Children's RE

Sunday Church School

Children three (Toddlers) through Kindergarten meet in their classroom when the Sunday service begins. Children first grade through Junior High attend the first portion of the Service. They are encouraged to sit with their parents at this time where they have the opportunity of being part of the whole church community and experiencing the adult worship. This gives the children a sense of connection to our entire "church family." After the "Not for Children Only" story time children leave the service and go to their respective classes.

Classes begin with a chalice lighting in ritual appropriate for their age. There will often be a closing ritual as well. This offers a time of reflection on the importance of the lesson and to embrace our Unitarian Universalist traditions.

Our school year begins in Sept. and continues through May. Beginning June we have a short term curriculum generally based on our UU Principles.

Children's Program

Age appropriate curriculum is offered to children ages three though high school. In addition there are several activities and special celebrations throughout the year.

Interim Religious Education Director: MaryK. Isaacs

Youth Programs

We strive to provide a sound balanced program for our Junior High and High School youth by working towards achieving five components:

• Service to Others
• Religious Learning
• Leadership and Development
• Spirituality and Worship
• Fun and Fellowship

A Three Year Curriculum

Our curriculum is based on a three year plan, operating under the following schedule.

• 2007-2008 World Religions
• 2008-2009 UU Identity
• 2009-2010 Judeo-Christianity

World Religions

Learning about other religions gives us the opportunity to see how others worship and be better informed about their basic beliefs and practices. We hope to excite interest and positive associations with each of the religions studied, explore and consider values as they relate to many religions, and make connections and relationships between our Unitarian Universalist principles. Our junior high youth will visit other churches and places of worship and discuss what they observe.

Unitarian Universalist Identity

Learning our UU Principles is basic to understanding about Unitarian Universalism. We will not only learn about our history and our UU ancestors, but we will also learn about our worship service, the significance of our chalice and other rites of passage. However UU Identity includes much more. It is the values that we hold dear to us, understanding the importance of questioning, living our values through outreach and putting our principles into action by our d aily acts of how we treat one another. It is "Loving our neighbor, Keeping an open mind and Making the world a better place."

Judeo-Christianity

We hope to give our children a better understanding of the Bible, the Old and New Testament. The stories and characters are part of the repertoires of Western literature and our vocabulary. Our intent is for our children to become acquainted with these stories and characters and to explore for themselves their meaning. Judeo-Christianity is the foundation of our rich Unitarian Universalist history and UU'ism will be woven throughout each lesson. As we explore together with open minds, we hope to enrich our children's religious journey by nurturing their freedom of inquiry.

Multi-Culture Week

For over a decade, during the summer, we have provided for our children and their friends a unique experience to visit other countries and cultures right here in our classrooms. This program is offered to children ages Pre-K through fifth grades and provides the children an opportunity to experience different cultures, through activities, crafts, history and music. We have visited over 40 countries and cultures.

On the first day each child is issued a Passport and their picture is taken. Upon entering a different country each day their passport is stamped and their journey begins.

Each day an ethnic lunch is served by our own kitchen crew, including several of our high school youth.
The highlight of the week is a program on the evening of the last day, where each group will present a skit, song, dance or reading that tells something about what they have experienced. After the program refreshments of some of the ethnic foods and snacks served during the week are offered to sample.

There is a fee to cover costs of supplies and the meals. Generally Multi-Culture Week is the second full week in July. Brochures and registration forms will be available in June.

Interim Religious Education Director: MaryK. Isaacs

OWL, Our Whole Lives

This comprehensive sexuality curriculum is offered to our seventh, eighth and ninth graders and led by trained facilitators.

OWL Facilitator: Betty Clark-Riggan