When I first heard parents at Chequamegon UU Fellowship talk about Our Whole Lives (OWL), this is what went through my head. I was confused. Why would a church be teaching about sex education? The teachers were so passionate about it, but I was too new and too shy to ask, so I regarded it like I did most things related to institutionalized religion in those days; with suspicion and skepticism.
How did I go from there to being the #1 fan of Our Whole Lives? It’s a long story, but more than anything, it was going to a seminary that held embodiment as sacred. Our bodies are not some second-class, sinful material vessel for the pure soul. We are bodies. Sex and sexuality are part of our bodies. For too long, especially in religion, we excluded talking about this, which often created a stigma or taboo that lead to shame and silence. OWL, which is developed through a partnership between Unitarian Universalism and United Church of Christ, celebrates bodies and educates about them in safe spaces. It incorporates parental conversations and offers age- appropriate education on sexuality and health. For example, our K-2 OWL participants learned the names of all body parts and did a craft making sperm out of pipe cleaners. If you feel suspicious, confused or perhaps even horrified by that fact, please pause, and without judgement, with deep curiosity, ask, where is that message coming from?
As summer approaches, we’ll be working to hire a Director of Religious Education and Our Whole Lives. CUUF doesn’t offer any summer programming right now. The Protestant faith collaborative, made up of several churches in Ashland and Washburn, reached out to invite CUUF kids to join their Vacation Bible School, and we’ve included their flyer in this newsletter. This will be their last program, as the churches are unable to continue funding The other option in Ashland is the Salem Baptist “Ocean Commotion: Diving into Noah’s Flood” with curriculum from the Creation Museum/Ark Encounter. You can read more about it here: https:// salemashland.myanswers.com/ocean-commotion/
I know I am a minister who is passionate about religious education and OWL. Not all UU ministers are, and some are even adversarial about the amount of resources kids and youth programs require. For me, it isn’t about offering programs. It isn’t about filling classes. The work RE does changes lives. It empowers. Teachers and students are transformed by the curricula. Thousands of volunteer hours have built this program and volunteer hours and donations continue to support it. It’s growing and it’s one of the only options in the region for progressive religious exploration. I hope that you are joining me in celebrating what a wonderous accomplishment this is for this day and age.