OUR WHOLE LIVES
Upcoming OWL Classes
Beginning in February 2024, we are thrilled to announce that OWL is back! Christ Congregational Church will be offering Our Whole Lives (O.W.L.) for students in Grades 4-10.
2024 Classes Offered:
OWL Course 1 – For students in 4th- 6th grades
OWL Course 2 – For students in 7th-10th grades
SAVE THE DATES
Orientation Dates: Sundays From 6:00-7:30pm at CCC:
January 28 – Parent/Guardian Information Meeting for Students in 4-6th grades
February 4th – OWL KICK OFF Parent/Guardian & Student Orientations
OWL Class Dates: Sundays from 6:00-7:30pm at CCC:
February 25 – May 19 – OWL sessions 1-10
(No OWL on March 24th, March 31st, or May 12th)
** If you have a student in 11-12 grade who would like to take OWL, please reach out to Katie Shannon to discuss options.
REGISTER NOW
https://forms.gle/w99ipp2Wjza38B1J7
Registration is currently open for all, with priority for families who attend CCC and TPPC. By January 21st, we will contact those who have registered who do not attend CCC/TPPC on a first come, first served basis.
Our Whole Lives: Lifespan Sexuality Education
Honest, accurate information about sexuality changes lives. It dismantles stereotypes and assumptions, builds self-acceptance and self-esteem, fosters healthy relationships, improves decision making, and has the potential to save lives. For these reasons and more, we are proud to offer Our Whole Lives (OWL), a comprehensive, lifespan sexuality education curricula for use in both secular settings and faith communities.
Interactive workshops and lessons engage participants, while step-by-step instructions for program planners and facilitators help ensure success. Six curricula speak to participants’ needs, by age group: grades K-1 , grades 4-6 , grades 7-9 , grades 10-12 , young adults and adults .
Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. With a holistic approach, Our Whole Lives provides accurate, developmentally appropriate information about a range of topics, including relationships, gender identity, sexual orientation, sexual health, and cultural influences on sexuality.
While Our Whole Lives is secular, it is not value-free. The program gives clear messages about the following key sexuality issues:
- self worth
- sexual health
- responsibility
- justice and inclusivity
Our Whole Lives recognizes and respects the diversity of participants with respect to biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and disability status. The activities and language used throughout the program have been carefully chosen to be as inclusive as possible of this human diversity.
Why are we talking about sex in church?
We talk about sexuality in our congregations for several important reasons.
Our Whole Lives (OWL) deepens faith. Our Whole Lives offers Unitarian Universalists/United Church of Christers of all ages a profound opportunity to deepen their faith and put their values into practice. The curriculum promotes sexual and emotional health in our communities and fosters meaningful dialogue among peers, partners, families, and friends. Our commitment to comprehensive sexuality education is a ministry that has profoundly and positively changed the lives of thousands since 1971.
OWL promotes responsibility. OWL is much more than anatomy. As comprehensive sexuality education, Our Whole Lives is about much more than just anatomy and health. It’s about values, respect, emotions, and justice, too. It’s about the sacred aspects of sexuality, which is part of the miracle of creation. This is why we teach Our Whole Lives in church—because sexuality is sacred, and we need to live our religious values as sexual beings. Our Whole Lives helps participants develop and articulate their religious and sexual values and make responsible, healthy decisions based on those values.
OWL responds to real needs. Our Whole Lives was developed in response to the need expressed by congregations in the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ for high-quality, lifespan sexuality education resources.
Our Whole Lives and Sexuality and Our Faith support the development of a Unitarian Universalist identity. Every faith tradition has its own approach to sexuality. Unitarian Universalism has a long history of supporting comprehensive sexuality education in our congregations. Unitarian Universalists also advocate publicly for sexuality education and equal rights for people of all genders and sexual orientations.
- At a time in which abstinence-only-until-marriage sexuality education programs are becoming normative in our public schools, a Unitarian Universalist congregation may be the only place where Unitarian Universalist children and youth can have access to comprehensive, reality-based sexuality education.
- Sexuality is much more than what’s covered in biology class. Sexuality is also about relationships, responsible choices, justice, inclusivity, and self-image… all things which are intertwined with our faith and values. Intentional sexuality education is especially important in a world in which people of all ages are constantly bombarded with media messages about sex. Some of the most important “milestone” decisions we make in our lives, such as marriage/life partnership and creating families, involve relationships and sexuality.
OWL is an antidote to misinformation. We live in a society that is deeply conflicted about sexuality. Our Whole Lives is an antidote to a culture that is saturated with mixed messages and misinformation about sexuality. Our Whole Lives provides an opportunity to step back, reflect, and evaluate these messages so participants can more effectively act on their religious and sexual values.
OWL helps parents. Our Whole Lives recognizes and supports parents as the primary sexuality educators of their children. Our Whole Lives creates a partnership between the family and the congregation through parent orientations and encourages regular communication between youth and parents about the program. Many congregations offer additional parent education programs.