Religious Education
Philosophy
I am a strong believer in the Sophia Lyon Fahs philosophy of Religious Education – that instead of seeing the purpose of religious education as pouring information into the minds of people (particularly children), religious education's purpose is to nurture the unfolding of the soul and the blossoming of the person. This takes a different form for each developmental stage, but it is as important for young children as it is for elders. As a minister, I strive to serve all of my congregants, valuing the little ones, the middle aged ones, and the elders equally.
I have extensive expertise in Youth Ministry in particular, having been deeply involved in UU youth leadership in my own days as a teenager, and moving on to working as a Youth Programs Specialist at the Unitarian Universalist Association in 2000.
I have extensive expertise in Youth Ministry in particular, having been deeply involved in UU youth leadership in my own days as a teenager, and moving on to working as a Youth Programs Specialist at the Unitarian Universalist Association in 2000.
In that role, I ran national UU Youth programming, worked with volunteer youth leaders, advisors, religious educators and ministers, consulted with congregations on youth ministry, and created and led trainings for different aspects of youth ministry – most notably developing curricula and leading the “training of trainers” for the continental Youth Spirituality Development Conference program and the continental Youth Advisor Training program, as well as co-teaching a week-long Youth Advisor Training intensive graduate-level class with my colleagues Rev. Dan Harper and Jen Devine.
Over the years, I have led countless workshops geared to a variety of developmental stages. I am an engaging teacher and facilitator, and love the process of exploring our unfolding souls. Here is a sampling of topics taught:
- Leadership Development
- Anti-Racism (a variety of topics)
- Cultural Misappropriation
- Singing as Spiritual Practice
- Islam and Unitarian Universalism
- Unitarian Universalist Contemplative Practices
- Relational Stewardship
- Walking Meditation
- Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi and Islam
As a Parish Minister, my role is not usually to run a religious education program, but instead is to support the religious education program, staff, and volunteers. I strive to integrate all-ages-ministry into all aspects of congregational life, and collaborate with religious education leadership, and all ages of congregants, to build robust spirit-growing religious education programming that speaks to a variety of learning styles, interests, perspectives, and ages.
Story
Religious Education Philosophy on the Ground in New Orleans
Religious Education is the process of supporting that faith journey for every child, youth, and adult. Ministry itself is a form of Religious Education – a process of Supporting the growth and wholeness of the individual, nurturing a sense of Belonging within the religious community, Empowering members of the community to contribute to the well-being of the full community, and holding community members Accountable to going outside the walls of the community to contribute to the greater world.
This became etched into my mind through my work with the youth group during my internship congregation’s annual New Orleans service trip. It is a tradition that these trips are led and attended by both youth and adults, this ministry having been created by the youth group following Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.
This became etched into my mind through my work with the youth group during my internship congregation’s annual New Orleans service trip. It is a tradition that these trips are led and attended by both youth and adults, this ministry having been created by the youth group following Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.
On the 3rd day of our trip, I found myself in a van with one other adult and all ten youth participants. We were en route to our worksite for the day, helping with salvaging at a house that still, over 7 years since Hurricane Katrina, hadn’t been restored. We laughed, ate lemonheads, and listened to Justin Timberlake over the pounding of the rain on the van’s roof as we drove to the site. When we parked, the other adult and I got out of the van and rushed through the downpour up to the porch of a turquoise house. No one was home, but through the open front door we saw that the entire side and back of the house had been torn off in the storm. Soon, our team leader arrived and explained that we would be tearing out all the electrical wire and stripping it down to the shiny copper coils within to be sold for scrap metal.
He warned us not to walk on any of the floors in the 3 bedrooms of the 1,000 square foot home because they might cave in beneath us. And we were not to touch any of the support beams either – most were rotted through, and if we pushed too hard, the roof might collapse on our heads. Our tools? A box of garden gloves and a few flimsy wire cutters, wrenches, and blades. No hard hats. No other safety equipment. The safest job that day would be jabbing at wires with rusty razor blades. “Great.” I thought. The first rule of Religious Education is to keep your people safe, and I seemed to be on the verge of breaking that rule.
When we returned to the van and relayed the day’s plan to the team, the youth listened attentively. The danger of the site seemed to register with them, and they donned their ponchos and gardening gloves and followed us to the porch. Soon, the owner of the house arrived and tearfully told us her story – she had been raised in this house along with 16 siblings, but stress-related illnesses and addictions had taken many of their lives following the hurricane. She spoke of her mother’s meticulous care for this house until her death, and of the siblings’ difficulty in accessing FEMA money for the recovery due to discriminatory bureaucratic hurdles. The youth listened empathetically, and after praying together with the house’s owner, they rapidly organized themselves into an efficient work team. Their focus was impeccable – they were kind to each other, cooperative, and safe, while working hard and having fun.
When the need arose, the youth supported each other, helped each other find a place to belong in the community, and empowered each other. They became each other’s ministers – each other’s religious educators. And their ministry went deeper than mine - as the youth created their own religious community microcosm, they used it to hold each other Accountable for going outside their community’s boundaries. Again and again throughout the week, the youth led our efforts to reach out and connect meaningfully to the community. Ministry is cyclical – as I ministered to them, they ministered to each other, to the adult trip participants, to the wider community, and back to me.
Sometimes the best ministry happens in calling people to something greater than themselves, and stepping back so that they can step forward.
[1] I have changed all names in this essay to protect confidentiality.
When we returned to the van and relayed the day’s plan to the team, the youth listened attentively. The danger of the site seemed to register with them, and they donned their ponchos and gardening gloves and followed us to the porch. Soon, the owner of the house arrived and tearfully told us her story – she had been raised in this house along with 16 siblings, but stress-related illnesses and addictions had taken many of their lives following the hurricane. She spoke of her mother’s meticulous care for this house until her death, and of the siblings’ difficulty in accessing FEMA money for the recovery due to discriminatory bureaucratic hurdles. The youth listened empathetically, and after praying together with the house’s owner, they rapidly organized themselves into an efficient work team. Their focus was impeccable – they were kind to each other, cooperative, and safe, while working hard and having fun.
When the need arose, the youth supported each other, helped each other find a place to belong in the community, and empowered each other. They became each other’s ministers – each other’s religious educators. And their ministry went deeper than mine - as the youth created their own religious community microcosm, they used it to hold each other Accountable for going outside their community’s boundaries. Again and again throughout the week, the youth led our efforts to reach out and connect meaningfully to the community. Ministry is cyclical – as I ministered to them, they ministered to each other, to the adult trip participants, to the wider community, and back to me.
Sometimes the best ministry happens in calling people to something greater than themselves, and stepping back so that they can step forward.
[1] I have changed all names in this essay to protect confidentiality.