Public Activities / Pastoral Care - Autumn 2025
Place:
Prague, Community centre Unitaria, Anenská 5, Praha 1
LECTURERS:
Rev. Erika Hewitt, Minister of Worship Arts, UUA, USA
Rev. Ant Howe, Unitarian College, UK
Rev. Dr. Nicole Kirk, Meadville Lombard Theological School, USA
Mgr. Bára Procházková, Community Centre Unitaria
Rev. Petr Samojský, D.Min., Unitarian Church of Prague, OŠS, Unitarian Academy
PhDr. Kristýna Ledererová Kolajová, Unitarian Academy
SCHEDULE:
Educational retreat, October 18–19
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P Module
Public activities
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N Module
Pastoral care
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Saturday, October 18
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Sunday, October 19
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9.45–11.15
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How can Unitarian communities/congregations be defined externally and why
/ The importance of religious community and the forms of support it can have for the non-Unitarian visitors
/ The meaning, significance and transformations of Unitarian civic engagement
/ Language of reverence and its use
/ Support for personal spirituality
/ Visitor, member – what is a healthy way to get involved in a Unitarian community
(Kristýna Ledererová) |
8.30–10.00
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The role of a minister in pastoral care
options, duties, principles, responsibility
/ Public x private x confidential, boundaries
/ To offer or not to offer pastoral care actively
/ A precisely allocated time for pastoral care, or rather a continuous service?
(Erika Hewitt)
Is there any difference in pastoral work in the Czech and US Unitarian communities?
(Discussion in the final part)
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12.30–14.30
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Ceremonies, rituals and rites of passages
/ The importance and benefit for the non-religious person of today /
/ What and how to offer the public from this area
(Erika Hewitt) |
12.30–14.30
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Signals and manifestations indicating the need for pastoral work
/ How to respond to it correctly and in time
/ How to offer pastoral care
(Petr Samojský) |
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15.00–17.30
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Worship service – how to work with it in a way that is understandable and attractive to the public
/ The potential of Unitarian worship (like a basic, most common and in many communities the only Unitarian program)
/ Can our worship services be of interest to the public? By what? For whom? What can arouse or strengthen the impression in a person that he wants to return to the Unitarian community?
/ Using creativity in the preparation and leading the Unitarian worship service with the aim of reaching the public
/ How is Unitarian identity created, strengthened, clarified, and updated through a worship service? Can our identity also become lost and blurred during worship?
(Erika Hewitt)
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15.00–17.30 |
Communication as the basis of pastoral work
/ What is communication
/ Specifics of communication of the minister in the congregation
/ Specifics of communication in pastoral work
(Petr Samojský)
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Educational retreat, November 8–9
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P Module
Public activities
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N Module
Pastoral care
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Saturday, November 8
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Sunday, November 9
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9.30–11.00
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Awareness / communication, promotion, presentation possibilities
/ To what extent does it make sense to devote time, human potential and money to presentation and promotion
/ Are there effective ways of promoting religious activities?
(Bara Prochazkova) |
9.00–10.00
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Prevention in pastoral work
/ How much time to devote to pastoral work
/ Assistants – who to involve and how to train
/ Pastoral work with a group (versus an individual approach to the individual)
(Ant Howe) |
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12.30–14.30
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Possibilities for cooperation
/ With other organizations, institutions, cross-cutting events
/ Open days, celebrations of important social and cultural anniversaries, days, events
/ Interfaith dialogue
(Ant Howe – plus KLK, Nicole Kirk, students…) |
12.30–14.30
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Challenging moments in our lives
/ Pain, loss, illness, death and other difficult periods in our lives and in the life of the community
/ Individual level of sharing and how to work with it
/ Accompanying the dying and caring for the bereaved
(Ant Howe) |
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15.00–17.30
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Our principles in additional programs and activities
/ Inclusion – who is welcome? (can/should we make any demands on a member?)
/ Can the multiplicity and uniqueness of our spiritual paths be used to strengthen the integrity of the Unitarian congregation?
/ Multigenerational and multicultural community
/ Social justice and equal relationships between people
/ Ecology, ecospirituality, relationship to the environment where we live
(Kristýna Ledererová) |
15.00–17.00
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Pastoral work in other churches
(external lecturer) |