Conversation with Unity LeadersDecember 3, 2015

21st Century Education for21st Century Spiritual Seekers

Bringing It Home

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Today’s Agenda

• Opening Prayer• Painting the Big Picture• Assembling the Team• Unity Education Retrospective• Ministerial Curriculum Clay

Model• Q & A• Feedback• Schedule for Future Calls• Follow-Up with Survey and

One-on-One calls• Closing Prayer

Guidelines for Discussion

1. The calls will last 90 minutes.2. To accommodate everyone’s ability to

participate, we’ve set up guidelines for this call.

3. Questions and comments will be taken in the order received. Press *6 to get in line to share.

4. Please state your name before speaking.5. There will be a two-minute time limit for each

speaker. This sound will be audible at the end of the time limit.

6. Please use respectful language and speak only for yourself.

Matthew 18:20“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Painting the Big Picture

• Worldwide demand for relevant, contemporary, spiritual education

• Connecting spiritual aspirants with qualified instructors worldwide

• Lay and leadership education

• Live and self-paced instruction

• “Best of Class” delivery platform providing high quality, affordable and accessible education

• Using instructors from throughout New Thought

HR

Credentialing

Fund Raising

Transition Finance

Assembling the Team

• “Toddler to elder” education• Quality credentialed leaders• Quality, accessible, affordable

and sustainable• Draw upon Unity’s expertise• Tying it all together• Other “background”

contributors• Serving those who are

“called”• Decrease cost• Reduce economic sacrifice• Reduce family displacement

Technology

SEEYouth and Family

MinisterialCurriculu

m

ProgramConsultant

s

Core

September 2016September 2016

Extraordinary Effort

o 1000+ hours invested thru Nov 2015o 31 field volunteerso Each one vetted for experience and expertiseo Wide spectrum of representation–large to small

ministries, long-tenured ministers to student and recent graduates, lay leaders, faculty and administration to field

o 4+ from UWM staffo Thru June 2016

Meet the Ministerial Curriculum Team

Rick Belous – Unity Institute 3rd year, career college-level educator

Lauri Boyd – Minister, Unity of Bloomington (recently resigned)

Deborah Frownfelter – Exec Dir, Research, Dev & Training UWM

Jim Gaither – President, Holos University Graduate Seminary

Erin McCabe – Minister, Unity Village Chapel

Lynn O’Dell – Credentialing Coordinator UWM

David Ridge – Minister, Living Water Spiritual Community

Mark Schindler – Minister, Unity of Auburn

Catherine Thomas – Exec Dir, Unity Urban Ministerial School

Unity Education – a Retrospective

Original Fillmore Program (1920s-1950)• Correspondence Course & Multiple

Month-Long “Intensives” in KC, MO and 1+ years in Field => Ordination

• Graduates included Ernest Wilson

Post WWII Full-time Program (1950–early ‘60s)

• “Trade School” for GI Bill qualification• Graduates included Eric Butterworth &

Ruth Mosley

Grand Vision (mid-‘60s) • Vision: pre-school Montessori through

Seminary • First attempt to develop an accredited

school with Grad school standards & curriculum

Unity Education – a Retrospective

AUC Program (mid-‘60s –1983) • 3 years packed into 2 (with 2 summer semesters)

Unity School for Religious Studies (1983-2004) • Graduates included most

ministers now on UWM Board • Urban School students

spent 1 year full-time at Unity Village

Unity Institute (2004-2016) • Goal: becoming accredited • Model: St Paul’s Seminary

with distance learning added

Program Structure – “Clay Model”

• Proposing 3-year program:• Live and self-paced online courses plus face-to-face

intensives• Internships• Unity-conferred M.Div.• Eligible for licensing or

ordination

• Delivery mechanism:• Interactive online• Self-paced online• Face-to-face classes• Hybrid classes (online

and face-to-face)

Key Areas of Courses/Intensives

• Ministry Arts & Skills: • Pastoral Counseling• Communications (Homiletics)• Ministry Administration & Leadership• Education for all ages including Youth & Family

• Spiritual Development:• Self Awareness• Honing Emotional and

Spiritual Intelligences• Prayer & Meditation• Interpersonal Skills

• Scriptural Studies: • Bible History• Bible Interpretation• World Religions• Other Sacred Scriptures

• Historical Studies:• History of Christianity• Foundations of Unity and New Thought

• Unity Metaphysical Studies: • Writings of Charles & Myrtle Fillmore• Other Unity Authors & Teachers

Key Areas of Courses/Intensives

Possible Field Experience

• Preaching• Teaching• Pastoral Counseling• Youth Ministry• Spiritual Social Action• Ministry Administration• Chaplaincy

The Online “Classroom” Experience

• Evolution, not revolution• Building on our successes

• Delivered using state-of-the-art Learning Mgmt System • Leading-edge instructional and collaborative tools• Facilitates student engagement and sparks interaction

• Optimized online learning environment• Fully interactive, live presentations and discussions• Small group breakout sessions• Self-paced for material not requiring interaction

• Optimized teaching environment• Easy-to-use lesson templates to speed class prep• Instructional design assistance provided to the instructor• Student monitoring tools to track progress

Field Ministers’ Access

• Offered to all credentialed leaders • Broaden and sharpen your existing skills• Increase your available resources–knowledge and

people• Share your insights with other ministers–leverage

your mutual creativity and synergy

Feedback, Please …

So that we may follow-up with you, please:• Give us your name & ministry and • Key into the chat window the best phone number to reach

you. • If you are calling in, you can email your best phone number

to Marti@unity.org.

•First, what is your reaction to having field experience in a ministry, perhaps up to a year, required of each student?•For credentialed leaders: In what areas did you feel least prepared when you landed in your first ministry?•What additional skills do you want now – i.e. What courses would you like to see in Continuing Education?

Survey

We are publishing a survey, as soon as this call is over, for your response.

It will be open until midnight, Dec 14, but please check your email and fill it out as soon as possible while this call is still fresh in your mind.

Your responses will provide vital input to our ministerial curriculum design.

Q & A

Again, so we may follow-up, please give us your name & ministry and key into the chat window the best phone number to reach you. If you are calling in, you can email your best phone number to Marti@unity.org.

Future Dialogues

Your feedback and further development efforts …

Call: Wednesday, Jan 13, 2PM CST

Presentation and discussion at January meetings

Call: in mid-to-late February (check The Path or www.UnityWorldwideMinistries.org/conversations-with-

leaders)

Your added feedback and further development efforts … Targeted completion: March 31, 2016

With Board review & approval… Presentation at theUnity People’s Conference, June 13-17, 2016

Thank You!… for being with us today …

… for your feedback …… for your support …… for your prayers …

Closing Prayer