Thea Shapiro started as the First Church Unitarian’s Director of Religious Education on August 1, 2021. Previously, Thea served as DRE at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Andover for 17 years. During her tenure there, she led the Our Whole Lives programs for both elementary age children and junior high school youth, as well as numerous Coming of Age classes and celebrations, naming ceremonies, and intergenerational and adult worship services.

In addition to her varied DRE roles, Thea has served for many summers as head counselor and chaplain at youth camps run by the Ferry Beach Conference Center in Saco, Maine.

For more than a decade she has co-led an art and yoga workshop for adults during Religious Education Week at Ferry Beach.

During the school year, Thea teaches enrichment art and yoga classes at various schools and at the Boys and Girls Club in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Thea believes that children and youth are extraordinarily spiritual people who are able to express their joys, fears, sorrows and everything in between from a deep and honest place. Adults can learn a lot from children and youth about being in the moment.

Thea is a 200-hour certified yoga teacher and is also certified in children and teen yoga.

She attended and was ordained by CHIME (Chaplaincy Institute of Maine) in 2012 and attended the Philadelphia College of Art.

She is an artist, mother of two adult children, and a wife and partner to David.

Feel free to follow her on Instagram at @thea.art.