Introducing Our Summer & Fall 2025 Courses
Registration is OPEN NOW for our Summer and Fall semester course offerings and for the first time ever, we’re offering classes in July! 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.
This year we’re excited to offer a brand new opportunity for non-degree students! We invite you to take a class with us for 50% off. Register for any Summer or Fall course and get half off if you pay in full by June 30. This offer cannot be combined with any other discounts. Some exclusions apply. Email us at admissions@sksm.edu to learn more.
Summer: June 2 – August 27
- Beginner’s Meditation Workshop
- Ethical and Community-Centered Fundraising
- Multi-Religious Core Intensive: Theory and Method
- Preaching and Public Speaking From A Faith Center
- Psychedelic Policy, Advocacy, and Decriminalization
- Religious Freedom in the 21st Century
- Sonic Theology: Mantras for Healing, Growth, and Embracing Transitions
- Unitarian Universalist Ministerial Leadership
- Unitarian Universalist Polity
Fall Semester
- Advanced Topics in Spiritual Practices/Depth Psychology
- An Introduction to Pastoral Counseling
- Congregation and Nonprofit Administration
- ECO Core
- Ethics of Violence: Reviewing Faith, State, & Society
- Introduction to Christian Scriptures
- Introduction to Islam
- Introduction to Religious Education
- Leadership Along the Way
- Paths for Liberation: An Introduction to Buddhism
- Promised Land and Immigrants
- Psychedelic Traditions in the Cradle of Civilization: Anthropology, Myth, and Indigenous Practices
- Revolutionary Witchcraft
- Towards (A Theatre Of) Empowerment
- Transformative Ritual Craft
- WEAV Training for UU Congregations
Scroll down to learn more about each course!
Summer
Beginner's Meditation Workshop
Dr. Som Pourfarzaneh
Mondays | June 2-23
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!
Ethical Community-Centered Fundraising
Jessica Neno Cloud, CFRE
Fridays & Saturdays | July 18-19 & 25-26 and August 1-2 & 22-23 | 1:00 – 5:00 pm PT
This hybrid course (with synchronous and asynchronous components) introduces religious and nonprofit leaders to ethical, community-centric, and evidence-based fundraising. Participants will explore key fundraising strategies — such as donor cultivation, grant writing, and digital appeals — while centering justice, equity, and community well-being. The course will provide a philosophical framework for devising fundraising strategies, emphasizing ethical considerations while empowering leaders with the practical skills necessary to build confidence in this area of their work. Learn more!
Multi-Religious Core Intensive: Theory and Method
Dr. Som Pourfarzaneh
Monday-Friday | August 4-15 | 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. Learn more!
Preaching and Public Speaking from a Faith Center
Rev. Leslie Takahashi
Monday-Friday | August 18-22 | 2:00 – 4:00 pm PT
This online synchronous course will focus on how ministers use the oral expressive arts to communicate with those they serve. Students will explore the practice of preaching and also public speaking in other settings which allow the values of one’s ministries to be connected with the world and its context. Also explored will be the ways our beliefs and theologies can be communicated in ways pertinent to the issues of our days. Learn more!
Psychedelic Policy, Advocacy, and Decriminalization
Dr. Larry Norris
Mondays & Thursdays | July 3-31 | 11:00 am – 1:00 pm & 2:00 – 4:00 pm PT
In this online synchronous course of lectures and active discussion, students will examine the entheogenic and psychedelic movement and ecosystem, blending policy analysis with a critical exploration of psychedelics and their societal impact. Students will engage with key debates in the field, various ethical considerations, and the intersection of understanding the historical, spiritual, cultural, and scientific contexts of psychedelics to challenge misinformation and reframe public perception. Learn more!
Religious Freedom in the 21st Century
Dr. Sabrina Dent
Wednesdays | July 2-23 | 1:30 – 5:00 pm PT
Religious privilege has, and continues to, shape the discourse about public policies in the United States. Too often this imposes on the civil and human rights of marginalized groups in the areas of voting rights, public education, health care, immigration and LGBTQ rights. The struggle for freedom and justice cannot be fully understood without acknowledging the First Amendment freedoms at the heart of these struggles. Particular attention will be given to how and in what ways power, violence, identity, and pluralism form and frame the discourse of religious freedom across space and time. Learn more!
Sonic Theology: Mantras for Healing, Growth, and Embracing Transitions
Dr. Pravina Rodrigues
Tuesdays | July 1-29 | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
In Hindu theo/alogies, the universe is a sonic vibration emanating from the divine being. Hence Guy Beck calls Hindu scriptures (mantras) “sonic theology” and “sonic liturgy.” Rooted in the principle of sound, these texts (mantras) are to be chanted in designated meters during rituals, liturgical services, festivals, and personal prayers. Drawing on the sonic nature of Hindu sacred texts, this course presents Hindu approaches to sacred sound in an acoustic dimension. It introduces students to the theo/alogies or cosmologies that underpin mantras while presenting mantras for healing, growth, and embracing transitions. Learn more!
Unitarian Universalist Ministerial Leadership
Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme
August 11-20 | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm PT
This CORE intensive course 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. The goal is to allow student the chance to confront possible issues while the stakes are low. Learn more!
Unitarian Universalist Polity
Rev. Dr. Meg Richardson
Wednesday-Sunday | June 18-22 | Various Times
The Unitarian Universalist Polity Immersion Class will be offered as a hybrid course, in-person, online and synchronously during the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly, held June 18-22 in Baltimore Maryland. Students will discover the mechanics of governance by observing Unitarian Universalist polity in action. We will attend plenary sessions, business mini-assemblies, worship services, and meet as a class. Learn more!
Fall
Advanced Topics in Spiritual Practices/Depth Psychology
Rev. Dr. Pamela Hancock
Various Times
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!
An Introduction to Pastoral Counseling
Rev. Jeannette Bessinger
Wednesdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
Pastoral counseling is a specialized hybrid modality that integrates religious and spiritual resources with clinical mental health resources to offer a more holistic, mind/body/spirit approach to healing and growth. Accredited pastoral counselors require both professional mental health licensure and in-depth religious and/or theological training. In this course, we’ll track how the path of accreditation in pastoral counseling is changing in real time in response to increasing regulation and state licensing requirements around counseling and psychotherapy. Learn more!
Congregation and Nonprofit Administration
Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme
Thursdays | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
Organization and administration can propel a congregation or nonprofit organization to thrive or wither. This course equips ministers and other religious leaders to provide effective and informed leadership in collaboration with staff and volunteers. Topics include fundraising and stewardship, budgeting and financial statements, recruiting and working with staff and volunteers, organizational systems and leading for growth and change, governance models, facilities and safety, and time management. Learn more!
ECO Core
Dr. Shannon Frediani
Wednesdays | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
In this required synchronous online core course, students work together to form a framework for counter-oppressive spiritual leadership. We will ask: how can spirituality, ministry, and religious activism respond to the multiple and intersecting realities of injustice, suffering, and oppression in our lives and our world? What models of justice and sustainable community invite our commitment? Learn more!
Ethics of Violence: Reviewing Faith, State, & Society
Ronnie Boyd
Thursdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
This online synchronous course offers students the opportunity to critically examine the ways in which violence serves as both a constant backdrop and foundation to US culture and society. Through an understanding white supremacist capitalist imperialist patriarchy, students will learn how survivors of state and interpersonal violence have shaped the discourse around the ethics and propensity of violence in contemporary society. Learn more!
Introduction to Christian Scriptures
Dr. Ashley London Bacchi
Mondays | 3:10 – 5:00 pm PT
Students in this course will learn about the historical, cultural, and literary context of the texts which are traditionally referred to as the New Testament. Basic principles of biblical interpretation as well as issues related to reception history in a variety of historical and religious contexts will be discussed. This course will engage with the Synoptic Gospels, Johannine literature, Pauline and deutero-Pauline Epistles, Revelation as well as the Apocrypha and an assortment of pseudepigraphal texts with an emphasis on their contexts and how they relate to one another. In addition, feminist, postcolonial, and queer methodologies will be introduced in order to equip students to confront passages that have been interpreted in such a way that justifies violence as divinely sanctioned with liberating counter-oppressive readings. 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. It will also present contemporary issues related to Islam and Muslims, particularly in their representation throughout different types of media. Learn more!
Introduction to Religious Education
Rev. Dr. Sheri Prud’homme
Tuesdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
This online synchronous course provides a broad introduction to the theory and practice of liberal religious education, with an emphasis on Unitarian Universalist congregations. Topics include an overview of the history and philosophy of Unitarian Universalist children’s religious education and ministry, teaching methods and learning processes, theories of human development, the congregation as an educating community, current approaches and innovations in religious education for children and youth including multigenerational ministries and worship-centered models, collegial relationships and professional standards for religious educators, and curriculum resources. 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 to encourage diversity and distribution of leadership. This includes rediscovering our resilience and agency in challenging environments while leading in a way that honors the leadership present in any given moment, as well as the leadership that preceded and will follow such moments. 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. The course will consider some of the historical and cultural movements, adaptations, actions, and distinct positionalities that arose in relationship with the teachings of the Buddha and the innumerable lineages that followed. Learn more!
Promised Land and Immigrants
Dr. Hugo Córdova Quero
Asynchronous Online
This online asynchronous course will focus on the cases of Latina/o immigrants in the United States and Japan in relation to their experiences of faith, ethnicity, and gender. The approach is interdisciplinary as we will draw from several fields for the analysis of the class topics. The goal of the course is to provide grounds for students to acquire tools for understanding the different realities of immigrants. Issues of faith, race/ethnicity, gender and migration will be constantly connected to pastoral reflection throughout the course, especially since our world is increasingly becoming multicultural, multiethnic and multi-religious. Learn more!
Psychedelic Traditions in the Cradle of Civilization: Anthropology, Myth, and Indigenous Practices
Eleana Baskouta & Francisco Lopez Rivarola
Tuesdays | 2:10 – 5:00 pm PT
This online synchronous course will aim to provide a broad overview of the way in which psychedelics and altered states of consciousness practices have intertwined with human societies since before the so-called birth of “civilization”. We’ll explore the stories and myths of some of the cultures which have best kept the memory of their entheogenic past, ranging from the Amazon basin to ancient Greece. From this cultural and sociological standpoint, we’ll then analyze the current psychedelic landscape and the challenges and problems of a clinical model which is extracting these healing practices and medicines from the cultural, communal and spiritual containers which stewarded them for thousands of years. Learn more!
Revolutionary Witchcraft
Rev. Dr. Pamela Hancock
Every Other Thursday | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
This course is intended for those who are interested in learning the history of Pagan traditions and utilizing Witchcraft to strengthen their personal spiritual practices, future ministry, and activism. We will be exploring the history of Grimoires; as well as understanding the roles of witches, midwives, and nurses from the Middle Ages to modern times and how women were/are demonized; and finally how Witchcraft can be used for liberation and subversive tactics in ministry. Learn more!
Towards (A Theatre Of) Empowerment
Dr. Éva Patkó
Mondays | 5:30 – 8:00 pm PT
The course aims to open ways to recognize the power structures within artistic creation and the functioning of the artistic outcome. In all cases, these structures mirror societal mechanisms that are often hidden and embedded in our daily lives. Looking at them through a performative perspective, these power mechanisms can be recognized and analyzed. Together, we will find ways to deconstruct the power structures. This process will lead to what we will define as theatre of empowerment. Learn more!
Transformative Ritual Craft
Taya Mâ Shere
Tuesdays | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
This course 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. Students are encouraged to deepen their own ritual practices, to experience rituals in contexts new to them and to craft and guide ritual for community. Learn more!
WEAV Training for UU Congregations
Dr. Shannon Frediani
Fridays | 9:40 am – 12:30 pm PT
Become a WEAV facilitator! This is a two-semester commitment. It involves the 2-unit course in the fall and the 2-unit fieldwork course in the spring of 2026. The Fall semester 2-unit course takes participants through the actual 10 sessions of the WEAV training for UU congregations with an additional pre and post session class. This experience of engaging WEAV with time for Q&A after each session and weekly reflections lays the foundation. Learn more!
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