Sunday Morning Programming for Children and Youth
Welcome to Religious Education classes for Children and Youth at UUCL! If you are new to our congregation, RE meets on Sunday mornings during the service on the second floor of the church building (the level at which you enter from the parking lots). We have class on Sunday mornings for PreK-5th grade and monthly Youth Group for 6th grade+.
The infant nursery is open from 10:15-11:45 am. Unless noted otherwise, the grade school classes have the following routine:
Prek-5th grade start in the sanctuary - service starts at 10:30 am. They will be in the sanctuary through first hymn and a Time for All Ages. After that, they will be led to their classroom. You are welcome to keep your children with you in the sanctuary, if you prefer.
For 6th grade+, we do not have a formal program on Sunday mornings - they meet monthly for evening Youth Group. On Sunday mornings, they have several choices for engagement. They can make use of the former RE room to play board games, read, or make free form art. Alternatively, they are always welcome to join the younger class for the Soul Matters curriculum. Finally, they are invited to remain in the sanctuary with their grown-ups for the service.
Weekly Update for 05/10/2024
Children and Youth Religious Education:
Dear Friends,
Happy May! I hope you are all doing well and finding peace during this time. I know this weekend leaves many of us with a variety of feelings. For those of you celebrating the joy of Mother’s Day this weekend, I hope your time is delightful. For those of you in mourning or heavy with grief, I hope you find comfort and nurturing. For those of you conflicted or with mixed feelings, I wish you peace and the space to hold all of your feelings in sacred space.
This month, we are reflecting on the theme of Pluralism. There will be no RE this Sunday though as we will all be in the sanctuary together for a multigenerational service, looking at the people who have, and continue to, nurture us. Here is what you can expect in service this week:
Children and youth of all ages are joyfully welcomed into the sanctuary for the service. Do not worry about their noises and need to move their bodies. Your young people are beloved members of our community and we welcome their whole selves, no matter what that looks like.
If you think they may get restless during the service, make sure to stop by our Soul Work table located in Drysdale Hall on your way into the sanctuary. They can fill an activity bag with quiet focus activities to engage with as they listen to and participate in the service.
Think the activities on the Soul Work table look awesome and would also help you focus? I have good news! This table is available to all, it is meant to be intergenerational and can be of service to all of us as we bring our whole selves to the service.
There will be plenty of opportunity for movement during the course of the service. We will also have a Creation table at the back of the sanctuary. Children will be invited to the table about midway through the service where we will work on a surprise for the whole congregation and art for those who have nurtured us.
We will be returning to the classroom next week as we continue our dive into Pluralism.
We are thrilled to introduce Youth Group for anyone 6th grade and up. Youth Group will be meeting once per month May-August, usually on Sunday afternoons/evenings. After August, we will reassess to see how this program is working for our youth, and it may continue into the fall. We will not offer age-specific programming for YG aged folks on Sunday mornings, and instead, we invite them to get involved in one of these ways:
They can make use of the temporarily empty RE room to play board games, read, or make free form art.
They are very welcome to join the PreK-5th grade class for learning and activities.
Finally, they are invited to remain in the sanctuary with their grown-ups for the service.
Our first Youth Group outing will be May 26. Please watch Facebook and your email for more information coming soon!
We are actively looking for volunteers for both age groups. Please speak with DLE, Courtney Sinha if you are interested in getting involved with either group or even if you just have some questions about what that would look like. We appreciate the support of all our families and friends to keep a thriving and growing RE program going.
