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uudreamers2011-12-29 08:42 pm
zvi) wrote in uudreamers2011-12-29 08:42 pm
That was not very successful
I have mentioned, I think, in the comments of this community, that I am working to revive my congregation's Adult Religious Education program. They had let it completely die (well, that is to say, the interim minister was offering one course that met once a month, and there were a few long time discussion groups that still met, and the A Course in Miracles class was rolling on its own steam. The book discussion group was kind of flapping about ineffectually, though.
This summer, I and another new member of the congregation taught Spirit in Practice and that went pretty well. So, this fall I asked someone else, who had previously taken the course, to teach Building Your Own Theology.
BYOT went much less well, partly due to scheduling difficulties (getting 10 Sundays in the fall where we weren't scheduled against a big, other church meeting proved more difficult than expected) and partly because the facilitator was not a great fit and I didn't provide any guidance for how the class should be approached. (I am working on something now.)
While I had already sort of set the spring schedule, I thought that before we set next year's classes (and budget request) I should consult the wider congregation. So I made a survey, and I've gotten one entire response. Yippee.
The thing is, I don't want Adult RE to wind up as a dictatorship where l lead a bunch of classes that me and three people new to the congregation are taking. For one thing, I think Adult RE should have stuff in it I would hate, like things that engage people directly with the natural world. For another, mini-dictatorships seem incompatible with our generally democratic structure.
So, I'm wondering, what are your experiences with Adult Religious Education (or Faith Development), not children or youth? Inside or outside of UU? What worked and what didn't, both for you and that you saw in your worship places that a lot of other people liked, even if you didn't? People in CLF, how is religious education working for you, are classes online (by correspondence? do you still do correspondence courses?) really good?
Also, what do you think it's for? Do adults need Sunday school, or is a well-spun sermon and one's own individual practice enough? How else does a congregation support "A free and responsible search for truth and meaning"?
This summer, I and another new member of the congregation taught Spirit in Practice and that went pretty well. So, this fall I asked someone else, who had previously taken the course, to teach Building Your Own Theology.
BYOT went much less well, partly due to scheduling difficulties (getting 10 Sundays in the fall where we weren't scheduled against a big, other church meeting proved more difficult than expected) and partly because the facilitator was not a great fit and I didn't provide any guidance for how the class should be approached. (I am working on something now.)
While I had already sort of set the spring schedule, I thought that before we set next year's classes (and budget request) I should consult the wider congregation. So I made a survey, and I've gotten one entire response. Yippee.
The thing is, I don't want Adult RE to wind up as a dictatorship where l lead a bunch of classes that me and three people new to the congregation are taking. For one thing, I think Adult RE should have stuff in it I would hate, like things that engage people directly with the natural world. For another, mini-dictatorships seem incompatible with our generally democratic structure.
So, I'm wondering, what are your experiences with Adult Religious Education (or Faith Development), not children or youth? Inside or outside of UU? What worked and what didn't, both for you and that you saw in your worship places that a lot of other people liked, even if you didn't? People in CLF, how is religious education working for you, are classes online (by correspondence? do you still do correspondence courses?) really good?
Also, what do you think it's for? Do adults need Sunday school, or is a well-spun sermon and one's own individual practice enough? How else does a congregation support "A free and responsible search for truth and meaning"?
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If you have, for example, an Animal Welfare Interest Group, you have someone (or a couple of someones) who's the facilitator(s) who make sure that your meetings actually happen. Schedule the dates, schedule the room (or wherever you're meeting) let people know it's happening, spread the word. The group as a whole decides what activities they'd like to do, and ideally, different people take charge of different aspects. Bob arranges for a visit to the local no-kill animal shelter, Suzie arranges a beach clean up and turtle egg watch day, Melvin knows that guy Jim from that wildlife show and can arrange for him to come give a talk, everybody plans a Blessing of the Animals event together (probably in conjunction with the minister and/or Worship Committee).
The facilitator isn't stuck in the role of teacher, hopefully doesn't get overwhelmed trying to plan something to do every week all alone, and ideally everyone feels more engaged.