REGISTRATION
Registration forms
Please register your children as soon as possible. Visitors are welcome, and we ask that they register if they plan to attend on a regular basis. This information helps us provide a safe and nurturing experience for them. We do not charge a registration fee, but ask that you consider your participation in RE when you make your annual pledge. Registration forms can be found inside Gage Hall the first few Sundays of the year and in the RE office as well as classroom bulletin boards throughout the year. When registering your child here, you are joining a partnership. As a parent, you agree to work cooperatively with the RE program to enhance the ethical and spiritual development of your child.
To fulfill this agreement, each family is expected to contribute a major effort to the Religious Education program.
Through teaching, organizing events, or being a set of consistently helping hands you can fulfill that agreement. We are a growing program with enrollment expected to increase significantly. It is only through your volunteer commitment that we can have a quality educational experience in our growing program.
SOCIAL ACTION The Religious Education Program is designed to encourage young people to develop a social conscience and to take action to influence change. Our young people help with the UUA Service Committee, Guest at Your Table collection, Crisis Ministries Shelter collections and serving meals, school supplies drive, creating hospital quilts, Empty Bowls Meal and Fundraiser, and a variety of other annual and one-off events throughout the year. Our church members and friends tutor inner-city children, sponsor scholarships in Transylvania, and run a musical coffee house through church support. We have a dynamic Social Justice Committee that would love to have your support.
FAMILY PROGRAMS Throughout the year a number of special intergenerational activities are scheduled which give us an opportunity to celebrate together. These special times include the Welcome Back Breakfast, Halloween party, Everyone's Birthday Party, Empty Bowls Meal and Fundraiser, Easter celebrations, Earth day activities, movie nights, intergenerational drumming circles, meditation, choir, and all of our other social action projects. Please bring your children for fun and fellowship and enjoy the warmth of our community. In order to give the children and youth a sense of belonging to our larger church community we encourage intergenerational activities throughout the year. Many of these events are sponsored by other committees in the church or arise spontaneously.
R.E. LIBRARY We have a library for adults situated in the Religious Education office. Books on topics from world religions and philosophy to parenting can be checked out on an honor system. Please feel free to glace over our titles and find something you’re interested in.
MUSIC The children's choir is called the Chalice Choir and they performs in the sanctuary during special services. We have rehearsal every Sunday in the church at 10:30. We also practice special music in our Sunday school classes. Several of our youngsters are talented musicians and play in designated services as well. Individuals who wish to share their talents with the larger church community are encouraged to contact the DRE or Music Director.
TEAM TEACHING Teams of volunteers lead classes, with assistance from the Director of Religious Education. Each class has two adults in the classroom at all times; alternately, one is in the "lead teacher" position and one in an "assistant" position. The lead teacher, working with a pre-created lesson plan, facilitates the lesson for the class, having books and craft materials at the ready. The assistant helps children needing special attention, helps everyone stay on task, and supervises clean up with the help of the children. We are grateful for the gifts our teachers offer to the young people of our church, and hope that in this giving they will truly receive much spiritual growth and joy. All volunteers working with children must sign a Code of Ethics and agree to a background check that the DRE will provide. The continuing process of updating our behavior and safety guidelines is an important task that we work on throughout the year.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION COMMITTEE The Religious Education Committee is a group of volunteers dedicated to the children and youth of our church. Responsible for the overall quality of the Religious Education program, members must deal with issues of policy, programming, staff, worship, and event planning. REC business is done most often over emails, but we do meet several times over the school year at the church. Visitors are welcome. Parents and other church members are encouraged to come to a meeting to gain a better understanding of the types of problems—and successes—the program faces.
