Faith Formation

As a Minister of Faith Formation for the past 9 years, I deeply believe that one of the most beautiful things about congregations is that they are one of the only places in our society that people of all ages are in community together. I also believe that part of honoring all people is honoring each developmental age and stage as a full, beautiful way of being fully human, meaning that no developmental stage is “better” or “more valuable” than another.

I love Kim Sweeney’s idea of the “Four Cs” of faith formation, which are curriculum (what is the content?), covenant (what promises do we make?), community (who are we on the journey with? Who are we accountable to?), and call (what is our purpose? How can we serve?). So often we focus on children’s religious education only through the lens of curriculum, but I think a wholistic faith formation program takes into account the ways we help people of all ages explore those questions about covenant, community, and call.

I love and value the role that young people play in congregational life, and I believe that I am a minister to everyone in the church—not just the adults. Especially in a small congregation, I am particularly excited to get to know the children and youth personally, to support multigenerational events and worship, and to collaborate with and support a religious educator. 

You can see a video I made for our Faith Formation leaders at UUAC about my philosophy of Faith Formation below.