I’ve always loved church, even when I was a little kid. I love the community, the ritual, the singing, the way everything works. But it took me until 2015 to find my life’s calling as a religious educator.

From the age of 6 to age 18, I attended a Methodist Church in a small town in Texas. I have an early memory of being in church next to my mom during what I thought of as the weekly “Long Prayer.” I was around 7 years old and I thought Rev. Adams would never stop praying! But I loved all the other elements of the service: singing the hymns, the offertory, and the doxology; reciting the Lord’s Prayer, passing the collection plate, and celebrating communion. When I look back on how I was churched, I am amazed at how inclusive and respectful they were of the children and youth of the congregation during those times when that wasn’t really the norm in interactions with children in 1970’s and 1980’s in my segment of society in the United States.

I no longer share the same beliefs with that congregation, but I’m grateful for that upbringing. Today in my role as religious educator, I aspire to provide the children and youth of Unitarian Universalism a faith community where they can feel as included, respected, and nurtured as I did at that little church in Texas years ago. It’s so important to provide opportunities for everyone to feel a part of something larger than themselves, to experience ritual, and to be a part of a welcoming community, so they know they are encouraged and supported to engage in their lifelong search for truth and meaning.  It’s been my privilege to do this at the congregation I have served since 2015 as the Director of Lifespan Religious Education.

I’m married to Rev. Jamie Hinson-Rieger, a UU Minister, and we are blessed to have three wonderful adult children—Claudia (28), Jordan (25), and Sam (25). Claudia is an artist who also works with small children. Sam works with Indigenous language reclamation. Jordan is getting a degree in public health. We also have a turtle named Mike D. and two dogs—a golden retriever-ish type of dog named Molly and a black lab-ish type of dog named Shadow.