Sunday Classes for Children and Youth
Religious education for children and youth is provided from September to May. Children and youth join the adults for the beginning of each Sunday service and then move downstairs for class after we share our chalice lighting, opening song and joys & concerns. Because we are a spiritually diverse and welcoming congregation, our children explore religious truth and meaning as it is revealed through many traditions. We build intergenerational relationships through regular congregation-wide social justice activities and meaningful worship experiences designed to connect adults and children.
Kindergarten – 4th Grade
Children in Kindergarten through 4th Grade focus on our Unitarian Universalist heritage and identity and we learn about the Seven Principles that describe our shared values. We foster each child’s personal spiritual development through community ritual, story-telling, music, creative play, and simple meditation. This year we will be using Picture Book UU by Kate Tweedie Covey, a curriculum that explores UU identity and values through wonderful children’s stories like Old Turtle, Henry Builds a Cabin, and The Big Orange Splot. A complete list of the books used can be found at the Picture Book UU Listmania List on Amazon.
Youth Group – 5th Grade & Above
Our youth in Grades 5 through 9 will explore UU identity and values using the book, The Gospel According to the Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World’s Most Animated Family, by Mark I. Pinsky. We will analyze how the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism are reflected (or not) in the lives of various characters in current popular culture, including The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy, and King of the Hill. To foster spiritual development, our youth will join the adults in Sunday worship on a regular basis and engage in intergenerational social justice activities like Feed My Starving Children and Holiday Pajama Sewing. Our youth will assist and support our younger children during special Activity Sundays and by providing childcare in our Nursery.
Activity Sundays
During select Sundays throughout the church year, our children and youth will join together for special events that celebrate our connections with one another, provide hospitality to the wider fellowship, and serve the broader community. Activity Sundays include:
- Apple Crisp coffee hour
- Harvest of Friends party
- Winter Solstice service
- Muffin Fundraiser
- Mother’s Day Ice Cream Social
- May Day at Carleton
- Memorial Day Bike Trip
