Companion Curriculum
The Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints companion curriculum supports expansive, inclusive, and joyful faith that expands our hearts, helps us stir up good and holy trouble where it’s needed, and commits to telling stories of love, kindness, courage, and justice.
This is a story-based curriculum rooted in the belief that the stories we tell matter—they matter a lot. We need stories to help us catch courage and inspiration. Many youth ministers have told us that their youth have really loved Part I of the companion curriculum and have connected with it like no other curriculum they’ve tried. Stories are how we make meaning, so a story-based curriculum connects well for the simple reason that humans are storytelling creatures.
This curriculum is aimed at middle grades (8-14) but has scaffolds and activity options for younger and older children. It’s designed for families, classrooms, and congregational faith formations programs with simple setup and (usually) materials you likely already have on hand. All lessons are drawn from the profiles in the Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints book, people of diverse faiths, both past and present, who have worked for more love, kindness, and justice in their corner of the world, even when that rocked the religious boat.
The curriculum is now available in two parts:
Part I: “Long Live Good & Holy Trouble” is an introduction to the concepts of holy troublemaking through the stories of 11 holy troublemakers and unconventional saints. What is holy and good trouble? What is not? What lessons can we learn from those who have gone before on this path? How do we keep our joy and inner peace while working for a world where all can flourish? What might my contribution be? Each lesson also has a coloring sheet (with a bonus Advent-themed one).
NEW! Part II: “We Are Made of Stories & Stardust” focuses on the importance of the stories we tell (individually and collectively) and helps youth identify the stories told by 11 additional holy troublemakers and unconventional saints in order to help young people identify stories they resonate with and want to share or retell in their own ways. These lessons ask questions such as what stories inspire me? What stories make me feel valuable and worthy of joy? What stories do I want to keep telling in my own way?
Each curriculum has 12 lessons with dig deeper options that can easily extend to more for a total of 24 or even 36 lessons. (So a total of 24-72 lessons between Part I and Part II.) Each lesson also has a coloring sheet with a quote that connects to the theme.
Each lesson is meant to take 30–40 minutes with options for digging deeper and extending the time if desired. Ideally, you’ll have time to read the full profile from Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints, but if time is limited, there’s also a short synopsis included in each lesson.
Both curriculums come in three versions (licenses) available based on the size of your organization: Personal/Family, Church 1-100 Members, and Church 100+ Members. A usage license is included in your purchase.
Part I: Long Live Good & Holy Trouble Table of Contents
1. Bayard Rusting: What is Holy Troublemaking?
Coloring sheet: Long Live Good & Holy Trouble
2. Fr. Broderick Greer: Talking With Our Sacred Texts
Coloring sheet: Imagine and Wonder
3. Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg: Loving God by Caring for God’s Creation
Coloring sheet: Be Amazed
4. Gustavo Gutiérrez: Imitating Jesus
Coloring sheet: “Love exists only among equals.” - Gustavo Gutiérrez
5. Herb Montgomery: What If Jesus Came To Show Us How To Live?
Coloring sheet: Love Wins
6. Kaitlin Curtice: Knowing Our Origin Stories
Coloring sheet: We All Belong
7. Thich Nhat Hanh: Being A Buddha
Coloring sheet: “Smile, breathe, and go slowly.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
8. Maryam Molkara: Being True To Yourself Also Frees Others
Coloring sheet: “Courage, dear heart.” - Aslan
9. Rumi: Creating Through Grief
Coloring sheet: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen (inspired by Rumi)
10. Valarie Kaur: Practicing Revolutionary Love
Coloring sheet: “See no stranger.” - Valarie Kaur
11. Rev. Wil Gafney: What Is Your Favorite Word For God?
Coloring sheet: Spirit, Mother, Holy One, Father, Creator, Friend, Love, [space intentionally blank to be filled in]
12. Concluding Lesson: What Kind of Holy Troublemaker Are You?
Coloring sheet: “Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now.” - Rabbi Tarfon (from Micah 6:8)
14. Glossary
15. Bonus Coloring Sheet (Advent themed) “All of the gloominess in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” - St. Francis
Part II: We Are Made of Stories & Stardust Table of Contents
1. Let’s Make Some Holy Trouble: An Invitation to Holy Troublemaking
Coloring sheet: We are made of stories and stardust.
2. Cindy Wang Brandt: Remembering Our Original Blessing
Coloring sheet: “You are deeply good. You and the universe operate from the same ancient playbook, sharing the same operating system." - Lao Tzu ( translated by Marc Mullinax)
3. Mr.Rogers: Just the Way You Are
Coloring sheet: “In loving and appreciating our neighbors, we’re participating in something holy.” - Mr. Rogers
4. Wangari Maathai: Making Peace by Tending the Earth
Coloring sheet: “When we plant trees, we plant the seeds of peace and hope.” - Dr. Wangari Maathai
5. Mary Oliver: Paying Attention as an Act of Worship
Coloring sheet: “Attention is the beginning of devotion.” - Mary Oliver
6. Harriet Tubman: Leading Like Moses
Coloring sheet: “God meant I should be free.” - Harriet Tubman
7. Rev. Jacqui Lewis: Finding Joy
Coloring sheet: “You deserve joy because you’re wondrous and created for delight.”- Rev. Jacqui Lewis
8. Rachel Held Evans: Wrestling with God
Coloring sheet: “The essence of the Divine is love. In the midst of your questions, you are fully loved right now.” - Rachel Held Evans
9. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz: Thinking of Your Great-great-great-great-great-great Grandchildren
Coloring sheet: “Step with care for the faces of the future generations are looking up from the Earth waiting their turn for life.” - Wilma Mankiller
10. St. Francis: Connected to All Creation
Coloring sheet: “All praise be yours, my Creator, through Sister Earth, our Mother who births and sustains all life.” - St. Francis
11. Leslie Foster: How Do We Change Culture?
Coloring sheet: “It always seems impossible until it's done.” - Nelson Mandela
12. Rabbi Irwin Keller: Seeing Hope in Difficult Times
Coloring sheet: “We are in the River. We are the River.” - Rabbi Irwin Keller
13. Concluding Lesson Plan (Bonus): What Kind of Storyteller Are You?
14. Glossary
