Religious Exploration

Adult Religious Education has become a passion for me. In seminary our instructors talked a lot about ministerial formation–and indeed that was the goal of a seminary education– to form us into ministers. Along the way, however, it occurred to me that all Unitarian Universalists should be in the process of spiritual formation. To that end I like to offer classes that help everyone expand their own spirituality or theology.

I have used my own topics and taught a round of Create Theology Together from the Fahs Collaborative. The classes and discussions I lead might include spiritual formation, UU history and identity and justice issues. The topics depend on what is alive in the congregation.

I have taught and planned Religious Education and Our Whole Lives for young children as well. Our youth also need spiritual formation, grounding in UU history and identity, and to explore what it means to love justice. It is also important for our children and youth to have a safe space for exploring their identity and their own belief systems. They need a safe space to practice and explore what it means to be in community.

Every time I have taught, whether in public school or in the congregation, I have been stymied in the beginning. I wonder where I should focus the instruction–what do people need to know? I have noticed, as I grow older, that if you are not finding answers, you are likely asking the wrong questions. I love to explore the questions as much as the answers. Unitarian Universalists are on a journey– a journey of spiritual formation and maturation and a journey to learn how to human better. Our religious education should challenge and entice us on that journey.