WELCOME!

1. UU Identity Renaissance Module Session One: Identity as a Process WELCOME! renaissance program

2. Come, Come Whoever You Are Come, come, whoever you are, wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. Ours is no caravan of despair Come, yet again come. Though you’ve broken your vows a thousand times Words: Adapted from Rumi; Music: Lynn Adair Ungar renaissance program

3. Find Out More About this Hymn Between the Lines https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1558966145 Singing the Journey http://www.uua.org/worship/music/hymnals/journey/songinformation/index.shtml Signs of Our Faith http://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/signs/session10/287882.shtml renaissance program

4. Introductions • Name • Congregation • Size of congregation • Your role • Why is it important for you to be here? renaissance program

5. Covenant renaissance program

6. Goals of the Module: • to gain an understanding of identity as a process of development across the lifespan which unfolds through an interplay of heritage, culture, and lived experiences • to learn how this process unfolds in youth raised as Unitarian Universalists and persons who came to the faith later in life • to identify ways to foster the process, specifically among religious education participants and generally among congregants • to explore the Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources as part of identity development • This module will help participants explore their own UU identity as well as how to foster a UU identity in children, youth and adults.  One assumption of the module is that our work as religious educators is to create lifelong UUs. renaissance program

7. A Wide and Generous Faith I am a third-generation Unitarian Universalist. This religion runs in my blood. It has spurred me and soothed me. But most Unitarian Universalists are at one time or another newcomers to our faith. Ninety percent of us come out of other religious traditions; some come from none at all. This makes for both richness and confusion. Nonetheless, regardless of background, we each share a few fundamental convictions. Finally, let me put it this way. Too often in this world, religion has been the agent of division and fear. Unitarian Universalism seeks to heal a fractured world and the broken lives within it by calling every one of us to the best that is in us. Beyond nationalism and ethnic prejudice, beyond materialism and greed, beyond the petty and the shallow—we invoke a global loyalty, an ecological ethic, and a deeper mercy. In the last analysis our Unitarian Universalist mission and the faith that sustains it is clear and straightforward: We would treat the wounds of a narrow spirit with the salve of a generous heart. How better than that to eradicate fear? How better than that to honor life’s mysteries? • William F. Schulz, past UUA President renaissance program

8. Creating Your River Journeys Timelines show dates, decades, years, and days in a linear fashion. A river journey is a visual depiction of the events occurring in your life and the effect those events had upon you. The river water may flow slow and steady, churn over large rocks, and drop over waterfalls. A river’s water narrows and widens over time, and the path it takes meanders. As you create your river journeys, consider including the people, places and events which influenced the twists and bends of your river, those things which caused your river to swell with water or narrow to a thin passage.

9. River Journey Questions • Looking back, what event(s) or life choices (if any) set you on the path toward Unitarian Universalism (or your faith)? • Who are the people that were influential in your religious journey? • When did you first feel that you were a Unitarian Universalist (or Christian, Buddhist, etc.)? What did that feel like? • What did internalizing this feeling of being Unitarian Universalist (Christian, Buddhist, etc.) encourage you to do? Did you make any changes in your life based upon this realization? renaissance program

10. Some Developmental Theories • Erik Erickson - Psychosocial • Lawrence Kohlberg - Moral • James Fowler - Faith • Tracey Hurd - Psychosocial/Faith renaissance program

11. Ages and Stages • Preschool • Early School Age • School Age • Middle School Age (early adolescence) • High School Age (middle adolescence) • College Age (late adolescence) renaissance program

12. Faith Development • How might changes in life circumstances affect your level of faith development? E.g. how might the birth or adoption of a child, or a new partner, or the death of a parent change where you are in faith development? • How might our heritage, culture, and lived experiences expand our faith development? renaissance program

13. Session 1 Reflection Questions • How does understanding your own personal journey toward a faith identity help you understand where others might be on theirs? And how does this understanding prepare you to assist others on their UU Identity journey?  • Where have heritage, culture, and lived experiences worked to build your religious identity? • How do developmental stages correspond with the unfolding of Unitarian Universalist identity? renaissance program

14. UU Identity Renaissance Module Session Two: Developing UU Identities WELCOME! renaissance program

15. Growing a UU identity… SAPLINGS identify their faith in terms of what they don’t believe rather than what they do believe renaissance program

16. Growing a UU Identity… SAPLINGS identify their faith in terms of what they don’t believe rather than what they do believe GROWING is a person who is able to define their beliefs in positive terms and is likely to be actively supporting the church in terms of time, talent or treasure renaissance program

17. Growing a UU Identity… SAPLINGS identify their faith in terms of what they don’t believe rather than what they do believe GROWING is a person who is able to define their beliefs in positive terms and is likely to be actively supporting the church in terms of time, talent or treasure OLD GROWTH describes a person who has been there for the duration and weathered many storms; they have an awareness that Unitarian Universalism is much more than what they personally experience renaissance program

18. Discussion Questions • How does your drawing reflect where you are now in the process of growing your faith identity? • Did you learn anything new about yourself as in the meditation and drawing? renaissance program

19. Reflection on Congregations • Who are three people in your congregation whom you would identify as being “saplings,”“growing trees,” or “old growth” trees? • Does thinking about them in this way help you to see UU identity within your congregation as an ongoing process? • What are some of the gifts of each stage? What are some of the dangers? What are some of the gifts and dangers of having people at many different stages in one congregation? renaissance program

20. REMEMBER:AGE DOES NOT NECESSARILY EQUAL OLD GROWTH renaissance program

21. Young children have to learn how to do religion • Older Children need to discern who they are as religious individuals • New Youth have to learn how to do religion as well as learn about the faith tradition and heritage • Long-term Youth have to figure out who they are as religious individuals, who they are as part of a faith community, and who they are as religious persons in the wider world • Deep Youth begin to apply theological reflection to their lives • New Adults • “Come-Outers” need to learn how Unitarian Universalists do religion • “Come-Inners” must also learn how Unitarian Universalists do religion • “Pass-Throughers” stay for a time at a Unitarian Universalist congregation but wind up moving on to another faith traditions • Long-Term Adults are somewhat active in their congregation but avoid greater depth of faith through discernment or theological reflection • Deep Adults face similar tasks as deep youth: theological reflection, practicing their faith, further discernment of who they are as persons of faith renaissance program

22. Discussion Questions • How can you foster religious identity growth in youth when some of the members of your congregation’s youth group might be considered new youth, while others are long-term youth and a few are deep youth? • What possibilities for identity development exist for long-term adults and deep adults when so many of the adults in our congregations are new adults? renaissance program

23. Is there one Unitarian Universalist identity? renaissance program

24. Is there one UU identity? Just like there is no ONE WAY to be a religious professional or serve a Unitarian Universalist congregation, there is no ONE WAY to be a Unitarian Universalist. renaissance program

25. Unitarians and Universalists Honoring Both Roots of Identity renaissance program

26. Reading: Themes in North American UU History What did you read in the story that inspired you? What in the history challenged you? What do you want to know more about? renaissance program

27. Questions for Sharing • Freedom of thought, or noncreedalism: How are early Unitarian and Universalist ideas reflected in your Unitarian Universalist congregation or community? • Ongoing revelation: Can you see ways that openness to different expressions of religion has shaped Unitarian Universalism? • The power of nature: Have you noticed any focus on nature or environmental concerns in your congregation? • Building the Beloved Community: Can you think of examples of this from your experience? renaissance program

28. Scenario Reflection Questions • How would you handle this scenario if it happened in your particular UU context? • How is history shaping the person(s)’ UU identity? • How might the age or stage of faith development of the person in the scenario impact how you respond? renaissance program

29. Session 2 Reflection Questions • Despite our different theological beliefs, how is a distinct Unitarian Universalist identity formed? • How does the multiplicity of Unitarian Universalist identities affect identity formation of our youth and young adults? • How does the process of identity development unfold differently in children and youth raised as Unitarian Universalists and person who chose this religion for themselves? • How does honoring both parts of our heritage (both Unitarian and Universalism) shape identity formation? renaissance program

30. UU Identity Renaissance Module Session Three: Unitarian Universalist Identities – Then and Now WELCOME! renaissance program

31. Principles Taboo How would you describe Unitarian Universalism without using the Principles and Sources? renaissance program

32. Taboo Words • Inherent • Worth • Dignity • Justice • Compassion • Equity • Free • Acceptance • Growth • Responsible • Truth • Meaning • Democratic • Conscience • Community • Peace • Liberty • Justice • Inter-dependent • Web • Life renaissance program

33. Envisioning an Alternate Reality What if, instead of adopting new Principles, the UUA had decided to get rid of unified Principles? renaissance program

34. Envisioning an Alternate Reality What if, instead of adopting new Principles, the UUA had decided to get rid of unified Principles? Three Big Questions: How might UU identity be different? How might it be the same? What would we teach our congregations about what is at the core of a UU identity? renaissance program

35. First and Last Principles • What are some of the relationships Frances Manly draws between the Principles? • How do our Principles affect our perspectives and individual or collective searches for meaning? • What are the relationships between the Sources and the Principles? renaissance program

36. Social Media and UU Identity Development renaissance program

37. Social Media and UU Identity Development • How is social media developing UU identity already? renaissance program

38. Social Media and UU Identity Development • How is social media developing UU identity already? • Maintaining connections to UUs who live in other places renaissance program

39. Social Media and UU Identity Development • How is social media developing UU identity already? • Maintaining connections to UUs who live in other places • UU Young Adult Connections page on Facebook renaissance program

40. Social Media and UU Identity Development • How is social media developing UU identity already? • Maintaining connections to UUs who live in other places • UU Young Adult Connections page on Facebook • Sharing UU identity with non-UU friends renaissance program

41. Social Media and UU Identity Development • How is social media developing UU identity already? • Maintaining connections to UUs who live in other places • UU Young Adult Connections page on Facebook • Sharing UU identity with non-UU friends • SSL, UU World links on Facebook, Twitter • Distributing resources more easily renaissance program

42. Social Media and UU Identity Development • How is social media developing UU identity already? • Maintaining connections to UUs who live in other places • UU Young Adult Connections page on Facebook • Sharing UU identity with non-UU friends • SSL, UU World links on Facebook, Twitter • Distributing resources more easily • Faithify (a UU crowdfunding website) renaissance program

43. Social Media and UU Identity Development • How is social media developing UU identity already? • Maintaining connections to UUs who live in other places • UU Young Adult Connections page on Facebook • Sharing UU identity with non-UU friends • Standing on the Side of Love (SSL), UU World links on Facebook, Twitter • Distributing resources more easily • Faithify (a UU crowdfunding website) • Pinterest (sharing religious education) resources) renaissance program

44. Social Media and UU Identity Development • How do you see social media influencing religious identity development? • Maintaining connections with UUs in other places • Sharing UU identity with non-UU friends • Distributing resources more easily renaissance program

45. Six-Word Stories For sale: baby shoes, never worn. Ernest Hemingway

46. Group Projects • Design a month-long celebration of Unitarian Universalism, culminating in a multigenerational worship service • Design a volunteer training session focused on fostering and promoting UU identity (for RE teachers, youth advisors, membership volunteers, etc.) • Design a workshop for parents/other adults focused on fostering and promoting UU identity beyond the congregation - at home, school, or in the workplace • Design a multigenerational justice project or other activity to promote and foster UU Identity development in people of all ages renaissance program

47. Session 3 Reflection Questions • How do the UU principles impact or connect with your own faith identity? Why? • Is UU identity more fixed or fluid? Why? Is that more of a liability or a gift? • How does Unitarian Universalist identity formation today differ from the way it was in the past? • How might you use the Unitarian Universalist Principles as a tool for forming Unitarian Universalist identity in children? Youth? Young adults? Older adults? • How is social media changing methods of Unitarian Universalist identity formation? • What social media tools might you use for forming Unitarian Universalist identity in children? Youth? Adults? renaissance program

48. UU Identity Renaissance Module Session Four: The Complexity of Unitarian Universalist Identity WELCOME! renaissance program

49. Historical Unitarians, Universalists, and UUs renaissance program

50. An Important First Question What role does honoring individuals from Unitarian, Universalist, or UU history play in contemporary UU identity? renaissance program