Rev. Kristen Kuriga
  • Welcome
  • About
    • My Story
    • Experience & Training
  • My Ministry
    • Worship
    • Religious Education
    • Pastoral Care
    • Social Justice
    • Theology
    • Leadership
  • Writing
    • Sermons
    • Rites of Passage
  • Contact

Experience & Training

Ministry and Professional Experience

Assistant Minister
First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, CA
August 2023-present

Minister

Saltwater Unitarian Universalist Church, Des Moines, WA
November 2018-July 2023

Sabbatical Preaching Minister

Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Vista, CA
April-June 2018

Chaplain Resident
Sharp Healthcare, San Diego, CA
September 2016-August 2017

Social Justice and South Bay Ministry Teams Coordinator
First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego, CA
September 2009-August 2016
 
San Diego Regional Organizer
California Faith for Equality, San Diego, CA
September 2010-April 2011               

Research Analyst and Campaigner

SEIU Local 1877, Justice for Janitors, San Diego & Orange County , CA
April 2006-February 2008

Program Coordinator, NY Union Semester Program
Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies,
New York, NY
​September 2004-March 2006 

​Intern/Researcher
New York Jobs with Justice, New York, NY
September 2002-August 2003


​Education

Starr King School for the Ministry, Berkeley, CA
Master of Divinity, January 2014-May 2017

Sharp Metro Campus and Sharp Home Health, San Diego CA
Clinical Pastoral Education, 4 units, September 2016-August 2017

Sharp Home Health, San Diego, CA
Clinical Pastoral Education, 1 unit, June-December 2015

University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Master of Arts in Peace and Justice Studies, August 2008-August 2009

Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
Bachelor of the Arts, September 2000-May 2004


Professional Development & Learning Opportunities      


Eco-Ministry Certificate Program, Center for Wild Spirituality
    October  2022 to present (year-long program)
Poetry of Resilience Workshops, Winter & Summer 2022
UU Ministers Association (UUMA) Ministry Days, '16, '19, '21,'22
UUMA Institute for the Learning Ministry, '22
PNWD UUMA Professional Days, '18, '19, '21, '22
UUA General Assemblies, June '11, '12, '15, '16, '19, '21, '22
Collective Trauma Summit, '20 &'21
Revolutionary Love Conference: The Courage to Imagine, 2021
Critical Race Theory & Intersectionality Summer School, 2021

Mosaic Makers Conferences: DC, Tulsa & San Diego, Feb. '12, Nov. '13, Oct ‘17
Professional Chaplain Education Events, Sharp Spiritual Care,  Feb & June, '16 & '17
Organizing for Change: Addressing Classism in our Faith Communities, March '16
UU In-Care Program/Ministerial Formation Network, 2014-2016
UUA Innovative Learning Circle: Multi-site Ministries, Summer 2015
Be Art Now, Earl Lectures, Pacific School of Religion, Jan '15
Leap of Faith Program, UU Pacific Western Region, Fall'14 -Spring '15
Border Immersion in Tijuana, UU Justice Ministry of CA, July '14
UUA Pacific Southwest District Assemblies, April '11, '12, '14
Multicultural Learning Circles, San Diego Organizing Project, March-May '14
Building Multicultural Power Conference, SD Organizing Project, Feb. '14
UUA Pacific Western Regional Assembly, April '13
Council I, II & III Training, Ojai Foundation, April '09, July '09, July '13
Leading Edge Conference on Building Multiracial Congregations, April ‘13
Seminarians to be Discernment Program, Jan-May '12
Industrial Areas Foundation Community Organizer Training, Nov. '10
Youth, Art and Action Delegation to Colombia, Fellowship of Reconciliation, March '09​
Community Storytelling through the Arts, Feb-May '09
Volunteer, Prison Meditation Project, Feb'08-Oct '09
Sweetwater Zen Center, Board of Trustees and Guardian Council, '08-'09
Nurturing the Call to Service Program, Ojai Foundation, March-Dec '08
Trip Co-leader, Rebuilding Trip to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, Jan '06
Co-chair, Student Organizers for Social Justice, Sarah Lawrence, Nov '02-May '04


Skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Skilled facilitator of small groups and workshops
Effective grant writer and detail-oriented administrator
Computer proficiency, including all programs in Microsoft office
Conversational in Spanish (comprehension 90%, speaking 70%)
The mural pictured above can be found in the social hall of the South Bay Campus of the First UU Church of San Diego. One of my final projects as the coordinator was to facilitate a community mural project with an art professor and local students from Southwestern Community College. The students learned about the mission of the church, our work for justice, and our aspiration to create the beloved community. Together, they sketched and painted this mural: a vision of welcoming, community, support, and living together with peace, love and justice. 
Picture
With the Saltwater UU Church Search Team 
at my Installation 
“We experienced you as heart-centered, smart, wise, self-aware, self-assured, articulate, concise, prepared, integrated, polished and engaging! We appreciated your pastoral presence and enthusiasm, and experienced you as being theologically grounded and connected.”
--Ministerial Fellowship Committee of the UUA, September 2017
​
Picture
Graduation from the Clinical Pastoral Education Chaplain Residency Program at Sharp Healthcare
"Wholehearted. That’s my one word assessment of the ministry of Kristen. And my most enthusiastic word of support. Kristen is an exceptionally well-prepared, deeply grounded, intellectually solid, creatively engaging pastor, preacher, prophet and teacher.” 
​--Rev. Michelle Favreault
Picture
Celebrating receiving Full Fellowship at
​General Assembly with colleagues
"We love your commitment to your professional development and know that will continue to serve you well. Congratulations on reaching Full Fellowship!
--Ministerial Fellowship Committee of the UUA,
May 2022
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  • Welcome
  • About
    • My Story
    • Experience & Training
  • My Ministry
    • Worship
    • Religious Education
    • Pastoral Care
    • Social Justice
    • Theology
    • Leadership
  • Writing
    • Sermons
    • Rites of Passage
  • Contact