Tapestry of Faith religious education was designed to nurture UU identity, spiritual growth, a transforming faith, and vital communities of justice and love…nearly 20 years ago. Our world has changed much since then!

One powerful change is this: As an Association, the UUA has turned toward naming and disrupting white supremacy culture in our hearts, our world views, and our behaviors in our faith communities and beyond. Today when we come together for faith engagement, we need reliable tools, grounded in resistance to oppression and marginalization and affirmative of liberatory and radically inclusive values.

We need stories, activities, and reflection prompts that center diverse voices and perspectives, and above all, do not cause harm.

Given how UU's are called to grow and learn today, we know many elements of Tapestry of faith now miss the mark in important ways. We are grateful to all Tapestry of Faith users who have brought specific concerns or suggested materials that would be more helpful now.

Your feedback has encouraged us to archive Tapestry of Faith rather than continue to try to update, adapt, or correct it further. With this decision, UUA staff can focus time and energy on developing and supporting resources to meet current congregational needs more faithfully.

We know how powerful, useful, and beloved the Tapestry of Faith body of work has been, for so many. We want to acknowledge the feelings of loss, frustration, and even grief that may come as we move into this difficult decision. These stories, activities, and programs were never just words on a page. They have served us as an abundant, sacred text, a dependable guide in our work to support the spiritual development of our UU children, youth, adults, and congregations. And often, they shaped and nurtured us, too. They expressed and helped us hold the radically loving and humanizing project of Unitarian Universalist lifespan faith formation.

As UUA staff, we're grateful for the memories, the community, and the profound impact that Tapestry of Faith has made possible – and for your trust in us, as we turn more of our attention to current resource development.

And, we understand that for some, there are beloved pieces of Tapestry of Faith that you want to continue using. While we welcome you to explore Tapestry of Faith lifespan materials for use in your UU faith community, we recommend keen discernment:

• Many stories center, by default, a dominant Christian white cultural perspective and ignore the antiracism/anti-oppression calling of today’s Unitarian Universalism.
• Some stories in Tapestry come from particular, specific cultures, but are offered through lenses or in voices from outside that culture. When we appropriate wisdom in this way, we cause harm.
• Often, the curricula silo our people in age groups (the programs were designed for this!). When borrowing from Tapestry of Faith, be sure not to miss important adaptation opportunities to create whole church, integrated, lifespan faith experiences.
• It’s important to remember that UUA staff are no longer revising or correcting Tapestry of Faith web pages. You may find that links to outside sources are broken, or suggested supplemental resources are no longer available. In addition to using discernment around the content of Tapestry of Faith materials, please take care that lessons you decide to use are complete and fully functional, before you facilitate them with a group.

We invite you to browse newer, alternative sources for UU lifespan faith development with exciting activities, stories, and program content, usually provided at no charge.

• Search the UUA’s new, expanding RE-sources and Faith Curriculum Library sections.
• Explore the Mosaic Lifespan Anti-racism curricula using “playlist” lesson format.
• Use Whole Church Religious Education resources to discover and nurture the places in your congregation where lifespan faith development is already happening.
• Engage your congregation with curated, lifespan faith development materials to explore the Shared Values of our Unitarian Universalist faith.
• Delve into Deeper Joy, a set of activities and approaches for lifespan community engagement with young people at the center.

The UUA is supporting religious educators through the changes that are underway. Look for announcements of an upcoming honoring ceremony for Tapestry of Faith, trainings and webinars, calls for authors, and other outreach from the UUA. We'll be sharing strategies for adapting Tapestry of Faith materials, new programming for Whole Church RE, the latest offerings from Mosaic, and more.