Children and Youth Religious Education
Our Goal
Our goal is to provide our young people with a safe and nurturing environment and activities that will help them develop their own spiritual path and positive sense of self as they learn about and practice the values expressed in our UU Principles.
We believe that:
everyone is important,
all people should be treated fairly and kindly,
we should accept one another and keep learning together,
each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life,
all people should have a vote about the things that concern them,
we need to work for a peaceful, fair and free world,
we must care for our planet Earth which we share with all living things.
In our classes for children and youth we strive to:
stir up their minds.
encourage them to look inquiringly and steadily with their own eyes.
inspire a love of learning and truth.
encourage them to listen to their inner voice.
prepare them to think independently.
quicken and strengthen the power of thought.
everyone is important,
all people should be treated fairly and kindly,
we should accept one another and keep learning together,
each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life,
all people should have a vote about the things that concern them,
we need to work for a peaceful, fair and free world,
we must care for our planet Earth which we share with all living things.
In our classes for children and youth we strive to:
stir up their minds.
encourage them to look inquiringly and steadily with their own eyes.
inspire a love of learning and truth.
encourage them to listen to their inner voice.
prepare them to think independently.
quicken and strengthen the power of thought.
Our Program
Our Programs are held concurrently with the service for adults and are open to the children of guest as well as regular attendees.
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Our service starts with parents and children together in the sanctuary for chalice lighting and welcoming words. Our children are an integral part of our service most Sundays. Before they begin their classes, they participate in an intergenerational story in the sanctuary, serve as Chalice Lighters together with their family members or collect food from members of the congregation for the local Ecumenical Food Pantry.
If parents prefer, our youngest children, birth through five, may go directly to their classroom, and parents may remain with them until both parents and children are comfortable |
Our youngest children are provided an environment in which, through play and stories, they are nurtured and encouraged to become aware of themselves and others, to care about the world in which they live and to learn about activities that Unitarian Universalists value: sharing, listening, being kind to others, and to appreciate nature.
Children aged 6-11 are engaged in a variety of age-appropriate, UU-approved curricula and other engaging activities to help them think about and live our UU Principles. Activities include use of books, discussions, art, music, and social service projects. In keeping with the non-doctrinal nature of our Fellowship, and Unitarian Universalism in general, we present children with a full breadth of stories, ideas and traditions from different peoples and religions around the world, including our own contemporary culture.
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Young people in middle school and high school are challenged with bigger questions presented in UU Curricula such as “Riddles and Mystery”: “Where did we come from?” “Where are we going?” “Does God exist?” Our older students will also become engaged more actively in social service projects of their own choosing.
Because we are a small congregation, we can focus on the specific needs and interests of each child. |
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In addition to our regular classes, we celebrate important
milestones in the lives of our children and their families. |
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