As we dig into a new congregational year of religious education (RE), you might find it useful to try out a metaphor. As a religious education professional or lay leader, imagine you belong to a community garden. By Lauren Wyeth, Congregational Life Consultant, Faith Development Specialist

From Karen Hering: "The old rules are breaking... We are living on the threshold, between what is no longer and what is not yet. It can be exhilarating. It is often unnerving or even frightening."

Austen Petersen writes, "The future of Coming of Age must be rooted in a deep and abiding joy in community. "

Join us in the Fall of 2024 for Threshold Conversations about Whole Church Faith Development!

Interviews with Religious Professionals and youth participants in Coming of Age programs.

How do we bridge the gap between our aspirations and our faithful impact? Understanding faith development as an agent of culture change.

Curricula, stories, activities, games, created and shared by Religious Educators in the spirit of creative interchange, group learning, and emerging practices. Does your congregation have something that is working well? Please reach out!

Stevie Carmody asks, "How might our Coming of Age rituals be re-envisioned to emphasize our covenantal theology?"

Skyla King-Christison asks, "Who, if not us, will show the world that it’s possible to function as an organization while loving each person’s full humanity?"

Join Rev Tyler Coles and Rev Dayna Edwards as they explore the critical importance of faith development and its role in driving forward paradigmatic shifts for congregations toward greater equity, health, and vibrancy.

This Threshold Conversation explores the transformative power of faith development, not just for ourselves, but for our communities & wider culture.

Unique perspectives from 3 Religious Educators who teach Coming of Age, 2 of whom participated in COA as youth.

Gregory, Cameron, and Leia talk about how Unitarian Universalism is in its adolescent coming-of-age moment.

How might we reimaging our Coming of Age programs as the beginning of a new relationship with UUism rather than the last Sunday School program for youth?

Coming of Age Conversations from Threshold Project panels, writings, and more

The why, and efforts and ask, aka Background of the Threshold Conversations

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is pleased to announce they have hired Joy Berry as the Children and Families Faith Development Specialist, starting January 23. The position has been re-established as part of the Lifespan Faith Engagement (LFE) team to fully integrate the needs of...

Like Essex before it, Threshold Conversations seeks to lift up and promote the essential work of religious education as the learning process through which we grow in faith; ideally as a lifelong endeavor, for all UUs. Now, Threshold Conversations seeks to expand that vision of religious education.

I often go to bed during this pandemic wondering if my heart can hurt anymore. Then I wake up and see the news and my heartache continues. I wonder what to say to my children. What do I say to my little one, versus what I say to my teens about the state of our country?...

What are the unifying threads of our UU RE history- and how does RE curriculum not only reflect, but shape, how we understand our faith?