Ingathering—that powerful word is what we often call the time in Autumn when churches begin, again, the sacred work we do as Unitarian Universalists in faithful community. Religious education programs often resume with the school year, and churches are full of life, voices, music, stories, once again. On the Lifespan Faith Engagement team, we too have been gathering-in our hearts and minds, working on a new vision for religious education—and the congregational faith development that it makes possible. We are excited to share our ideas about Whole Church RE, as well as resources and tools to equip and support your congregation. Over the course of a few blog posts, we'll be exploring what Whole Church RE is, why we should do it, and how it can work in your community.

Whole Church RE is an approach that combines three things:

1. what we have heard from UU leaders about the need for shared experiences that connect people and build covenantal community, an essential part of our non-creedal faith

2. what we know about lifespan faith development's role in shaping and strengthening UU identity and commitment within and among individuals and their co-learning communities

3. what we have cultivated in the uniquely engaging and powerful practices common to religious education (RE) but underutilized and underrepresented in adult or all-ages spaces and experiences at church

WHOLE CHURCH RE is NOT a call to change everything—you don’t need to move to fully multi-generational worship or stop offering curriculum-based classes, for example, to engage with Whole Church RE. There are multiple places in every church where faith development is already happening. Where is the energy for growing, for community, for action, for connection, in your church? Is it coffee hour, the building and grounds or social justice committee, worship?

Faith development is already happening there; when we can share the unique gifts of RE, we benefit the whole church.

All we do is faith development. All we teach is Unitarian Universalism. The congregation is the curriculum.

Learning About Shared Values as a Community

We are now learning, as a denomination, a new thing for everyone: the shared values, chosen by the members of our denomination. Instead of (or in addition to) the seven principles, we are focused on interdependence, generosity, justice, pluralism, equity, and transformation—with LOVE at the center of our faith. As we support whole-denominational learning about shared values, we can work with or alongside our unique congregations' ministries or goals (like justice making, beloved community, or pastoral care). We can do some of our RE activities and programming in places and at times where the congregation or soem part of it is gathered, when possible.

In this approach, Whole Church RE, we can do two things. First, naming and claiming these myriad congregational efforts as an important part of how we are already doing religious education means we can build on what is familiar, where energy already exists. Then, we can use an RE lens and practices to build access, scaffolding, and support to make those beloved ministries more effective at developing faith for the whole church - with love at the center. The fact that we will be building a more accessible, diverse, multicultural, multigenerational community as a result is a huge bonus—one that gives us a glimpse at the unique power in the practices of UU religious education.

In the Whole Church RE Map graphic, we see the values in white, with love—and faith development—at the center. They represent the WHY of faith development for UUs: to center, explore, and inspire lives and action grounded in these values.

The ministries of the church or the goals/pathways for congregational faith development are on the blue and green squares. They represent the HOW of faith development: though we don’t always frame them as religious education, when we develop and grow in these ways, we are in a process of faith formation. How we engage with them is part of the “curriculum” that, as Maria Harris noted, a congregation offers to its community. (Your congregation may include all or some of these—and your church may have an active and supported ministry or faith development goal not shown here. The Whole Church RE Map graphic is offered in a modifiable format so you can align it more effectively with your congregation’s reality.)

It’s important to note that these ministry/goal areas represent the church’s overall missional aims. We acknowledge and honor the fact that faith development (whether explicit, implied, or null) happens in all the ministries of a church, not just in its religious education classes. Naming that this work is part of the congregation’s existing “curriculum” means we can encourage and support the ways they ARE religious education—it does not mean that they are the sole responsibility of the religious educator. This is an important distinction even in lay-led communities, who may think they don’t do or can’t offer RE. The reality is that fewer families are attending, or attending different ways, with different needs and capacities to volunteer in RE, especially. And there are fewer full-time RE professionals in our churches to serve them. If we can understand our existing church ministries as places where faith development already happens, it encourages us to expand our notions of how the work of an RE leader or committee can integrate with the work of those ministries and the energy of a congregation—to everyone’s benefit.

How to Connect RE to Congregational Ministries Goals

So, WHAT can we do to connect RE program goals with an existing ministry goal or church, and enhance the faith development already happening in those area? RE leaders have a whole toolbox of excellent tools and practices that have emerged from—and been cultivated in—children and youth RE spaces but are good faith development tools for all ages! RE “best practices” like story, song, embodied learning, play, creative movement, artistic expression, problem solving, making, ritual and ceremony can enhance non-RE events and gatherings in ways that bring the immense blessings of religious education to the whole church. These are the unique blessings of RE, whose purpose and power RE leaders and professionals understand intuitively; and we often are more comfortable and capable engaging them than anyone else in the church.

Ready to try something new? On the Map, the stars in gold are just a sample of the activities or resources for WCRE, placed in areas close to the goals and values they could be seen as connecting to or supporting. (Look for links to these resources here soon.) These practices put the RE in our Whole Church RE learning approach—and they support deeply transformative experiences of shared meaning-making, covenantal community, multigenerational connections, and shared ministry in ways that a more siloed RE program rarely has the chance to.

This template can help you begin to plan HOW, WHEN, WHERE, and WITH WHOM you'll connect your RE programming to the whole church.

In the coming weeks, we will be offering a slate of content and guidance to support trying out Whole Church RE. In particular, our Whole Church Guide to Shared Values Learning will help RE professionals and congregations plan ways to connect, learn, and grow together at times and in places beyond what you may already be doing in RE classes. We'll also be connecting more deeply and intentionally with religious educators to learn, and share, how they are they are creating and trying WCRE approaches in their congregations.