Covenant and Relationship-Centered UU Faith Development

By Nancy Combs-Morgan

I continue to be inspired by colleagues, particularly in the Southern Region, who for years have been asking all Unitarian Universalists to consider that everything we do is faith development. Now an inspiring vision of covenant/relationship-centered UU faith development is growing. In the endeavor to go into deeper conversation with UU faith development leaders throughout the MidAmerica and Southern Regions around what it means to be a congregation which seeks to embody a values-based, covenant/relationship center, it has become evident that we need to have deeper conversations (virtual and face-to-face) about how this whole church faith development vision can be embodied.
It begins with a centering question: For those of us who are invested in Unitarian Universalist faith development, what if we understood our mission to enable children, youth, and adults to be a part of a community which seeks to manifest more hope, more love, more courage, more justice, and more joy in the world? With that charge, we would need to recognize that our work takes place in the context of interpersonal relationships.
Now…let’s connect. I am thrilled to be in close collaboration with Cameron Young, who is serving both the Southern and MidAmerica Regions as a Congregational Life Consultant, with a focus on faith development. We are planning a variety of opportunities for faith development leaders to engage in this question, as well as some of the core pieces of organizing programs/experiences to achieve this vision. In particular, we have heard the need from many leaders in smaller congregations/communities, and newer religious education professionals who seek to connect. As a result, we are offering:
Newer UU Faith Development Professionals
If you have been serving for 6 weeks, 6 months, or more, we hope you take part in this webinar, which will include an introduction into covenant centered classrooms; organizing a churchwide faith development program (with links to helpful resources), and information about our professional association, the Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA). The same content will be offered in either session.

Tuesday, September 24th, 7:30-9p EST or Wednesday, September 25th, 7:30-9p EST
Faith Development in Smaller UU Congregations/Communities
This webinar is specifically designed to help faith development leaders in smaller UU congregations and communities with building a vision of a covenant centered experiences and multigenerational opportunities for spiritual deepening. There will be the essentials of some organizational ideas, as well as helpful resources. The same content will be offered in either session.

Tuesday, October 29th, 7:30-9p EST or Wednesday, October 30th, 7:30-9p EST
The Changing Landscape of UU Youth Ministry
We are hoping that this conversation will be a hybrid (with face to face and virtual component). So much is happening in UU youth ministry, there are new national youth ministry safety guidelines, as well as an expanding vision of what we are seeking to embody in Unitarian Universalist Youth Ministry.

The virtual session will be Friday, October 11th, 1:30-3p EST.

We will keep you posted if there is a F2F component on that Friday in the Chicagoland area.
Registration will be available for all of these sessions at:

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/midamerica-region-uua-17286617164

Looking forward to our conversations,
Nancy Combs-Morgan, CRE-ML

About the Author

Nancy Combs-Morgan

Nancy Combs-Morgan has been immersed in Unitarian Universalist faith development for 26+ years, including 6 as a Director of Religious Education, and 20 years on UUA district and regional staff.

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