Youth Religious Education Programs
With our Youth Religious Education Program, we strive to create a warm and nurturing environment for our children to explore ideas and values in a community that embraces diversity and practices trust. By creating such a nurturing and nourishing place, we hope to guide our children as they grow emotionally and spiritually in fellowship with all our members, young and old.
Arriving at Deer Park
Youth Religious Education Classes are held the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sundays of each month during the 10:00 Sunday Program. This year’s classes are as follows:
Kindergarten through 3rd grade:
Who Are We in This Wide World?
This class offers an introduction to our Unitarian Universalist and Free Thought origins and stories, and an exploration of peace and fairness through active learning. Since January, the K-3 group has been using the Wonderful Welcome curriculum from the UUA website.
Grades 4-7:
Earth Justice
This class takes the UU principle of caring for our Earth and uses field trips, discussion, and real life experiences to bring home to our children the value of a gentle touch in regard to our planet. We hope that they will come away from this class empowered to leave small footprints as they walk through their world.
Yoga
Yoga
Grades 8 and Up:
World Religions and Coming of Age
After a course of a few years, this class culminates (for most students) in a “Coming of Age” (COA) ceremony popular in many UU congregations. At a COA ceremony, students make a “statement of belief” that synthesizes what they have learned about the history and traditions of Free Thought and Unitarian Universalism; their personal ethical, moral, and spiritual beliefs; and their understanding of other religions and the broader role of religion in the world. To prepare for this COA ceremony, students explore the long and little-reported history of liberal (and non-) religious expression in the world; they study the world’s major faiths and take field trips to observe other religious practices; they seek out and compare articles in the media about religion and religious issues, and watch movies and documentaries focused on those issues. There is much lively discussion about real-life ethical and moral dilemmas and what choices should be made.
Toddler Childcare is available during the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sunday programs.
For more R.E. information please contact Beth Persche at 608-355-0565 or persche@centurytel.net
What did the Free Congregation’s founders have to say about the Education of Youth?
