Religious Education

RE Calendar 2007/8	UU and Me	UU Kid Talk	Young Adults and Campus Ministry
	Life Span Faith Development	Families Matter	Children's Books at UUA Bookstore

At CVUUS, Religious Education (RE) for the children and youth consists of curricula that aim to raise the big questions and give kids the context within which to learn to answer them for themselves.

This year, our RE program consists of one multiage program at the 9 a.m. service, called Spirit Journeys. We learn about values, ideas and traditions through storytelling, creativity and music.

At the 10:30 a.m. service, we offer these groups:

Chalice Children (ages 3-5): We explore what it means to be part of a caring community.

Spirit of Adventure (Grades 1-3): We build a UU identity through the exploration of our principles, traditions and famous UU's.

Thinking Globally, Acting Locally (Grades 4-7): We explore ecology, our 7^th principle and spirituality associated with it and execute our own
environmental service projects.

Our Whole Lives (Grades 7-9): A course in relationships and sexuality. Weexplore self-worth, responsibility, justice, inclusivity, as well as the human body, gender, sexual identity, pregnancy and more.

To see RE Calendar for the year click here:

Our Goals

We in Religious Education think we can help you add something to our children's lives. We want to help you give your children a grounding in a wonderful liberal religion. We have about 30 Sundays from September to June to help our children develop a sense of what religion is all about. And what is it about for kids here at CVUUS? You should know that we have definite goals and would like to share them with you.

First, we would like our children to be part of an extended community where they feel welcome, are valued for the gifts they bring and the people they are. "Do unto others" is the big rule. This is a community where questioning the mysteries of life is valued. It takes time to develop a sense of belonging.

We want our children to feel part of the Unitarian Universalist tradition. We want your children to know the tenets of the church and be able to articulate what it means to be a UU. Free thinking, questioning, and personal discovery are the order of the day. We want our children to be proud that they are part of this liberal faith. It takes time to develop a sense of pride.

We want our children to know other religious faiths and to celebrate the ideas brought to the world by other cultures and religions. We want them to develop tolerance for ideas and people that are not part of their everyday life. We want them to know that they could use ideas from other faith traditions and blend them into a personal theology. This is a religion that allows for personal growth and diversity. It takes time to understand and appreciate.

We want our children to develop a social responsibility consciousness. We want them to feel they can make a difference in this world. We want them to know that there are people and causes out in the world that cry out for assistance and that they can and should reach out. It takes time to work on social responsibility projects.

We want our children to have a place to think and talk about life's issues-getting along with others, death, peace and war, sexuality, violence of one kind or another let's give them a safe forum in which to explore ideas and to get input. Children need places to think out loud and to gather ideas and feedback. Church should be one of those places. It takes time to talk and to listen.

We want our children to expand their pool of friends to children and adults that are UUs. We want them to link up with people who are humanists and value this faith, who think it is important and has meaning in their lives. We want them to listen to different ideas of spirituality and develop their own ideas and feelings about spirituality. It takes time to connect and develop ideas about spirituality.

So, come. It's only 30 hours -- not even a full work week -- and we have so much to do. Let's get started on the education that hopefully will be meaningful for a lifetime.

Youth Group

The Youth Group is open to all CVUUS youth who are either 14 (or older) or in high school.

The Religious Education Committee is chaired by Doug Richards. Its members are Ron Kohn, Margy Levine Young, Kimberly Waterman, and Mary Koen.

Our New Director of Religious Education is Sherri Glebus.