In 1990
Prairie Star
District UUA, recognizing that only a
few large congregations can afford the service of ministers and fully
accredited
religious
education directors, adopted a Commissioned Lay
Leadership
program to meet the needs of smaller congregations to have trained
leadership.
Karen Lee Kress
was the first Lay Leader to be commissioned
by the Prairie Star District. She is
trained to serve her congregation in all rights of passage including
weddings,
funerals, and child dedication services.
She was first commissioned in the fall of 1994 and has been
recommissioned every 3 years since.
Karen was one of the founding members of the Blue
Hills Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in 1981. She served as
President, Director of Religious Education, and a member of the
board. In 1988, she was hired as a part-time administrator,
director of religious education, and chaplain. In 1990, she
entered the Commissioned Lay Leader independent study program.
She attended over 100 hours of training in the UUA Department of
Religious Education Renaissance Program. She attended Unitarian
Universalist Midwest Leadership School in Beloit, Wisconsin, and served
as chair of the school for two years. She has served as chair of
the Prairie Star District UUA Religious Education Committee and has
served as Prairie Star District Resource Librarian for over 12
years. Karen was on the PSD Board of Directors for two years and
served as secretary of the District. She participated in writing
and setting up the PSD Commissioned Lay Leader Educational
Program. She also served on the Commissioned Lay Leader Committee
as chair.