Unitarian
Universalist
Religious
Education Program
Unitarian
Universalist Church
10
Higby Road
Utica,
NY 13501
315-724-3179

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Welcome
to our Unitarian Universalist
Religious
Education Program
2009
- 2010 Religious Education Classes occur
on
Sunday at 10:30 AM
Religious
Education for Children Grades K - 6 every week
"Traditions
with a Wink" classes for ages 10 and up every week

Religious Education News
March 2010
The next Religious Education meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 9, at 7:00 PM. - Mary Drucker
Thanks to all those who contributed to and helped with the Valentines Day Potluck. Sally Patton's workshop “Welcoming Children with Special Needs" will be offered at the Albany church on Saturday, March 6. This full day workshop costs $60/person, and is sponsored by the SLD RE Committee. Register online at the district web site (http://.sld.uua.org/calendar1.html) or use a paper registration and a check. Contact Malcom Buffington as listed in the directory for more information.
The RE Committee is continuing our program of paying two Spirit Play Instructors and an instructor for 10 to 13 years olds. As we plan for next year we are estimating a total budget of $6,400.; we hope to offer the OWL program to 5-18 year olds.
Wednesday March 24, 2010 6:30 PM: The R.E Committee will host the Movie "Young at Heart"; a two hour documentary of a senior's singing group. Their inspiring story celebrates the unbreakable bonds of friendship and the life-affirming power of music! - Malcom Buffington
Spirit Play: 7-9 year olds - Julie Jacobs
Spirit Play: 4-6 year olds - Alida Davis
Spirit Play lessons for the younger students will be based on the "Seven Promises" and the older Spirit Play students will continue learning about world religions & their stories.
Traditions With A Wink: Sarah Cannon
WE
NEED VOLUNTEERS! We are in dire need of volunteers in all of
our RE Classes. Volunteer Sign-up sheets are on the classroom doors.
Please sign up as you are able!
-
Malcom
Buffington
A Re-cap of our SPIRIT PLAY CURRICULUM CALENDAR
The 7-9 Year olds group schedule was as follows:
January
3, The Quarrel - Interfaith in my Neighborhood;
January
10, Tiger and Lame Fox - Intro to Islam, assisted by Ken Davis;
January
17, Traditions With a Wink, assisted by Ann Carey;
January
24, Baby Hippo and Tortoise, Islam, assisted by Simone Shaheen;
January
31, The Good Samaritan, assisted by Rebecca LaPorte.
February
7, Little Blue and Little Yellow, Five Pillars of Islam, assisted by Nicole
Vitelli;
February
14, Valentine’s Day Service, assisted by Ken Davis;
February
21, Intergenerational Service;
February
28, Hey Little Ant. - Alida Davis
With
the story, "Interfaith in my Neighborhood", students learned the major
differences between Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
Students were wondering about the differences and were amazed at the similarities
among them. The children explored what it means to be UU, what beliefs
were compatible with the different religions, and which ideas would not
mesh. Students were reminded that listening to the ideas of others
helps us keep the "green promise" we make as UU’s: Grow by exploring
what is true and right.
In
December and January, we had studied the ideas of Buddhism and shared some
Buddhist tales. Both the teachers and the students seemed to find
this rewarding. Similarly, in January, students furthered their learning
about the practices and beliefs of Islam. The children evaluated the ideas,
reflected upon them, and discussed them at length. We compared the
pillars of Islam to the principles of Unitarian Universalism, and the students
appreciated many of Islam's ideas, especially the emphasis on charity and
peace. In response, some students created their own set of prayer beads,
copied with Calligraphy brushes and ink the "words of Muhammad" onto a
scroll, and practiced what it would be like to pray on a prayer rug.
We look forward to sharing some Islamic stories next month to contemplate
what truths they may hold, and a journey into Judaism.
-
Julie Jacobs
Kids’
Change Jar: Each Sunday, the children are given the opportunity
to contribute change to a big mason jar when they come forward during the
service. These monies are donated to
charities
of the children’s choice.
Food Bank: Thank you for continuing to support our “Traditions with a Wink” service project; by doing so you are teaching our youth how important it is to help others in need. The Community Food Bank is very grateful for your donations. Thanks for your support.
Borrow Bags
We
now have "borrow bags" available for parents with small children who may
yet be uncomfortable with the nursery. The bags consist of "quiet toys
and books" allowing children to join their parents in the sanctuary for
the service. Speakers are also set up in the parlor in case you need to
leave the room. This way you won't miss the service. Ask an usher
for a "borrow bag". We have a policy of requiring parents
to pick up their children from the RE classroom after the service. No child
will be permitted to leave at the end of class without a parent.
Please stop by the RE rooms by 11:45 to get your students.
We
appreciate your cooperation with this policy.
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Previously published
Policy & Procedures for Religious Education Classes and Activities
• There
will be 2 adults present at all times with children in classes.
•
Background checks for staff and volunteers required; paid for and arranged
by RE Committee.
•
Nursery will open before service and nursery children are to be released
ONLY to parents.
•
Spirit Play participants will come to service with parents. After
“Story for All Ages” children will follow leaders to the Spirit Play room.
Parents will pick up their own children after classes end.
•
We Care children ages 10-14 will go directly to the parlor at 10:30 a.m.
and will be released after service.
•
Each child may contribute to an offering during the “Story for All Ages”
or in “We Care”.
Religious Education News
• Background
checks need to be on file for all teachers and volunteers working in the
religious education area. The necessary forms were completed by all
members of the R.E. committee
•
Sign for nursery door was completed and is now posted
•
Pamphlet Committee has not yet met
•
Volunteer Sign-up for the month of November is covered. Sign-up lists will
be on the classroom doors. Malcolm is also announcing the need for volunteers
during the church service. The names of volunteers should
be listed in the newsletter, as a way to acknowledge their contributions,
and also to encourage others to give it a try.
•
Recruitment of volunteers is currently a contractual duty for teachers.
Since the responsibility has shifted, the contract language should reflect
that change.
•
Parent ListServ is still being developed by Maureen Casile. Send any and
all email addresses to her attention at maureen-casile@yahoo.com.
Maureen is also working on developing an assessment of our
R.E. program.
What
is SpiritPlay?
SpiritPlay
is a new Unitarian Universalist model of religious education, developed
by Nita Penfold, D.Min, Rev. Ralph Roberts, and Beverly Leute Bruce. Dr.
Penfold will be coming in May to our congregation in Utica to train religious
educators and teachers in our St. Lawrence District in this exciting model!
SpiritPlay
is a Unitarian Universalist model of religious education that teaches through
wondering, stories, art; it is based on Montessouri methods.
The
program:
encourages independent thinking through wondering questions;
gives children real choices within the structure of the classroom;
creates communities of children in mixed-age classrooms;
develops an underlying sense of the wonder and mystery of life; and
supports congregational polity through the choices in lessons;
Volunteers
who have taught and used the SpiritPlay model report that their own spiritual
lives were greatly enriched and enhanced. SpiritPlay integrates easily
with regular worship and with social justice, unifying the three core aspects
of congregational life: worship, religious education, and faith in action.
SpiritPlay’s
stories engage eight areas:
1.
Promise stories
2.
Sources and Traditions stories
3.
Stories of Mystery
4.
Beginnings and Endings
5.
Sacred Places
6.
Spiritual Practices
7.
Liturgical (Worship) Practices
8.
Unitarian Universalist History
This
program tends to engage children where they are and helps them live into
their own answers to the abiding questions. The environment, the multisensory
approach, the wondering questions, the learning centers, the stories, and
the community of children and teachers (and parents) are absolutely appropriate
for Unitarian Universalist children and Religious Education Programs. The
model engages multiple learning styles and challenges; helps children learn
to make meaning of mysteries they encounter; and presents the core stories
of our particular faith and theology, inviting children into becoming Unitarian
Universalists. It is a model of religious education that engages children
from pre-K through grade 4.
Please
register on the first Sunday you are there. The Religious Education
Program
is
supported by the church budget, please make a pledge if you have not done
so already.
UUA Office of Young Adult & Campus Ministry
Goals:
Development
of an Identificatlon with the Unitarian Universalist denomination and
an
understanding of the UU Principles & Purposes, listed below.
Assist our children in exploring the world's religions.
Enhance the children's involvement with each other and the congregation.
Provide a safe place to promote the use of natural curiosity.
Principles and Purposes of the Unitarian Universalist Association:
Adults: We believe in the inherent dignity and worth of every person.
Children:
We believe that each and every person is important.
Adults: We believe in justice, equity and compassion in human relations.
Children:
We believe that all people should be treated fairly.
Adults: We believe in acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.
Children:
We
believe that our Churches are places where all people are accepted, and
where we keep on learning together.
Adults: We believe in a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
Children:
We believe that each person must be free to search for what is right and
true in life.
Adults: We believe in the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.
Children:
We
believe that everyone should have a vote about the things that concern
them.
Adults: We believe in the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
Children:
We believe in working for a peaceful, fair and free world.
Adults: We believe in respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
Children: We believe in caring for our planet Earth.
It Matters What We Believe
Some
beliefs are like walled gardens. They encourage exclusiveness,
and
the feeling of being especially privileged.
Other
beliefs are expansive, and lead the way into wider and deeper sympathies.
Some
beliefs are like shadows, darkening children's days with fears of unknown
calamities.
Other
beliefs are like sunshine, blessing children with the warmth of happiness.
Some
beliefs are divisive separating the saved from the unsaved, friends from
enemies.
Other
beliefs are bonds in a universal brotherhood where sincere differences
beautify the pattern.
Some
beliefs are like blinders, shutting off the power to choose
one's
own direction.
Other
beliefs are like gateways, opening up wide vistas for exploration.
Some
beliefs weaken a child's selfhood. They blight the
growth
of resourcefulness.
Other
beliefs nurture self-confidence and enrich the
feeling
of personal worth.
Some
beliefs are rigid, like the body of death,
impotent
in a changing world.
Other
beliefs are pliable, like the young sapling,
ever
growing wIth the upward thrust of lIte.
- - -from Today's Children and Yesterday's Heritage by Sophia Fahs
We
are still collecting donations to the Heifer International project. We
are asking each child to do a job at home that will earn a dollar, and
in turn contribute the dollar to this worthy cause. Our goal is $20 with
which we will “purchase” a flock of chicks. These chicks will be sent to
a needy family in Afghanistan. You don’t have to be a child in the RE program
to contribute. If you would like to donate to this project contact an RE
committee member or one of the RE teachers.
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