‘The world needs OWL’: Synod affirms ongoing work of Our Whole Lives and comprehensive sexuality education

As Our Whole Lives (OWL) celebrates 25 years, General Synod overwhelmingly affirmed the program’s ministry of providing faith-based comprehensive sexuality education in partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Association.

The resolution “Faithful Stewardship of Our Whole Lives and Advocacy for Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Faith Communities Through Interfaith Collaboration” passed with 625 affirmative votes, 11 against, and 13 abstentions. It affirms that “doing God’s work in the world includes providing life-affirming lifespan sexuality education that is developmentally appropriate and scientifically accurate.”

Every person who commented on the resolution on the Synod floor expressed support, with one after another describing the various ways that OWL has positively impacted them, their children, and their congregations.

Ellie Smith, an 18-year-old delegate from the Rocky Mountain Conference, shared how she was surprised to meet other youth in the Synod Exhibit Hall who had never heard about OWL. Smith participated in OWL programs in both junior high and high school.

“Now more than ever with the current administration’s attack on women’s rights and the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, it is vital for people, especially youth, to learn more about their own bodies and bodily autonomy. The work to teach consent, as well as the support system to discover our own sexualities, is necessary to create a respectful and helpful generation that will lead us in the future,” she said.

The Rev. Roberto Ochoa, conference minister for Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota Conference and an OWL trainer, described the significant resource that OWL offers in small town and rural churches, who are “often the beacon for lifesaving education like OWL.”

And the stories continued. A parent described the relief of finding OWL as a safe place for their child to learn about their body and consent. A young person described how OWL helps them understand the world around them in important ways. A faith formation leader described the joy of helping youth to find the beauty of human experience. A youth director described witnessing how knowledge gained through OWL has enriched the lives of entire families.

Committee Chair Debra Joseph of the South Central Conference noted that Committee #5 responsible for this resolution found many reasons to celebrate and further the work of OWL through this resolution.  

“Compelling reasons include the long and faithful presence of OWL; the testimonies of many delegates to the impact on their lives and the lives of those they know, love, and serve; the joy that this curriculum is written for secular audiences as well as being easily adopted to communities of faith; the joy that OWL is in partnership with other denominations; that OWL may be used in variety of church settings and with many different age groups; that OWL trainings continue to be available; that churches can elect in their autonomy to support the celebration; and that OWL enables us to embrace the diversity of God’s creation,” Joseph said.

The committee had made one amendment to the originally-submitted resolution. While the original resolution had proposed an annual observance on the first Sunday in May, the committee instead suggested several options throughout the month of May which “include, but are not limited to, holding an Our Whole Lives Sunday, offering an Our Whole Lives educational workshop, and/or sending out Our Whole Lives information in newsletters.”

Following the resolution’s passage, the Rev. Amy Johnson, UCC Minister for Sexuality Education and Justice, and Melanie Davis, OWL program manager at the Unitarian Universalist Association, came to the stage to celebrate 25 years of partnership on OWL.

“Over the past 25 years, our faith organizations have broken silences that fertilized shame and stigma in our congregations – shame and stigma that are too often fatal,” said Johnson.

“Together, we proclaim the self-worth and dignity of every human being and their right to bodily autonomy,” Davis said.

Celebrating the stories

The spirit of celebration for OWL carried throughout several events at General Synod.

Owlivia the Owl became an unofficial mascot at Synod with appearances in the Exhibit Hall.

A special evening reception was held with a focus on storytelling around OWL experiences. Several churches and conferences who have served as OWL training sites were recognized with certificates to celebrate their contributions, and Johnson invited people to share dreams with each other for OWL’s next 25 years.

Johnson read stories of OWL’s impact that attendees had written on index cards and invited all of those gathered to respond after each story with the words, “This is why the world needs OWL.”

“The UCC and UUA partnership makes possible values-based sexuality education that is unrivaled for its depth, breadth, impact, longevity, and the respect that it has earned internationally. Together we achieve what neither of our organizations could do alone,” Davis reflected.

The diversity and breadth of the stories shared – so many there was not enough time to share them all – drove home the truth of the refrain: the world needs OWL.

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