INTRODUCTION TO

INTRODUCTION TO

DEEPENING FAITH THROUGH CELEBRATING

HOLY HORMONES

Our sexuality is one of the most amazing blessings from God. As Christians, we honor our sexuality as a deep part of our spirituality and of who we are as individual human beings. Everyone is gifted with sexuality from birth to death. With all that sexuality bouncing around in our world, it’s no wonder that it is such a huge part of our lives and such a huge part of artistic expression. The Bible has an entire book dedicated just to the celebration of love/sexuality/sensuality called “The Song of Solomon” or “Song of Songs”.

One of the largest parts of adolescence is to explore and learn to celebrate our sexuality. Sexuality is more than just sex. Sexuality is about how we appreciate the world through our senses: taste, touch, smell, sight, sound. Sexuality is about how we see ourselves as male or female, and our qualities of both. Sexuality is about who we are attracted to, whether it is people of the same gender, the opposite gender, or both genders. Sexuality is about what feels good and healthy to our bodies, minds, and hearts. Sexuality is about how we begin to develop our flirting skills, how we appreciate romance, and how we feel about our bodies when we are alone or when we are with other people.

The best thing we can do as adults working with youth is to give them a safe place to reflect on their sexuality and celebrate it. The first step to doing that is doing everything we can to be comfortable with our own sexuality, and then role modeling appropriate boundaries, healthy self-images, and healthy relationships with ourselves, our friends, our families, and our romantic partners!

Some advice

When doing a sexuality workshop or program with youth, keep in mind:

· That the participants in your group are at different developmental levels (SEICUS an organization listed below in the bibliography, has done excellent research on this and they have developed clear and appropriate guidelines).

· That ultimately the adults raising the kids (i.e. their parents or guardians) are the primary sexuality educators. Try not to ever make it look like you are going behind their backs. Work with them!

· That your congregation/denomination has their own traditions, ethics, and morals – know what they are!

· That youth will ask you personal questions about your sexuality and sexual practices. Theories on how to answer these questions have changed over the decades. In the 1970’s it was “be honest and tell them everything.” Currently the best advice is to help kids learn appropriate boundaries. The best answer to an explicit personal question is, “that’s private” or “that’s between my partner and myself.” Give good clear educational information. Give kids an opportunity to explore what they think about ideas and issues. Give your opinion, but don’t feel compelled to engage in a discussion of your intimate sexual life, or theirs.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RESOURCES ON SEXUALITY AND SPIRITUALITY

FOR ADULTS WHO WORK WITH YOUTH

Our Whole Lives: Sexuality and Our Faith is published by the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalists. This is a comprehensive sexuality curriculum with developmentally appropriate pieces for K-1, Elementary, Junior High, High School, and Adults. This curriculum covers everything!!! It is values based with Biblical, theological, and liturgical resources. The values are Self Worth, Sexual Health, Responsibility, and Justice and Inclusivity. Teams of sexuality educators who are very well respected in their field wrote the meat of the curriculum. Clergy who work with those age groups wrote the Biblical, theological, and worship materials. The UCC or UUA must train people using this curriculum. For more information contact:

· Ann Hanson, Minister for Children, Families, and Sexuality Advocacy for the United Church of Christ at 216-736-3718 or hansona@ucc.org

· or if you are UUA, contact www.uua.org/re/owlnet.html

Dirt, Greed and Sex: Sexual Ethics in the New Testament and their Implications for Today by L. William Countryman, is published by Fortress Press, Philadelphia. This book helps the reader understand where most of our sexual ethics come from and puts them in cultural context.

Love – All That and More is an excellent video and curriculum put out by The Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence. This curriculum helps kids learn how to develop healthy relationships and how to avoid abusive relationships. The resource also has “A Facilitator’s Guide for Work With Christian Youth” and “A Facilitator’s Guide for Work With Jewish Youth.” Both guides give extra questions and activities as well as biblical and worship materials. For more information contact:

· The Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence, Seattle Washington at 206-634-1903 or www.cpsdv.org

The Sexuality, Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) has compiled an excellent bibliography of sexuality education resources published by a variety of denominations. This list includes resources from:

· American Baptist Churches, USA

· The Roman Catholic Church

· Church of the Brethren

· Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

· Mennonite Church, General Conference

· Presbyterian Church (USA)

· Salvation Army

· Southern Baptist Convention

· Union of American Hebrew Congregations

· Unitarian Universalist Association

· United Church of Christ

· The United Methodist Church

· and others

The SIECUS bibliography and other SIECUS resources can be accessed at http://www.siecus.org/religion

THE SEXUALITY SONG

Written in the stairwell before a workshop I was giving entitled, “Holy Hormones” at a United Church of Christ National Youth Event

(To the tune of, “Mama’s Little Baby Loves Shortnin Bread”)

Physical, spiritual, sexual bodies

Physical, spiritual, sexual me

Physical, spiritual, sexual bodies

Physical, spiritual, sexual me

God gave me

Sexuality

Healthy, holy sexuality

God gave me

Sexuality

Healthy, holy sexuality

(Repeat several times while dancing around the room)

Deepening Faith: Youth Ministry Resources and Some Miscellaneous Advice

Rev. Lizann Bassham, Front Porch Spirit Press