Our Whole Lives Sexuality Course For Young Adults Ages 18-35 (June 29, 2010 by Allysson McDonald)

Our Whole Lives (OWL) for Young Adults is grounded in a wholistic view of sexuality. It provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but also helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.

Co-author (Rev.) Michael Tino writes about how the curriculum team sought to meet the particular needs of a young adult audience:

"We intentionally developed lessons that were sex-positive (without presuming a particular level of sexual experience), creative, and grounded in justice and inclusivity. We were able to weave into the curriculum activities that ask the participants to engage in high-level reasoning and abstraction, activities that ask questions grounded in queer theory about what is `normal,' and explorations of sexuality and intimacy that go beyond what is available for high-school students."

Introductory session will be Thursday, September 9, 7-9 p.m., First Unitarian Church of San Jose.
Leaders: Kristin Rivers, the Rev. Geoff Rimositis
Dates: (Thursdays 7-9 p.m.) Sept. 9, 16, 23, 30 / Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28 / Nov. 4, 11, 18 / Dec. 2, 9, 16
Cost: $140-$100, sliding scale. Scholarships available as needed. Makes checks out to First Unitarian Church c/o Susan Burke-Diquisto
RSVP: Susan Burke-Diquisto, Office Manager, fucsj at sanjoseuu.org, 292-3858, ext. 10

We had our last meeting with Rev. Joy who helped the Adult RE become more than a committee of one. She taught great sessions from "Building Your Own Theology" to "American Transcendentalism." Thank you Joy for your support.

Thank you to our teachers who taught amazing classes like "Variation on a Rosary" (Karen McVey), "Mindfulness in Action" (Patt Saso), "Public Speaking" (Ilze Duarte), "Living Green" (Michael Joss) and many more.

The Adult Religious Education Committee is not offering classes during the summer. The committee will be hard at work organizing the sessions for the fall. Classes will begin in September. Some of the courses being offered are: "Understanding the Enneagram" taught by Michealle Havenhill, "Questions of Values in a Changing World" taught by John Porter and "Nurturing Children and Youth" taught by Allysson McDonald.

The Small Group Ministry is ongoing until November; the Ekhart Tolle class offered by Jennie Kassan will continue.

At this time, I would like to make a call for anyone interested in becoming a teacher. Do you want to teach but you are not sure what would be interesting. Do you have ideas for a session and want a slot to teach. If this is you, contact one of the committee members: Michealle Havenhill, Jackie Porter or Paul Davis; we can match you to great UU curriculum or we will assist you in the logistics of putting a class together.

All Adult Religious Education must come through the committee first. The committee is experienced with teaching classes, organizing classes, and determining class size.

Take a break this summer and join us in September for some great classes.

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