Director of Religious Education and Family Ministry

A native Californian, I was born in San Francisco. I grew up in Monrovia, 16 miles east of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley. I attended Whittier College. I graduated with a Liberal Arts degree, majoring in history and minoring in Spanish. I also received a certificate in Latin American Studies, and completed the requirements for a California Secondary Teaching Credential. After Scott and I were married, we moved to San Diego and have lived here since 1976. During our first years in San Diego I spent most of my time doing volunteer work in the community and becoming both a weaver and a spinner. Scott and I have two sons, Justin and Shawn. I have been the Director of Religious Education here at First Unitarian Universalist Church since 1993. I am a member of LREDA, the Liberal Religious Educators Association, and I currently serve on the UUA's Religious Education Credentialing Committee.

Our Religious Education Philosophy

As the Director of Religious Education, I see it as my role to help each individual here (child, youth and adult) to both see and feel themselves as equal members of this faith community. Our programs aim to assist each individual to understand our Unitarian Universalist heritage and to develop a “UU” Identity. It is also our goal to provide the context for individuals to develop a knowledge of and respect for other religions as well as and understanding of the place of religion in our culture. We must also challenge ourselves and each other to live out our values in our lives. This inevitably leads us to reach beyond ourselves and our doors and into the world at large.

These are challenging goals. It forces us to stretch and grow. We work hard at First Church to offer such challenges to individuals at all ages. Understanding how to provide these challenges while being realistic about the abilities and developmental process of each age is critical to helping every person develop their own sense of Unitarian Universalist identity. I encourage you to share your ideas for and concerns about our programs so that together we can help each other grow as religious beings and into a deeper sense of ourselves as Unitarian Universalists.