Plymouth Magazine-Spring24-FINAL - Flipbook - Page 9
Our Whole Lives (OWL) Sexuality
Education, programming in place
at Plymouth Church
By Anna S. Osborn (she/her)
It’s beautiful really, the blessed water
placed with prayer during baptism, third
grade bibles given with love and care,
middle schoolers kneeling to receive
a personal blessing of confirmation,
graduating seniors wrapped lovingly with
a prayer shawl. The holy blob, a laying
on of hands as the entire church comes
together to pray for one another. Each of
these special moments creates a feeling
of love and care for those who are being
blessed and for those in the congregation
surrounding, supporting, praying.
What happens when life stages aren’t
initially so beautiful? What about when
our children are growing, changing,
developing, asking hard questions about
their body, about how they feel about
themselves, about pressures in life? Our
church community is here for that too,
we’re here for the challenging and even
the sometimes-awkward moments like
sexuality education. Yes, we’re here for that
too, and we’ve been providing sexuality
education in the church for decades.
The Board of Children, Teens, and
Families has been dedicated to
supporting healthy children through
safe and clear sexuality education for as
far back as our record keeping tracks.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s a video series
and discussion prompts were made
available to families to take home and
discuss changing bodies, social pressures,
and personal safety. In the 1980’s and
1990’s classes were offered for children
and their parents, using a textbook in a
collaborative group setting, expanding the
sexuality education to include concepts
around self-esteem and personal identity.
Beyond our Plymouth Church offerings
for sexuality education, in 1991, a
nationwide task force was formed
consisting of leadership from both
the United Church of Christ and the
Unitarian Universalist Association.
Together, they understood there was a
need for positive, comprehensive, and
age-appropriate educational programming
that promotes sexual health.
education begins at home, it’s important
that the church provide resources to help
parents teach about sexuality. The board
demonstrates well that while we come
together for the beautiful and blessed
moments as a community of faith, we’re
here for the awkward stuff too which is
yet another beautiful blessing.
Sexuality education taught in traditional
education settings typically focuses
only on the physical body, correct
terminology for all the body parts,
puberty, and reproduction.
The task force created programming
that was informed by the guidelines
of the Sexuality Information and
Education Council of the United States.
The program was titled Our Whole
Lives (OWL) and covers bodies from
kindergarten through adult. While it was
developed by two religious organizations,
the leaders’ guides are completely secular
and free of specific religious doctrine or
reference. The curriculum, “Sexuality and
Our Faith” is a companion to OWL that
assists with values-based conversations.
Plymouth Church recognized the OWL
education as a great opportunity to
further expand on sexuality education
in our church. The Board of Children,
Teens, and Families created a strategic
plan for the education of our youth, and
training facilitators to offer the OWL
curriculum within our community.
They understood that while sexuality
Pastor LeAnn Stubbs staying informed on healthy
Plymouth Magazine 9
bodies while reading “What Makes a Baby.”
