Spotlight On: Mind, Body, & Soul

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From the Board

SPOTLIGHT ON:

MIND, BODY AND SOUL

Leslie Ross, Director of Children’s Religious Exploration

Mind, Body and Soul (MBS) is offered to 8th graders at FUS and focuses on relationship and sexuality education. It celebrates responsible and developmentally appropriate expressions of one’s sexuality. It used to be comprised of a blend of lessons from several curricula, but now primarily includes lessons from the UUA’s Our Whole Lives curriculum, a lifespan sexuality series.

MBS is immensely important to our youth’s development. It is perhaps one of the most comprehensive, progressive, inclusive curricula of its kind. MBS facilitator John Rider notes: “There is a lot going on at this age and puberty presents many challenges for young people. Their bodies are going through changes, there is lots of incomplete and wrong information being shared by peers and others, and the consequences of social and sexual behaviors can have lasting and negative repercussions. Our youth that go through the Mind, Body, Soul curriculum are much better prepared to go through this life phase since they have lots more factual information about these changes and how their physical bodies work. They will also have a good grounding on what emotions and pressures to expect and have had the opportunity to explore strategies to manage these pressures in social situations.”

While contemporary culture frequently shows sexual behaviors outside of an emotional context, MBS tries to firmly place sexuality within one’s emotional development, exploring how our emotional needs inform our sexual decisions, and how our sexual decisions inform our emotional realities. Some topics explored include: • Healthy/unhealthy relationships • The importance of consent • Stages of intimacy and their potential emotional impacts • Gender identity • Sexual orientation • Body image • Communication skills • Sexually transmitted infections

During the year, youth will also meet with someone from Planned Parenthood to learn about pregnancy prevention; and someone from the Rape Crisis Center to learn about sexual violence.

Conversations with former MBS participants reveal that the benefits of the program are not always felt at the time. Many of our MBS youth have not been in partnered relationships yet and have not participated in shared sexual experiences. But what they’ve learned and explored in MBS is hugely beneficial down the road. It helps them to define and communicate their boundaries and to nurture relationships that are defined by respect and mutuality. It encourages them to continue to grow in ways that are physically and emotionally healthy. Former participant Zadie Brown describes her experience in this way: “I am thankful that I had a safe space to talk about ‘taboo’ topics, that also made it fun! I got to learn everything about my mind, body, and soul in the funnest way a teenager can—surrounded by friends and getting to know them while also getting to know myself.” (continued on page 11)

SPOTLIGHT ON:

MIND, BODY AND SOUL

(con’t from page 10) In a culture that constantly magnifies the worst in relationships and sexuality, MBS provides a safe haven where accurate information, positive sexuality, and emotional caretaking are illuminated. Facilitator Rachel Bennett shares: “This is my third year teaching the class and it still energizes me for the week to spend time with this age group discussing such important content. As a physician, I’ve seen firsthand how being knowledgeable about one’s body and its functions can result in better health outcomes. Moreover, I think we all know how valuable it is to have healthy and satisfying relationships. The idea that we’re giving students the tools to develop those relationships in their future is highly satisfying.” The goal of nurturing the next generation of socially conscious, environmentally responsible, justice-oriented leaders hangs over all we do in CRE. Mind, Body and Soul is an excellent example of how we are helping to create a future that exemplifies the inherent worth of all people, including ourselves!

Most of our MBS participants and leaders (sorry to miss those who were absent!)