Religious Education News: REflections

25 September 2017

REflections

Welcome!

Religious Education (RE) holds a central place in the life of our congregation. Our programs are based, in part, on the belief that the search for truth and meaning is a life-long pursuit. One of the roles of our faith community is to provide opportunities to embrace our heritage as Unitarian Universalists (UU) and to engage in experiences throughout life that help us stretch spiritually and personally.

We offer programs for children, youth and adults to help guide you on your spiritual paths. RE programs are age-appropriate and provide a safe and engaging place to explore growing personal beliefs. Religious Education for children includes infant and toddler supervision with highly-qualified staff at both the 9:00 and 11:00 am services. We offer a Pre-K and Kindergarten program for four and five year-olds as well as Sunday classes for children in grades 1-6. Sunday classes/religious education programs are offered only at the 11:00 am service.

This fall we are piloting a new program called Awake Camp for 5/6th grade children. The focus of this program is building awareness and skills in mindfulness, body-mind connection and being awake in—and responsive to—the natural world. The objective here is multifaceted: provide children with personal tools to help them focus, relieve stress, grow in individual control and be present without anxiety. These practices, we believe, enable pre-teens to develop a sense of spiritual life. Awake Camp curriculum incorporates UU Principles, the Golden Rule Project and service projects.

Middle schoolers and high schoolers continue to deepen their spirituality and beliefs as they develop their identities as Unitarian Universalists. Youth continue to learn about effective leadership skills.

We are hard at work living up to our theme this year—Faith in Action.

In Service,

Julie Miller, Amanda Esko and Lissa Lander, your dedicated RE Team