Finding a Unicorn in a Pandemic The Story of the GNOUUnicorns Collaboration

How Did the GNOUUnicorns Get Their Name?

Watch this video (.mp4 Google Drive)

After the devastation of hurricane Katrina in 2005, the two UU congregations in New Orleans and one in Lacombe, LA formed a cluster known as the Greater New Orleans Unitarian Universalists (GNOUU) to share the work of rebuilding our UU churches and extending outreach into the community. For about two years prior to the pandemic, the three DREs of the GNOUU churches met for coffee monthly for fellowshipping, support, and collaboration. We advocated for each other, shared resources, and co-produced cluster church offerings, such as OWL and the annual spring retreat.

In March of 2020, we began meeting online bi-weekly, continuing to offer support to each other as we each adapted our individual RE (Religious Exploration) programming to an online format. We continued offering classes through the summer, but we noticed that class sizes were dwindling. Children and their families were growing weary of Zoom, we were drained from teaching classes, as none of us had enough RE teachers to offer weekly programming to our individual congregations. At the end of the summer, we realized that if we combined our RE Zoom classes we would have thrice the number of teachers, thrice the number of participants, and the infinite powers of our collaborative imagination.

Our first step in merging the programs was to create an online survey and send it to all of our families. This allowed us to determine how many children of what ages were interested in online RE classes, desirable class times, and the families interest in additional RE programming and support. Based on the survey results, we scheduled two RE classes at 9am on Sunday mornings—one for ages 5-9 and the other for ages 10-13. We also created a weekly RE newsletter, a parent support Facebook group, a bi-weekly youth group, and started to offer sporadic and seasonal socially distanced outings for families. About 15 kids attend classes every week, and there is a notable consistency in those who attend.

Seven teachers, seven classroom helpers, and two youth group advisors were recruited from all three churches and attended an online training together. All of our materials are kept in a shared folder on Google Drive. The teachers and helpers sign up for the classes they want each month and the DREs fill in the gaps. Soul Matters has done a great job creating an online curriculum for churches, and we are happy to be using that in our classes.

There are still some things that we each do just for our own church, such as Time for All Ages or Mystery Buddies, but none of our religious exploration classes would be as strong without this collaboration. Currently we are also working together on a thematic book sharing program to promote family story time and share the myriad ways that our UU values are expressed in the form of children’s books. Also, two of us are teaching Cakes for the Queen of Heaven online for GNOUU churches as well as other neighboring UU congregations.

There is deep trust, respect, and compassion at the foundation of our work together. Having that trust allows us to take risks, to be grounded and expansive in our imaginations, and to continue to find joy and fulfillment in our work as DREs. It has been a harrowing year for all of us, but the way that our team has evolved has been a beacon of hope and inspiration, consistently beaming the reminder “I do not have to do this alone.”

About the Authors

Katie Sivani Gelfand

Katie Sivani Gelfand is the Director of Religious Exploration in the congregation that raised her, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans. Concurrent to this ministry she is also a certified Spiritual Guide, Reiki Master Teacher, and Ritualist.

Erica Merchant Lee

Erica is the Director of Religious Education at North Shore Unitarian Universalist Society, Lacombe, Louisiana.

Cynthia Ramirez

Cynthia is the Director of Religious Education of Community Church UU in New Orleans Louisiana.

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