Whole Church RE is a set of connected concepts, goals, and practices equipping congregations to put multigenerational faith development, and LOVE, at the center of religious community. What’s the relationship between religious education and faith development? Faith development or faith formation is the explicit and hopeful outcome of religious education programming, but it is also a result, whether or not it is recognized as such, of the whole church’s culture and community: all the ways the congregation connects and changes us. So, religious educators may be expected to be responsible for congregational faith development, but they don’t often have the power, authority, reach, or capacity to influence or lead the ways that happens in a church outside of religious education (RE) programming. By connecting the explicit work of RE with more of the wider community’s energy and aims, we can support RE professionals with more opportunities to succeed; connect children and families in RE to the congregational community; and expand the reach of RE to the whole church for more faith development (with all the blessings that brings to a congregation).

Structured learning — whether age-graded and multigenerational — inspire, equip and sustain faith development for people of all ages. This is not limited to a classroom. We know faith development also happens in worship, during social events, and in all kinds of shared community experiences. The more intentional we are in creating “expectational support” for whole church learning, the more transformational and effective it will be. Creative approaches honoring the unique needs of all the communities within a congregational community are essential — especially those that are shaped and/or adapted by UU leaders and laity for their own congregation (and its developmental, social, and cultural particularities). One way to do that is connecting people via RE practices and engagement, positionally and relationally: via the ministries whose work it is to bring about the congregation’s missional aims.

Below, you’ll see a list of faith development goals (many of which are also ministries common to congregations). They describe the aims of faith development. Where they align with existing ministries — for example, Justice Seeking and UU Social Justice ministry — they tell us where faith development for that aim is already underway or can be pursued. An overview of the goal or ministry, how faith development happens there, and suggestions for ways to bring the power of RE-specific practices to these goals/ministries, with a whole church lens, is included.

Remember, this doesn’t mean these goals/ministries become the responsibility of the RE program or professional, or that these suggestions will make sense in your congregation, or that your church has all these ministries. It certainly doesn’t mean you should try all of them at once. We hope you see possibility here: what can you imagine integrating well with your congregation’s existing work and energy? What sparks your imagination or that of another ministry leader? Talk it over, try it out, and adapt as needed.

Multigenerational Experiences

Faith communities have programs and activities that both meet the specific developmental needs of different age groups, and bring people together across age groups. Dynamic religious education strives to connect people of all ages for shared learning and mutual benefit. We have often done this by inviting adults to take part in our religious education programs as mentors, volunteers, and leaders. Whole Church RE invites us to imagine the ways that multigenerational experiences are a gift to people of all ages, and essential to the faith development goals we have for all UUs.

Shared learning and multigen community experiences create natural opportunities for youth to use their leadership gifts — whether in worship services or workshops, celebrations like Coming of Age and bridging, or justice-making efforts. And for adults who aren’t active in the lifelong process of faith development, or who “did RE years ago when my kids were young,” the impact of witnessing our faith’s values living so vibrantly in our youngest UUs, can be profound. Seeing themselves as “good ancestors” for UUism and their local church community (with a willingness to invest and share their time, talent, and treasure for its survival) is much easier when we can find ways to include older adults.

Whole Church thinking encourages us to bring multigenerational RE to them in coffee hour, worship, congregational fellowship and social justice work, with an emphasis on a covenantal commitment to building community. For this reason, multigenerational sharing and learning is at the center of our map of faith development goals, like love is at the center of our shared values.

Justice Making

UUs answer our faith’s call to work for justice and to be in solidarity with others doing the same in many settings — not just at church, but in our families, our local communities, and the wider world. How can these efforts be shaped toward greater solidarity across different communities in your church? Are there ways to connect groups and projects working for similar goals in different ways?

Communication about distinct projects can connect the whole church community, lifting up and making shared meaning of the way the public witness of our faith is powered by our shared values. Kids and youth inviting the congregation to witness or join in an RE activity (like chalking sidewalks by the church with UU-themed messages) encourages understanding and expression of our faith values in public — and help cultivate UU identity around justice-making. Looking for lifespan learning that supports Justice Making? Consider using the Mosaic anti-racism curriculum.

Pastoral Care

People of all ages have specific pastoral needs that are met in communities where people know how to listen deeply, how to be safe, and how to respond in ways that matter. When we center pastoral care as a ministry available to all, our whole congregation benefits — not only from the giving and receiving of care and compassion. When we normalize pastoral care as a core ministry of the congregation, we deepen our understanding that we are all in this together. We all have times when we either need, or can offer support to others.

How does your community engage in pastoral care already — and where are the gaps? Do you offer opportunities to learn how to do this sacred work well? The Youth Peer Pastoral Care training can be a great way to connect community care and faith development!

Identity Formation

Dynamic congregational faith development supports UUs in their lifelong journeys to figure out who they are as spiritual beings, relational beings, racial/ethnic and sexual beings, people of faith, justice makers, lifelong learners and leaders, as well as how they fit in multigenerational communities. Look for opportunities that engage congregants to live with faithful integrity — so that their Unitarian Universalist faith is inseparable from their identity as a whole person.

Families can build UU identity using a Full Week Faith prompt at home; ask them to report back during a worship service, or on a chalkboard in coffee hour regularly. This kind of “360°” communication can strengthen families’ sense of connection to the congregation and their faith. It also lifts up the process of identity formation as an important shared expectation for UUs — consider ways to honor and support elders in sharing their own UU testimonials in multigen settings, similar to the credo statements Coming of Age students share in many churches.

Spiritual Development

This is the intentional cultivation of spirituality through both individual and group practices and experiences. As spiritual beings, humans have the need to experience awe, gratitude, wonder, and a sense of both resonance and transcendence. A Whole Church approach to spiritual development should teach and offer practices and experiences that nurture and enliven our spirits, while connecting us, in sacred space and time.

Where, when, how — and for whom — does your congregation do this? How can you expand, for greater accessibility and inclusion? Children, religious newcomers, and neurodivergent folks may need extra support in this area. Shared singing has been shown to promote feelings of resonance. Likewise, offering Soul Work as an option during worship supports the capacity for mindfulness and contemplative practices. This work promotes stillness and calm, encouraging what neuroscience calls “flow state,” often experienced during meditation.

Covenantal Leadership

Leadership is a covenantal practice in which people throughout the lifespan are safe, recognized and affirmed as full and vital participants in our Unitarian Universalist faith community. Congregational leaders, lay and professional, should encourage UUs to take on more responsibility as they grow and develop in faith. Whole Church approaches can help more UUs become empowered and effective leaders — with intentional development, over time.

Are there areas where leadership is a de facto “adult” role? Find ways to let kids and youth lead wherever possible. The earlier, the better! Have pre-schoolers teach the congregation their class’ chalice lighting and song; ask a family to light the congregational chalice each Sunday. These suggestions may not seem as powerful as inviting a youth to lead worship, or serve on the board, but they lay the groundwork for covenantal leadership through the lifespan. Imagine defining leadership development as a form of faith development for all standing committees; how can we support and equip them with resources and suggestions when needed?

Beloved Community

Being held in the arms of a beloved community is an essential part of being a religious person of any age. A focus on “beloved community” encourages us to be intentional and supportive around connection, conversation, covenant, and identity-building in shared community experiences we already have on the church calendar — but might not have seen as a space where faith development can and does happen. Where can we create new opportunities for Beloved Community to grow, if we see it as Whole Church RE with benefits for all ages?

You may find inspiration in Deeper Joy and Faithful Conversations (especially Deep Talk Blocks) for add-on practices that can add fun and a sense of belonging to your time together.