RE classes began this past Sunday! It was such a joy to look around the Great Hall and see so many Children and Youth, and then to see them transition to their classrooms for the in-person start of another RE year!
It was a good day and made my heart very happy!
To register your child(ren), click here: https://uuschenectady.breezechms.com/form/newfamilyreg17-18228245152117
K-3 Wonderful Welcome: begins this Sunday, 9/25! K-3rd Children will begin in the Great Hall with their families and stay through the Story for All Ages, when they will join their teachers and head to their classroom in the church hallway, next to the dining hall. Please be sure to pick up your child by 11:50.
Our Terrific Teachers for this class are Joel Best, Megan McClearn, Juliana Post-Good, and Sarah Tyo!
In this class, children identify intangible gifts central to Unitarian Universalism such as friendship, hospitality, and fairness, and share these gifts with others.
4-6 Love Connects Us: begins this Sunday, 9/25! 4th-6th Children will begin in the Great Hall with their families and stay through the Story for All Ages, when they will join their teachers and head to their large 2nd-floor classroom across the street at Waters House. Please be sure to pick up your child by 11:50.
Our Terrific Teachers for this class are Ben Backes, Leah Fagerstrom, and Dyana Warnock!
Love Connects Us celebrates important ways Unitarian Universalists live our faith in covenanted community. Moved by love and gathered in spirit, we embrace our responsibility toward one another and the world at large. We encourage one another’s search for truth and meaning. We strive to be active in peace-making and other efforts to improve our world.
7/8 OWL (begins in November and will run through late May/early June—day and time to be determined): Our Fabulous Facilitators for 7/8 OWL are Sue Brunelle, Ash Trotter, and Donald Whisenhunt!
We are once again offering 7/8 OWL classes this church year. We will not be offering OWL next year (2023-2024) but returning the following year to our tradition of offering it every other year.
All 7/8 OWL participants must be vaccinated.
OWL! (Our Whole Lives sexuality education): Sexuality education programs change lives. Honest, accurate information about sexuality changes lives. It dismantles stereotypes and assumptions, builds self-acceptance and self-esteem, fosters healthy relationships, improves decision making, and has the potential to save lives.
A sexuality education program for youth that models and teaches caring, compassion, respect, and justice. A holistic program that moves beyond the intellect to address the attitudes, values, and feelings that youth have about themselves and the world.
Unlike many other sexuality curricula currently available, this program is comprehensive and progressive. In an inclusive and developmentally appropriate manner, it addresses sensitive topics that are typically excluded.
9-12 Coming of Age (COA): will meet again this Sunday, 10/2, from 10-12. We will meet in the Waters House youth room, to the right as you enter Waters House.
Coming of Age is a yearlong curriculum that helps teens learn more about Unitarian Universalism and articulating their own beliefs. This year’s COA program is offered to ALL high schoolers. (Senior Youth will return next year.) Our COA program is sensitive to culture, race, class, gender, and theological/philosophical diversity. Workshops for youth include social justice projects and rites of passage. Participants explore theology, spirituality, and history through discussion, drama, music, writing, and art. The program concludes with a ritual that features the youth sharing their statements of personal belief (credo statements) with the congregation during Sunday morning worship.
During this year of transition, we are REimagining some of the ways we do RE. One exciting change for this year is that we are offering 9-12 Coming of Age (as opposed to the tradition of offering it for only 2 grades)! We have an amazing group of youth and some truly awesome advisors to guide our youth through this pivotal year: Emma Joy Maher-Horvath (longtime Unirondack board member), Erin Piotrowski (longtime COA advisor), and Aaron Tyo (longtime Senior Youth advisor)!
COA will take the place of youth group for this year only.
If you haven’t already done so, I hope you’ll consider registering your youth for this fun and meaningful class! Most youth who experience COA consider it a high point in their RE experience.
The UUSS Nursery!
Childcare for children 5 and under is available from 10-12 on Sunday! If your child wears diapers or pull-ups, please bring some of theirs along, as well as wipeys, and maybe a change of clothes, just in case.
We also still have some nursery staff positions available. If you know someone 18 or older who is fabulous with children and might like to earn a little extra cash, please have them contact Director of Lifespan RE Robin Ahearn at dlre@uuschenectady.org.
Children’s Chapel—10/9!
Children in grades K-6 are invited to join us for some Children’s Chapel fun on Sunday, 10/9, in Waters House.
If you’d like to lead the Children in an activity that’s meaningful to you, please reach out and let me know. It can be as simple as playing a game, doing a craft, exploring new ideas, or movement. We have all kinds of supplies available too. Children’s Chapel is a great opportunity to spend time with some of our younger UU’s and get to know them a little bit. They’re pretty dang awesome!
The Religious Education Team Needs You!
The RE Team is in need of a couple of additional members. We typically meet once a month, either in person or via Zoom, and we work together to explore big-picture plans for the Children and Youth of RE, as well as support the director of lifespan religious education. If you’d like to support RE by being a part of the RE Team, please contact Director of Lifespan RE Robin Ahearn at dlre@uuschenectady.org.