Lifespan Learning can also shine in the "whole communities" we create for ourselves; communities which are powerful and full of meaning and which touch lives deeply. This happens in any size congregation. These communities we develop within our congregations can re-connect the generations at a deeper level, so that we offer worship services that challenge or inspire us all, friendship circles and small group ministry that allows for deeper personal reflection at any age, social activism that draws us together for a common cause and cultivates the expectation of working together to help make the world a better place.

We have congregations in Canada with several paid staff, with few paid staff, those strictly lay led and many with a dynamic mix of both. We have congregations with a vision to meet lifelong religious exploration needs of their members and friends and those with RE programs struggling to stay afloat to meet the needs of a small church and its member demographics.

Our congregations are changing and growing to meet the fast-evolving changes in society at large ~ changes where families and volunteers are highly committed and very busy, at times completely overwhelmed with life’s demands on their time and energy.

As the DLL, I covenant to continue to work with our volunteers and staff as we develop and refine this new lifespan learning portfolio in Canada. This is a unique portfolio maintaining valuable continental connections through LREDA (Liberal Religious Educators Association), OWL trainings, YRUU and the UUA Youth Office as well as the UUA Young Adult Campus Ministry Office. It is also a unique portfolio because it can touch on all aspects of congregational life.

Together, with the CUC staff and volunteers across the country, I hope work to ensure that there are opportunities for exploration and learning for all ages, in all stages of congregational, regional and national growth, by supporting our leadership, nurturing connections, being generous in sharing resources and listening and responding with care to the needs of our communities.

There are numerous opportunities for us to learn and grow, to encourage one another, voice our challenges and questions, offer our programs’ best models and resources and imagine, develop, assess and refine lifespan learning in our congregations

I invite you to join in the conversation of what "lifespan learning" can be, within your congregations, at regional gatherings, at our national conference. View everything you plan ~ every event, meeting, conference, change ~ with a Lifespan Learning lens. Remember the families within your congregation. Remember the youth and young adults. Remember to support your professional and lay leadership with opportunities to grow and learn. Above all, I ask you to be patient with the process and keep the big picture in focus when day-to-day challenges greet us in U*U congregational life. We are all learning and growing together through this transition.

Together, with good will, integrity and flexibility, we can make "Of Regions and RNGs" implementation plan work, and work well, to meet the diverse needs of our constituents and ultimately to affect positive change in the world. As an enthusiastic U*U religious educator, supporter, connector, advocate, team player and optimist, I give it all I’ve got!

I thank you again for this opportunity.