Religious Education
RE News
Our Whole Lives is gaining momentum at Chequamegon UU Fellowship!
Our Whole Lives classes teach children about their bodies and sexuality using the three Rs: Respect, Relationships, and Responsibility. This comprehensive developmentally based sexual health education program is inclusive and considered a gold standard of quality youth education.
Developed in partnership between the Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ congregations over forty years ago, it can be taught within these faith-based organizations or beyond, since the curriculum is secular (faith-based values can be added in).
Parents are our children’s first sexual health educators, and children will learn regardless of whether we engage with them about these topics. Many adults did not receive accurate, supportive, or helpful sexual health education, so it can be hard to pass this along to the next generation. The OWL curriculum also provides resources for parents and caregivers to help support developmentally homebased education.
Curricula exist for K-1, 4-6th grade, 7-9th grade, and 10-12th grade. Young adult and adult curricula are also available. The Chequamegon UU has prioritized offering these curricula so that all children can attend classes at every level as they grow up in our community. So far, we are on track since we made the commitment three years ago to training facilitators from within our congregation and hiring an OWL program coordinator.
Currently, a 7-9th grade course is running over the 2024-25 fellowship year, led by four volunteer facilitators (Stacy Craig, Jess Fairbanks, Ayla Tucker, and Tommy Lewis). This group meets weekly for 25 sessions and is the most robust course. We also have a K-2nd grade course running this winter, led by three volunteers (Christel Sketch, Peter Levi & Erin Tenney) which consists of eight sessions. The plan is to offer the 4-6th grade curricula next fall.
At the start of a new session, parents, students, and facilitators meet to discuss the curriculum, how parents can be engaged, and to build relationships.
CUUF RE Staff and RE Committee
Please reach out at any time with thoughts, ideas, questions, or concerns.
RE Director — Andrea Ward (andrea@chequamegonuuf.org)
OWL Coordinator — Ashley Smith (ashley@chequamegonuuf.org)
RE Committee — Co-chairs: Doug Liphart and Beth Reed; Stacy Craig, Minister; Ashley Smith, OWL Coordinator; Erin Tenney, CUUF Board Member; Andrea Ward, RE Director.
Chequamegon Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Safe Congregations and Background Check Policy for Religious Education Staff and Volunteers
- The Chequamegon Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (CUUF) recognizes the importance of fostering and creating communities where everyone, especially our most vulnerable populations such as children and youth, are protected. We seek to preserve that spirit of welcome, respect and trust in balance with our concern for the safety of our children, applying the best practices from the Unitarian Universalist Association to any policies or guidelines we adopt.
- Religious education (RE) classes will be conducted following best practices from the Safe Congregations handbook: two adults or attendants will be present and classes will be conducted in open spaces or with doors open.
- The CUUF Board will conduct a background check on all staff hired to work with RE, such as the Director(s) of Religious Education. The RE director(s) will conduct a background check on all RE volunteers who are hired to work with the youth. Background checks will be repeated once every five years.
- RE director(s) will be mandatory reporters and will attend an annual training. RE volunteers will be provided an incident report form for accidents, injuries, medical situations, student behavioral incidents, or other concerns and will turn this into the RE director(s).
- Every employee and every volunteer who comes in contact with children and youth will receive a copy of the safe congregation policy, ethics policy (under development), and sexual harassment policy (under development).