1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,229

2
00:00:06,229 --> 00:00:07,270
Pat Kahn: Good afternoon.

3
00:00:07,270 --> 00:00:08,686
We're going to go
ahead and start.

4
00:00:08,686 --> 00:00:13,250
Because I Have 2:16 by my
watch, which might be fast.

5
00:00:13,250 --> 00:00:17,700
This is program number
241, Deepening Our Faith

6
00:00:17,700 --> 00:00:19,780
through Theme Based Ministry.

7
00:00:19,780 --> 00:00:22,550
So I hope that's
what you came for.

8
00:00:22,550 --> 00:00:24,040
My name is Pat Kahn.

9
00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,380
I'm the children and
family Programs Director

10
00:00:26,380 --> 00:00:29,290
for the UUA's Faith
Development Office.

11
00:00:29,290 --> 00:00:32,900
And it's my pleasure to work
with my wonderful colleagues

12
00:00:32,900 --> 00:00:35,440
on a subject that's near
and dear to my heart.

13
00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:39,050
And obviously to theirs
because they're here.

14
00:00:39,050 --> 00:00:40,960
I wanted to just
say before we get

15
00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,680
started-- what just happened
to my PowerPoint over there?

16
00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,180
I'll go figure that out next.

17
00:00:47,180 --> 00:00:49,600
Before we get
started, the workshop

18
00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,680
is being video recorded.

19
00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:58,450
And after GA the video recording
will be on the UUA website.

20
00:00:58,450 --> 00:01:01,300
As will the PowerPoint.

21
00:01:01,300 --> 00:01:04,470
And I want to say this now, and
I'll try to remind you later.

22
00:01:04,470 --> 00:01:06,990
At the end when
we have questions,

23
00:01:06,990 --> 00:01:09,350
because it's going
to be video recorded,

24
00:01:09,350 --> 00:01:12,600
you need to say your name
and where you're from.

25
00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:17,770
Because then we'll contact you
about getting a video release

26
00:01:17,770 --> 00:01:19,270
from you.

27
00:01:19,270 --> 00:01:22,600
Before you ask a question
you'll say your name.

28
00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,920
We will pause for
about a minute or so

29
00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,150
after each of our
presenters so that you

30
00:01:29,150 --> 00:01:31,680
can absorb for a second.

31
00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,750
And also so that if
there are any questions

32
00:01:34,750 --> 00:01:37,490
that you have for
that particular person

33
00:01:37,490 --> 00:01:38,890
you can jot them down.

34
00:01:38,890 --> 00:01:40,980
And then when we have
questions at the end

35
00:01:40,980 --> 00:01:45,610
you'll know who to
address that to.

36
00:01:45,610 --> 00:01:47,940
I guess I should
also say, if you're

37
00:01:47,940 --> 00:01:49,850
asking a question
at the end you will

38
00:01:49,850 --> 00:01:52,010
need to use the microphone
that's in the center.

39
00:01:52,010 --> 00:01:55,690
And, just as a reminder,
you'll need to say your name.

40
00:01:55,690 --> 00:01:57,430
And so we're going
to get started

41
00:01:57,430 --> 00:02:01,170
with our first presenter,
Reverend Jan Taddeo

42
00:02:01,170 --> 00:02:03,310
from the UU Congregation
of Gwinnett.

43
00:02:03,310 --> 00:02:05,820
Right outside of
Atlanta, Georgia.

44
00:02:05,820 --> 00:02:15,450
Jan.

45
00:02:15,450 --> 00:02:18,280
Jan Taddeo: Well while Pat
is working on our video,

46
00:02:18,280 --> 00:02:22,130
I will tell you a little
bit about who I am.

47
00:02:22,130 --> 00:02:23,090
How I came into this.

48
00:02:23,090 --> 00:02:25,020
I am a third year minister.

49
00:02:25,020 --> 00:02:27,290
I was ordained in May 2011.

50
00:02:27,290 --> 00:02:33,400
And I met my first congregation
outside of Atlanta.

51
00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:34,080
OK.

52
00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:34,950
We covered all that.

53
00:02:34,950 --> 00:02:38,470
OK.

54
00:02:38,470 --> 00:02:42,450
And I was brought in
part because they really

55
00:02:42,450 --> 00:02:45,050
wanted someone who would build
a bridge between the front

56
00:02:45,050 --> 00:02:46,930
of the church and the
back of the Church.

57
00:02:46,930 --> 00:02:48,730
Someone who would
explore ways to engage

58
00:02:48,730 --> 00:02:51,190
in multi-generational ministry.

59
00:02:51,190 --> 00:02:53,450
Theme based ministry
has given me,

60
00:02:53,450 --> 00:02:56,450
us together, and our shared
ministry, a lot of ways

61
00:02:56,450 --> 00:02:57,350
to explore that.

62
00:02:57,350 --> 00:03:01,500
And it's been an evolving
process in these three years.

63
00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:03,060
The next slide.

64
00:03:03,060 --> 00:03:06,040
In the first two
years, I started out

65
00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,620
initiating the concept of
themes right from the beginning.

66
00:03:08,620 --> 00:03:12,870
Because I think of worship
as an ongoing conversation.

67
00:03:12,870 --> 00:03:14,590
And that there should
be a thread that

68
00:03:14,590 --> 00:03:16,760
ties each service to the next.

69
00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,110
And themes help us to
do that really well.

70
00:03:19,110 --> 00:03:22,520
And as a new minister it gave
me some really clear things

71
00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:24,160
to be preaching
about starting out.

72
00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,740
And that was helpful.

73
00:03:26,740 --> 00:03:29,615
We work together with
the worship associates

74
00:03:29,615 --> 00:03:31,670
and I chose our themes.

75
00:03:31,670 --> 00:03:34,170
And that first year, everything
was really about worship.

76
00:03:34,170 --> 00:03:36,480
And I didn't think too much
about how to incorporate it

77
00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:38,610
into our religious
exploration program.

78
00:03:38,610 --> 00:03:42,350
Until some of the RE
facilitators were asking me,

79
00:03:42,350 --> 00:03:44,634
well what's it going
to be about this time?

80
00:03:44,634 --> 00:03:46,800
Because I want to try and
bring that into the class.

81
00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,310
And so I started really doing
more to give them a heads

82
00:03:49,310 --> 00:03:50,610
up about what we were doing.

83
00:03:50,610 --> 00:03:52,280
And giving them
more ideas of how

84
00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:55,560
to incorporate it
into their programs.

85
00:03:55,560 --> 00:04:00,330
And I did a weekly RE
newsletter for the teachers.

86
00:04:00,330 --> 00:04:02,959
That they could get some
inspiration for themselves,

87
00:04:02,959 --> 00:04:05,250
because they were missing
some of the worship services.

88
00:04:05,250 --> 00:04:07,000
And I intentionally
went and met with them

89
00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,130
and discussed theme
based stuff, as well

90
00:04:09,130 --> 00:04:12,830
as what was going on
for them in their work.

91
00:04:12,830 --> 00:04:18,720
In the third year, we introduced
the concept of an annual theme.

92
00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:23,410
So next slide.

93
00:04:23,410 --> 00:04:26,510
And what we came
up with was "Touch

94
00:04:26,510 --> 00:04:27,690
the Earth, Reach the Sky."

95
00:04:27,690 --> 00:04:31,030
And this was really helpful
in a lot of our fund-raising,

96
00:04:31,030 --> 00:04:33,720
in a lot of our activities
throughout the church year.

97
00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:35,880
We used it to think
about our canvas.

98
00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,400
We used to think about
our annual auction.

99
00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:40,320
It was a lot of fun
to look at that.

100
00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:42,130
We actually created
a big huge mural.

101
00:04:42,130 --> 00:04:45,040
And had everybody's hand
prints on it from the ground,

102
00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:46,909
up through the trees,
and up into the sky.

103
00:04:46,909 --> 00:04:48,700
And that sits at the
back of the sanctuary.

104
00:04:48,700 --> 00:04:54,810
And it has this really creative
display of hand prints.

105
00:04:54,810 --> 00:04:58,850
We also, in that third year,
changed the structure of our RE

106
00:04:58,850 --> 00:05:01,490
and our worship to
integrate the worship

107
00:05:01,490 --> 00:05:04,419
and the religious exploration
programs more thoroughly.

108
00:05:04,419 --> 00:05:06,460
And to create a more
multi-generational ministry.

109
00:05:06,460 --> 00:05:08,770
We did more
multi-generational worship.

110
00:05:08,770 --> 00:05:11,400
And more RE after the services.

111
00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:16,380
And then we were able to really
tie the themes into one another

112
00:05:16,380 --> 00:05:18,450
more intentionally.

113
00:05:18,450 --> 00:05:21,480
In that third year, an example
of that was our pageant.

114
00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:25,750
Which we developed through the
course of about two months.

115
00:05:25,750 --> 00:05:29,501
We worked on the
pageant, both people

116
00:05:29,501 --> 00:05:31,250
worked on it during
the service sometimes.

117
00:05:31,250 --> 00:05:33,166
Sometimes they worked
on it after the service.

118
00:05:33,166 --> 00:05:34,700
We got people of
all ages engaged

119
00:05:34,700 --> 00:05:38,810
in building sets and
costumes and scripts.

120
00:05:38,810 --> 00:05:40,470
There were all ages
doing the pageant.

121
00:05:40,470 --> 00:05:44,560
It was certainly not
limited to shorter people.

122
00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,660
And we also, in the
worship services,

123
00:05:47,660 --> 00:05:48,830
we had an advent theme.

124
00:05:48,830 --> 00:05:55,520
And we had an advent poem that
tied through the entire course

125
00:05:55,520 --> 00:06:00,412
of five weeks of worship,
including the Christmas Eve

126
00:06:00,412 --> 00:06:01,270
service.

127
00:06:01,270 --> 00:06:03,900
That someone in the
congregation had written.

128
00:06:03,900 --> 00:06:05,660
And the children
wrote, and the teens

129
00:06:05,660 --> 00:06:09,280
had looked at and examined,
and parsed out for meaning.

130
00:06:09,280 --> 00:06:10,380
That was a lot of fun.

131
00:06:10,380 --> 00:06:12,400
Through the spring we
did a Keyhole Garden.

132
00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:14,630
Which you can see
a picture of there.

133
00:06:14,630 --> 00:06:18,210
It is now overflowing
with eggplant and squash,

134
00:06:18,210 --> 00:06:19,610
and all of that.

135
00:06:19,610 --> 00:06:22,900
We started the project of
re-building our labyrinth.

136
00:06:22,900 --> 00:06:25,890
Which we'll get completed
in the next fall,

137
00:06:25,890 --> 00:06:28,530
as part of our next
theme based ministry.

138
00:06:28,530 --> 00:06:30,320
And that's one of
our little helpers

139
00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:35,750
there carrying her brick to
help rebuild the labyrinth.

140
00:06:35,750 --> 00:06:39,550
These were done during the
themes of ecology, sewing,

141
00:06:39,550 --> 00:06:40,420
and metamorphosis.

142
00:06:40,420 --> 00:06:42,810
So it ran across three
different themes.

143
00:06:42,810 --> 00:06:44,750
And it threaded through
that whole part.

144
00:06:44,750 --> 00:06:46,650
And the worship services
integrated it, too.

145
00:06:46,650 --> 00:06:50,630
We built a terrarium that
sits in our worship space

146
00:06:50,630 --> 00:06:53,710
as a representative of the
internal garden of who we are.

147
00:06:53,710 --> 00:06:58,310
And the external
garden is how we're

148
00:06:58,310 --> 00:07:01,430
serving the greater world.

149
00:07:01,430 --> 00:07:03,970
Also in our third year, we
started the Words of Wisdom.

150
00:07:03,970 --> 00:07:06,914
These are daily devotionals that
were created by two volunteers.

151
00:07:06,914 --> 00:07:08,330
One from our worship
team, and one

152
00:07:08,330 --> 00:07:09,990
from our faith development team.

153
00:07:09,990 --> 00:07:16,240
And each day one of them
writes a 300 word devotional

154
00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:17,760
on our theme.

155
00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:19,070
They're wonderful.

156
00:07:19,070 --> 00:07:19,990
And inspiring.

157
00:07:19,990 --> 00:07:22,520
And it's an
incredible commitment

158
00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:24,660
of their spiritual energy.

159
00:07:24,660 --> 00:07:26,140
And they find it very rewarding.

160
00:07:26,140 --> 00:07:29,480
They also get contributions
from a few other people

161
00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:30,520
in the congregation.

162
00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,050
And every now and then
I'll give them something.

163
00:07:33,050 --> 00:07:35,160
But mostly, they're
taking care of that.

164
00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,990
And you're welcome
to go check it out.

165
00:07:37,990 --> 00:07:42,540
A couple of them have been
featured on the UU blog list.

166
00:07:42,540 --> 00:07:45,320
In the coming year,
on the next slide,

167
00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:50,190
we're trying even
more new things.

168
00:07:50,190 --> 00:07:52,880
This time the minister,
the worship associates,

169
00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:54,900
and the religious
exploration associates,

170
00:07:54,900 --> 00:07:56,590
work together to
select the themes.

171
00:07:56,590 --> 00:07:59,530
And we started with our annual
theme of where do we come from?

172
00:07:59,530 --> 00:08:00,030
What are we?

173
00:08:00,030 --> 00:08:01,680
Where are we going?

174
00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:03,680
Coming to realize that
our congregation really

175
00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,610
wants more of what it means
to be Unitarian Universalism.

176
00:08:06,610 --> 00:08:07,920
What is our history?

177
00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:08,720
What are we now?

178
00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:10,550
How do we talk about who we are?

179
00:08:10,550 --> 00:08:14,180
And we're working on our
long term vision this year.

180
00:08:14,180 --> 00:08:17,770
So where are we going is a
big piece of our conversation.

181
00:08:17,770 --> 00:08:24,110
The monthly themes we borrowed
some the John Buehrens' book,

182
00:08:24,110 --> 00:08:28,220
co-written by Rebecca
Parker, A House for Hope.

183
00:08:28,220 --> 00:08:31,020
And then we added in a
bunch of other themes

184
00:08:31,020 --> 00:08:34,370
that relate specifically
to areas in our space.

185
00:08:34,370 --> 00:08:37,260
In our buildings
and in our grounds,

186
00:08:37,260 --> 00:08:40,580
including the labyrinth
and the wash rooms.

187
00:08:40,580 --> 00:08:43,419
Really fascinating
conversations about that one.

188
00:08:43,419 --> 00:08:48,400
And that's my dog
walking the labyrinth.

189
00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:50,190
We're excited about that.

190
00:08:50,190 --> 00:08:54,821
And the next one, we're changing
the Sunday morning structure

191
00:08:54,821 --> 00:08:55,320
completely.

192
00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,270
We're moving our worship
service From 10:30 to 11.

193
00:08:58,270 --> 00:09:00,880
Making all of our worship
multi-generational.

194
00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,750
And 10 o'clock will be
religious exploration.

195
00:09:04,750 --> 00:09:07,670
With a modified version
of workshop rotation.

196
00:09:07,670 --> 00:09:09,250
Because workshop
rotation is usually

197
00:09:09,250 --> 00:09:11,150
something done in
large congregations.

198
00:09:11,150 --> 00:09:15,390
Ours is a relatively small,
mid-size congregation.

199
00:09:15,390 --> 00:09:18,370
So it's a modified version
in which the rotations are

200
00:09:18,370 --> 00:09:22,630
one class of children, one class
of teens, one class of adults.

201
00:09:22,630 --> 00:09:26,670
And they'll rotate through
our mission statement themes.

202
00:09:26,670 --> 00:09:29,440
Which are curiosity,
courage, and compassion.

203
00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:32,469
In which they'll explore
all of our sources.

204
00:09:32,469 --> 00:09:34,260
They'll explore their
own spiritual growth.

205
00:09:34,260 --> 00:09:36,210
The courage it
takes to go deeper

206
00:09:36,210 --> 00:09:39,830
into your own understanding
of your spiritual journey.

207
00:09:39,830 --> 00:09:41,090
And the faith in action.

208
00:09:41,090 --> 00:09:43,310
The compassion that we
live out in the world.

209
00:09:43,310 --> 00:09:45,290
And incorporating the theme.

210
00:09:45,290 --> 00:09:47,570
A big piece of this, and a
very exciting piece for us,

211
00:09:47,570 --> 00:09:49,620
is that we're incorporating
our green sanctuary

212
00:09:49,620 --> 00:09:51,260
projects into that.

213
00:09:51,260 --> 00:09:53,170
So that all ages are involved.

214
00:09:53,170 --> 00:09:55,960
It's kind of hard to
fill it in on the form

215
00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,430
for green sanctuary, because
it's so much a part of worship

216
00:09:59,430 --> 00:10:02,090
and religious exploration
and faith in action

217
00:10:02,090 --> 00:10:04,180
that it doesn't fit in the box.

218
00:10:04,180 --> 00:10:08,210
It's all integrated with
congregational life.

219
00:10:08,210 --> 00:10:11,340
And our RE committee is starting
to think of themselves not

220
00:10:11,340 --> 00:10:15,120
so much as committee
members, but really

221
00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:16,930
religious exploration
associates.

222
00:10:16,930 --> 00:10:19,540
People who are really
committed to what

223
00:10:19,540 --> 00:10:21,890
it means to create a
religious exploration

224
00:10:21,890 --> 00:10:25,340
program for all ages.

225
00:10:25,340 --> 00:10:27,860
We'll continue our
Words of Wisdom.

226
00:10:27,860 --> 00:10:30,650
And on the next screen, the
other thing we're working on

227
00:10:30,650 --> 00:10:34,577
is we are revamping our website.

228
00:10:34,577 --> 00:10:36,410
Rebuilding and creating
a whole new website,

229
00:10:36,410 --> 00:10:38,260
basically that is
going to incorporate

230
00:10:38,260 --> 00:10:41,260
a little bit of the 21st
Century Faith Formation and Fahs

231
00:10:41,260 --> 00:10:42,610
Collaborative ideas.

232
00:10:42,610 --> 00:10:45,630
And I invite you to go
to Fahs Collaborative,

233
00:10:45,630 --> 00:10:47,310
to go to those places
to look those up.

234
00:10:47,310 --> 00:10:48,560
What that means.

235
00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:50,910
But in other words, looking
at ways to create a website

236
00:10:50,910 --> 00:10:53,076
that meets people where
they are in different stages

237
00:10:53,076 --> 00:10:54,970
of their life, in
different situations

238
00:10:54,970 --> 00:10:56,800
that they're in
in their journey.

239
00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,805
And then also working on an app.

240
00:10:59,805 --> 00:11:01,431
A smartphone app
that people can take

241
00:11:01,431 --> 00:11:02,680
with them through their lives.

242
00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:04,054
And through the
week they'll have

243
00:11:04,054 --> 00:11:06,230
a place they can go
for a daily chalice

244
00:11:06,230 --> 00:11:11,960
lighting, a bedtime prayer, the
grace, those kinds of things.

245
00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:13,720
And they'll also
be able to access

246
00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:15,850
our Words of Wisdom blog.

247
00:11:15,850 --> 00:11:20,240
And the last slide
shows the themes

248
00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,390
we've had over these, what
will be now be, four years.

249
00:11:23,390 --> 00:11:25,900
So you get an idea of the
kinds of themes we've used.

250
00:11:25,900 --> 00:11:29,802
They didn't want to use the ones
that other churches were using.

251
00:11:29,802 --> 00:11:32,260
I presented them to them and
they said, oh those are great.

252
00:11:32,260 --> 00:11:33,790
And some of them are in there.

253
00:11:33,790 --> 00:11:36,250
But they really
wanted to put together

254
00:11:36,250 --> 00:11:41,240
their own themes that
fit on one another.

255
00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:43,710
Thank you very much.

256
00:11:43,710 --> 00:11:58,784