November 12, 2007
Dear Beloved Community,
In January of this year, the Committee on Ministry (COM) was charged by the Board with visioning the future of our religious education (RE) program. The COM formed a separate working group, Transforming Our Learning Community (TLC), to develop a process for that dialogue, which took place between January and September. We designed a visioning process, and engaged in numerous visioning sessions to hear from the congregation what it is you want from religious education, and what it would mean to you if we transformed our learning community.
The enclosed report is our condensation of that work, and a summary of our conclusions based upon what we heard. (If you’d like to see a complete record of all the comments and input, please go to First Unitarian’s website, and go to the TLC link there.)
It is clear to us that First Unitarian is at a crossroads in terms of our RE program. What we have done has increasingly not worked, for a long time, but our very capable staff has obscured that fact with their hard work and strong spirits.
We presented this report to the Board of Trustees in late October. They voted to accept it, and approved our recommendation that a “dream team” be formed of people from Worship, Justice, the Lifespan Education and Programs Council (LEAP)/Religious Education (RE), COM and the ministers to consider how to embody the changes we suggest. This team will be created soon and work to take these general shifts and findings to the next step, with concrete steps for implementation for Rev. Kathy’s consideration upon her return from sabbatical next September.
Please take the time to read the report. We want to know what you think. Email us at tlc-uuoakland@yahoogroups.com to provide comment and feedback. Do you agree with the direction of the feedback given to us? Do these findings reflect a learning community that would excite you? Do you agree with what is and isn’t working in learning and education currently at First Unitarian, as we’ve described it?
The TLC sees a world of opportunities before us. We appreciate the opportunity to have engaged in this process, and look forward to hearing from you.
In faith,
Chris Sutherland, Chair, Committee on Ministry
On behalf of TLC Members Robert Mittman, Rick Hecht, Karin Werner and Sima Misra
Report to the Board and Congregation 
Content from Visioning Sessions
BACKGROUND (Information posted as we began this process in March, 2007)
Reflections on Teaching and Learning Ministries
The “institution” of Religious Education for Unitarian Universalists has a long and distinguished history AND is in a period of significant change. The models and methods of teaching and learning that emerged in the 1800's (prior to public education, dependent on a “catechism” and calling on volunteer leaders) have been slow to adapt to our contemporary circumstances. The last major shift in how UU congregations “do” religious education was at the time of the baby-boom in the 1940's when new ideas in developmental psychology and pedagogy transformed classroom curriculum and worship for children, youth and families. While there have been many positive experiences and much joy for individuals and families in recent decades, there have also been some disappointment and frustration.
Central to our theology and practice of communal life is the need for members to become leaders in the conversation about what changes are needed in our local congregation. As we do the work to “Transform our Learning Community” we offer these reflections to ground our conversation.
At The First Unitarian Church of Oakland...
- we have a rather “traditional” Sunday School/”RE” model as the center of our ministry with children and families with age-graded classrooms as the primary contact for kids with the church
- when we think of “RE” general belief is that it is a program for children only
- we have a variable participation of students in our programs from week to week
- adult programs of all types are frequently canceled due to low enrollment
- we have “transitioned” from only volunteers leading Sunday School for children to a staff of paid teachers in many of our classrooms in response to concerns of volunteer burnout as well as to offer a consistent leadership
- we have implicit and explicit tensions around program expectations: (Are we here primarily to provide a safe and comforting space for bonding and friendship? A program to form UU identity? Religious literacy in the Judeo-Christian traditions? Knowledge of the world religions? Spiritual formation? A lab for justice making? Can we do all that and have time to play some games in one hour a week?)
- we have an identity as a congregation “embracing a concept of shared ministry” but have not yet realized shared ministry as a practice in our teaching and learning programs, nor in our ministries with children, youth and families
- we have experienced a transition from a “settled-co-minister” to an “acting assistant minister”
- we have families experiencing the gift of a Chalice Camp that allows for in-depth community building and personal faith development during a one-week intensive
- there are shifting volunteer expectations (studies that show that people are giving more time but church “competes” with requirements of schools and civic groups in new paradigms)
- there are sports and extracurricular programs on weeknights and Sundays that impact family involvement in religious programming at traditional times
- issues in faith formation in a multi-cultural context challenge systems of learning that pre-suppose race and class hegemony
- opportunities for spiritual exploration abound in near-by secular and liberal religious settings (yoga classes, lectures, retreats, seminars…)
- of nearly 400 ministers in formation as Unitarian Universalist clergy, only two are preparing as specialists in Education
- several congregations in our Pacific Central District have created paid teaching positions for children's programs and staffing for “religious education” varies widely between congregations of all sizes
- the decades-long movement to make programs “volunteer-friendly” rather than student centered is being critiqued
- there are experiments with higher expectations for classrooms, as with Our Whole Lives (the UUA sexuality education program) where parent orientations, strict participation guidelines and long term commitments are required of students
- alternate models for child and youth classrooms include multi-age covenant groups, “Spirit Play” and workshop rotation technology are infusing new life in children's ministries
- adult learning opportunities include “associates” programs, enrichment classes and workshops, as well as Unitarian Universalist history and identity, and spiritual growth in small groups
- on-line learning modules, and community building efforts are expanding as well as home and family education
- different types of multi-generational worship services are emerging, at times in addition to Sunday morning
- renewed interest in Jewish models of teaching and learning are offering alternatives models of study/scholarship and religious instruction (e.g. Hebrew School models). This is a transition from professional learning based primarily on Catholic models/teachers in the field of religious education.
The Family Chalice Program
Phil's Little Blog on the Prairie
The Experiment in Congregational Education