What does “thriving” look like for your families, children, and youth? What does “thriving” look like in your religious education and faith formation ministry?

We’ve been inviting congregations to consider the parallels between Religious Education (RE) programs and gardens. Both have seasons, require regular tending and — when they’re thriving — can provide sustenance, grounding, beauty and joy to a community.

But maybe some parts of your RE garden look neglected and are sad. There may be grief and loss about what was there before, but is no longer.

Maybe parts of your garden are thriving and can be celebrated. Perhaps other areas are emerging with possibilities of thriving.

This is a collection of some of the resources that were offered by Congregational Life staff in the Fall 2024 “RE Kickoff.”

This event and these the videos were created in the fall of 2024 before the November election. Everything here is still true and helpful. Your families still have a lot of pressures on them. The world is still changing rapidly. People still need community and belonging. Flexibility, joy, ease, and connections are still guiding watchwords.

We hope these resources help you notice where your congregation is ready to:

• grieve what’s in the past
• understand what your families are going through now
• recognize that your congregation isn’t alone in its current challenges
• notice the longings and energy among you
• prioritize what is thriving and emerging

We’re publishing this set of resources as a work in progress. Look for more to be added in the coming weeks, including templates that build on the reflections your congregation did as part of the RE Kickoff (or is doing now, as you read these resources).