Creating Theology Together

A New Resource for Building Faith Community

Our identity and theology are shaped by our lived experience. By understanding our personal theology, we can engage and deepen our commitments in covenantal faith community. Then we can name and claim our shared theology, to inform and shape a public theology that grounds our faithful actions in the world.

In response to the well-known Building Your Own Theology by Rev. Dick Gilbert, Rev. John Morehouse wrote a dissertation called Creating Theology Together. In it, he wondered how moving beyond our focus on the individual search for truth and meaning might create space for a shared theology in UU congregations. We've created CTT to ground and center a congregation’s social justice work in UU theology and mission, and to inspire a deeper commitment to covenantal community, and to our faith's values and principles.

What's the difference between these two curricula?

Building Your Own Theology invites individuals to identify their deeply held values, and to build a personal theology based on who they want to be.

Creating Theology Together goes further. It recognizes that Unitarian Universalism offers a theology with deep roots - that also allows individuals room to explore and make choices. It understands that human faith development happens together, in the context of faith community. It is intentionally multi-generational. It supports the kind of shared learning that can transform UUs, their congregations, and their work in the world. CTT is designed to develop UU identity, to build covenantal community, and to help participants grow, together, in faith.

Creating Theology Together was developed as a Fahs Curriculum Incubator, funded in part by the Fund for Unitarian Universalism. The curriculum teams were led by Anna Bethea and Julica Hermann de la Fuente, with writers Katie Romano Griffin, Jules Jaramillo, Kate Lore, Toniann Read, Dawn Star Sarahs-Borchelt, and Teresa Youngblood.

Here's what you need to know:

• CTT is designed to be co-led by a minister and a religious educator. Most sessions are designed for multi-age groups, about 12 and up; Taking it Home packets for each session extend the learning between workshops, especially for families with younger children at home.
• The curriculum is available for the 2024/2025 church year. It consists of 12 sessions, in three parts: each part using a lens of Within, Among, or Beyond.

If you have any questions about Creating Theology Together, please contact Kaius Kirby at kkirby@meadville.edu.

Ready to dive into Creating Theology Together? 

Click the button below to make an online payment for Creating Theology Together. You will receive the link and password to the curriculum files in the payment confirmation email.