"He was amazing to work with. He is passionate, talented, and caring. Rob cares deeply about our UU faith and sharing its wisdom with those of all ages."
Liza Earle-Centers, Director of Lifespan Spiritual Exploration, Unitarian Church of Montpelier, VT
My RE roots go back to the late 1990s, when I was a parent volunteer teaching world religions to grade schoolers. Since then, I have called upon my years of performing as a magician to teach UU principles, whether to children or adults. In all my RE-related work, I’ve been motivated by a desire to see people want to come to church because they sense spiritual growth when they are there, or when they engage outside of Sundays within the faith community.
We are an embodying faith—to feel the spirit of life and love, to see its face in others and in ourselves. The reason I use magic in my ministry is because it is an effective way to help people, young and old, not only witness the mystery and wonder that fuels our spirits but feel it. Whether I am offering a Time for All Ages or teaching a student a new card trick, I align my magic with whatever educational framework is in play, be it Stepping Stones, Rainbow Promises, Tapestry of Faith, or a Soul Matters or Touchstones theme.
You can view some Time for All Ages examples below.
When well-practiced, our Seven Principles can do amazing (and very colorful) things.
Nothing is truly impossible--not when we practice our Unitarian Universalist principles.
A simple card trick shows how following our fourth principle can be, well, tricky. Can you follow the Ace?
UU MagicLab Was Born Out of a Pandemic
Originally conceived as just "MagicLab" for at-risk youth in public schools, I approached my local parish (Medford, MA) to offer MagicLab to their middle-schoolers, and UU MagicLab was born. When a fellow Starr King classmate in Montpelier, VT asked me if her son could join our sessions, we invited all the Montpelier middle-schoolers to join! The 12-week class concluded with the students performing a magic show for their families.