Summer & Fall 2024 Courses
Introducing our Summer and Fall semester course offerings! Check out the full line-up of courses below.
While exploring Starr King, you can take any of these classes as a Special Student before you are fully enrolled. If you successfully complete the class and decide to enroll in one of our certificate or degree programs, this Special Student course will transfer. Spots for Special Students are limited and on an as-available basis. Learn more about registering as a Special Student here.
Summer: June 3 – August 28
Early Registration: April 15-26
General Registration: June 3-14
Late Registration: The first day of the course if there is no pre-work
- Active Imagination for Chaplains
- Beginner’s Meditation Workshop
- Multi-Religious Core Intensive: Theory and Method
- UU Ministerial Leadership Core Intensive
- UU Polity
Fall Semester
Early Registration: April 15-26
General Registration: August 19-30
Late Registration: September 3-13
- 21st Century Eco-Humanism & Eco-Naturalism
- Adult Faith Development
- Advanced Topics in Meditation
- Advanced Topics in Spiritual Practices/Depth Psychology
- Deep Listening for All Forms of Ministry
- ECO Core
- Eco-theologies
- Entrepreneurial Ministry: An Emerging Model of Spiritual Leadership
- Introduction to Preaching in a Cross-Cultural Context
- Introduction to Hebrew Bible
- Introduction to Islam
- Introduction to Pastoral Counseling
- Leadership Along the Way
- Paths for Liberation: An Introduction to Buddhism
- Queer Studies: Multi-Religious Perspectives
- Transformative Ritual Craft
- UU History
- WEAV Training for UU Congregations
Scroll down to learn more about each course!
Summer
Active Imagination for Chaplains
Kelly Ann (KA) Nelson
Mondays, Wednesdays, & Fridays | August 2-23 | 3:00 – 6:00 pm PT
“Active imagination,” a term developed by psychoanalyst C. G. Jung, is a way in which the imaginal realm may be engaged with deliberately in an attempt to access and integrate deeper self-understanding. This three unit online synchronous seminar will explore active imagination through a post-colonial, multi-religious, and Education to Counter Oppression (ECO) lens, broadening the scope of the discipline while students’ simultaneously develop their own practice to carry with them into their ministry as a tool for sustaining the Self a challenging profession. Learn more!
Beginner’s Meditation Workshop
Dr. Som Pourfarzaneh
Mondays | June 3-24 | 5:00 – 6:30 pm PT
This online synchronous course will introduce basic meditation techniques with an emphasis on self-care. Participants will learn foundational elements of sitting meditation, including correct posture and body alignment, followed by methods for progressive relaxation and mindfulness of the breath. The series will also offer tools for setting up a daily practice and a brief introduction to moving meditation. Learn more!
Multi-Religious Core Intensive: Theory and Method
Dr. Som Pourfarzaneh
Monday-Friday | August 12-23 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm PT
This online synchronous course will present a framework for the practice and understanding of multi-religiosity, in a collaborative and pluralist environment. It will draw upon contemporary texts and guest lectures representing a diversity of faith traditions to provide an integrative context for understanding religious identity as non-binary and multifaceted. Students will be encouraged to participate in multi-spiritual practice and share their own multi-religious experiences and rituals to foster discussion about non-binary religious identity from a variety of perspectives. Learn more!
UU Ministerial Leadership Core Intensive
Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt & Rev. Tera Landers
Monday-Friday | August 5-9 & 19-21 | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm PT
This CORE intensive course is co-taught by Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt and Rev. Tera Landers and focuses on the theological foundations and habits of mind necessary to be a self-defined leader among Unitarian Universalists, either in congregations or in other UU settings. Students will have the opportunity to test their current skills in a series of real-world challenges likely to be faced in parish or community settings. Learn more!
UU Polity
Rev. Dr. Meg Richardson
Wednesday-Sunday | June 19-23 | Various Times
Students will discover the mechanics of governance by observing Unitarian Universalist polity in action. We will attend plenary sessions, business mini-assemblies, and worship services, as well as meet as a class on Zoom during breaks to process our observations, learn the history of congregational polity in contrast to other polity paradigms, and thus locate our polity in its theological and cultural contexts. Learn more!
Fall
21st Century Eco-Humanism & Eco-Naturalism
Dr. Yvonne C. Garrett
Wednesdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
This online synchronous course aims to serve as a space for investigation and exploration of Humanism and Naturalism and how they have evolved in the 21st Century into what can be called Eco-Humanism and Eco-Naturalism. Particular emphasis will be placed on how Eco-supports social justice activism(s) and intersectional, multi-cultural justice work. Learn more!
Adult Faith Development
Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme
Thursdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
This online synchronous course provides an overview of the theory and practice of adult faith formation in progressive churches, especially Unitarian Universalist congregations. Topics include adult learning theories, including culture and context in the theory and practice of adult learning; frameworks for understanding the congregation as a multi-generational, liberatory, learning community; and the power of education and spiritual growth to address injustice and foster the wholeness and liberation of people, their communities and environment. Learn more!
Advanced Topics in Meditation
Dr. Som Pourfarzaneh
Thursdays | 5:00 – 6:30 pm PT
This online synchronous course will build upon the basic foundations of meditation and introduce methods for developing concentration, encouraging self-care, and taking one’s practice into the workplace to be of best benefit to one’s self and others. The series will offer tools for strengthening an existing daily practice and resources for further learning and discovery. Learn more!
Advanced Topics in Spiritual Practices/Depth Psychology
Rev. Dr. Pamela D. Hancock
Thursdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
This online synchronous course is a peer group seminar for students seeking deeper engagement with specific spiritual practices (such as a deep dive into a particular method of interest) or Depth Psychological topics (such as Active Imagination or shadow work). Like a SKIL, students develop unique learning arcs and outcomes in partnership with and approved by the instructor within the first two weeks of the term. Learn more!
Deep Listening for All Forms of Ministry
Rev. Dr. Pamela D. Hancock
Every Other Wednesday | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
In this course students will explore, develop and/or deepen their ability to utilize Deep Listening (also called Active Listening) to strengthen their capacity to provide parishioners, clients, patients, etc., with authentic spiritual care. The class will be experiential and multi-religious, drawing on the wisdom of experts in the field—both psychological and spiritual. Learn more!
ECO Core
Dr. Shannon Frediani
Wednesdays | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
In this synchronous online course, students work together to form a framework for counter-oppressive spiritual leadership. Drawing on Unitarian Universalist and multi-religious sources, we will explore how in the midst of a world marked by tragedy, sorrow and injustice, there remain abiding resources of beauty and grace that nourish resistance, offer healing, and call us to accountability and community building. Learn more!
Eco-theologies
Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme
Tuesdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
As theologians have responded to the injustices and harm of human-made ecological crises, climate catastrophes, and social inequities, a variety of critical and constructive theologies have emerged. The theologians studied in this course are rooted in Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish traditions, with an emphasis on ecofeminist, ecowomanist, queer ecotheologies, and Native American theologies. Learn more!
Entrepreneurial Ministry: An Emerging Model of Spiritual Leadership
Rev. Dr. Matta Ghaly
Wednesdays | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
Many religious professionals are turning towards entrepreneurial ministry to activate and sustain their vocations amidst the decline of mainline religious institutions. Others feel a strong call to spiritual leadership but sense layers of misalignment with established spiritual communities. This online synchronous course is intended for those who wish to explore entrepreneurial ministry as an emerging model for engaging in spiritual leadership. Learn more!
Introduction to Preaching in a Cross-Cultural Context
Rev. Leslie Takahashi
Thursdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
This non-lectionary, thematic online synchronous preaching course embraces counter oppressive ministry through worship and the arts. Hands on learning will combine the sharing and peer review of brief homilies with exercises aimed at identifying your authentic preaching voice. Learn more!
Introduction to Hebrew Bible
Dr. Eric Harvey
Mondays | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm PT
This course will explore the interpretation of Hebrew biblical texts in their ancient social, literary, and historical contexts as well as their reception in later periods. By surveying a wide range of questions, interpretations, and translations, students will discover the diversity of traditions it has generated. Learn more!
Introduction to Islam
Dr. Som Pourfarzaneh
Wednesdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
This online synchronous course will give an introduction to the Islamic tradition in its religious, historical, and cultural contexts, paying particular attention to the diversity of expressions of Islam within each of these categories. The course will discuss the theological foundations of the tradition, the history of its development, and different expressions of its praxis that have evolved out of Muslim cultures and societies. Learn more!
Introduction to Pastoral Counseling
Rev. Shane Nelson
Asynchronous Online
This asynchronous online pastoral counseling course will introduce students to culturally responsive counseling practices and foster multicultural awareness. Students will examine societal and institutional structures of power and privilege, and will become more aware of the biases, prejudices, and microaggressions that are detrimental to the growth of the human spirit. Learn more!
Leadership Along the Way
J. Tyson Casey
Mondays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
The rationale for this course is to develop one’s own life-regenerating leadership along the long arc of social change and transformation that existed before our time and will continue after us. We will explore ways of engaging and directing energy within an ecosystem so as to encourage diversity and distribution of leadership. Learn more!
Paths for Liberation: An Introduction to Buddhism
J. Tyson Casey
Thursdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
The rationale for this online synchronous course is to introduce some of the core teachings of the Buddha, by entering through perspectives and practices within the three most prevalent paths of Buddhism—Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. These paths provide initial openings into the endless gates of the living Dharma that can include additional lineages of praxis. Learn more!
Queer Studies: Multi-Religious Perspectives
Dr. Hugo Cordova Quero
Asynchronous Online
In an increasingly changing and globalized world, the intersection of religious and queer studies is vital for understanding the construction of identities. This asynchronous online course is designed to introduce you to the place given to gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, the sexual division of labor, gender role expectations, race, and ethnicity within world religions’ theo(ideo)/logical discourses. Learn more!
Transformative Ritual Craft
Taya Mâ Shere
Tuesdays | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
Transformative Ritual Craft is an exploration into the art and technology of ritual craft. This synchronous online course supports students in developing a nuanced understanding of successful ritual structures and empowers students in cultivating skills to create and guide ritual. The course itself is a ritual immersion, with each class meeting structured as a ritual experience. Learn more!
UU History
TBA
Asynchronous Online
This asynchronous online course begins with a discussion of recent historical developments in Unitarian Universalism and then extends back through time to the various antecedents of Unitarianism and Universalism in pre-Reformation Europe, all the way back to the early church and the Council of Nicea. Learn more!
WEAV Training for UU Congregations
Dr. Shannon Frediani
Fridays | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
WEAV is the curriculum designed for UU congregations for building spiritual community that involves counter-oppressive spiritual engagement. It incorporates 1) education of systemic injustice, 2) resilience and self-care practices, as well as 3) restorative process for mending and revitalizing spiritual community when and where harm has occurred. Please note: this training to become a facilitator is a two semester commitment. Learn more!