OWL About It!

Winter 2022

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER! OUR WHOLE LIVES FOR GRADES K-1, 2nd Edition

Those who pre-order will receive a pdf of the Our Whole Lives material while we wait for the hard copy. We expect you will receive the hard copy within a few months, but current paper shortages in the supply chain make is difficult to predict more specifically.

Check out this UCC News story about some of our new resources this year!

Wherever you are when you are reading this, we hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well cared for. Here are our spring highlights

The July webinar was about Framing Conversations About Restarting OWL Programs. If you are considering offering an in-person Our Whole Lives program, we highly recommend you watch this webinar, which includes lots of thoughtful information about what to consider and how to structure your re-entry time. The entire webinar playlist is here. Registration is open for the January 4th webinar with Dr. Tanya Bass about the Importance of Continuing Education for Sex Ed. https://UCC.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_oxCJzJP0QiWf42G69BluaA

NEWS

  • 2023 Online OWL Training dates now available!  These are open to UCC and UUA members. You can find application windows and links at www.uua.org/re/owl  and Our Whole Lives Training Schedule – United Church of Christ (ucc.org) . These trainings are more intensive in number of hours than an in-person training. They are spread out over 3 weeks (two 2.5-hour Zoom sessions per week, as well as some asynchronous work in between sessions, and a Saturday class to end with). Asynchronous work is front-loaded for before the training begins and the first week of the training.
  •  NOTE: Spaces are limited, and spots fill quickly. If you are an experienced OWL facilitator and are willing to serve as a mentor to new facilitators starting new OWL programs in their churches, please contact Amy Johnson at JohnsonA@ucc.org or Melanie Davis at MJDavis@uua.org.
  • NOW AVAILABLE! “Under Your Wing” video series for parents of young children, hosted by Marshall Miller and Dorian Solot, authors of the 2nd edition of K-1 OWL. Under Your Wing: Our Whole Lives Sexuality – United Church of Christ (ucc.org) and https://www.uua.org/re/owl/videos-k-1 resource list here.
  • NOW AVAILABLE! UCC version of Parents and Caregivers as Sexuality Educators is available here. UUA version is here. You may watch the webinar about this Parents and Caregivers program here.

The UCC and UUA honor church and congregation polity while also recommending that before in-person Our Whole Lives programs and trainings resume, programs and trainings be scheduled in accordance with expert guidance from the CDC and your state and local health department recommendations.

A growing number of in-person trainings have resumed, and you can find information about them here and here. 

We continue our work to incorporate a more intentional anti-racism lens into Our Whole Lives curricula and training. This work is in process. In the meantime, please see our Anti-Racism resource section for families, and check out this video about how comprehensive sexuality education impacts anti-racism work.

COMING SOON! 

Dr. Tanya Bass joins OWL Taking Flight in January for the Importance of Continuing Education in Sex Ed. Register here. If you have questions, please contact Amy Johnson, UCC Minister for Sexuality Education and Justice, at JohnsonA@ucc.org or Melanie Davis, UUA Our Whole Lives Program Manager, at mjdavis@uua.org. We remain in service and in solidarity with you!