Our goal this year is to help our children and youth explore the many ways in which the ideas and principles of Unitarian Universalism can be practiced. Religion is not just something we do for one or two hours a week on Sunday morning. One of the best things about UUism is that it calls us to an embodied spirituality, a lived faith.

A spiritual practice can help ground and grow our identities. At UUCB, we especially try and help our members find spiritual practices that work for them. So, this year we are exploring a number of practices with our children and youth, helping them learn about both the many practices engaged in by people all over the world, and to explore things which they might like to continue as they grow in depth and spirit.

We will explore spiritual practice arranged in these themes:

Nature
Singing and Music
Community Celebrations and Rituals
Silence (yes, really...with your kids!)
Movement
Prayer
Writing and Story
Food, Feasts, Fasts and Festivals

Our hope this year is that our children, youth, and families will explore these spiritual practices together. We will be sending home activities and reflections for the whole family to talk about and think about together.

We will also be weaving the themes and ideas of our classes into the worship live of the church so that the whole community will be exploring these ideas together.

As always, parents are the primary religious educators. We, at the church, are here to help you along that sometimes tricky path.

Children’s Creative Collaborative Community (4C) - Sundays, 11:00 am to 12 noon

New for this year! During the 11:00 a.m. Sunday worship service, children and youth will either stay in service for periodic intergenerational worship, or leave after storytelling for 4C.

4C is for elementary-aged kids from kindergarten through sixth grade. They will meet in small groups to play warm up games before going on to the day’s workshop. Workshops will be on Social Justice, Music and the Arts, and on Collaborative Play. There will always be two workshops offered every Sunday: Collaborative Play (offered every week) and either Social Justice or Music and the Arts.

Collaborative Play: This workshop will seek to develop and explore deep play. The group will create games with these simple rules: everyone will be included and respected, and everyone will have fun. Trained volunteers will help the participants teach one another games and develop their own games. They will explore what it means to create loving community through intentional play.

Social Justice: In this workshop, we will explore Social Justice and coordinate efforts around a number of issues. We will explore environmental justice, peace, and other issues that call us to action. Many of the social justice groups in the congregation will host projects with the children and youth. After worship, the kids will help teach what they have learned to their parents and the other adults of the congregation.

Music and the Arts: Another of the workshops will be an exploration of creative expression. One of the many musicians, visual artists, dancers, actors, or other artists that we have in our community will host a workshop exploring their medium. We will have drumming circles and massive murals, body percussion and multimedia installations.

Senior High Youth Group (Grades 9-12)
(Sunday Mornings from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon)
The Chrysalis Group is open to youth in High School. It has a team of facilitators who meet with group members to structure their projects and meetings for the year.

Youths participate in weekly meetings which are focused on building community through deep sharing, playing games, and exploring this year’s curriculum of Spiritual Practice.

In addition to the Sunday morning meetings, the group has monthly movie nights, social justice projects, and sleepovers at the church’s retreat center in Freestone.

The overall direction of the group is set by the Youth and Adult Council (YAC), which is made up of youth from the group, parents in the congregation, and a few of the group’s adult advisors.

The group helps create worship throughout the year and is highlighted and celebrated in our annual Youth Worship towards the end of the year.

OWL - Our Whole Lives - Sexuality Program

Our Whole Lives is a comprehensive sexuality program developed jointly by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and United Church of Christ (UCC), helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. Through a variety of engaging activities, they build values, interpersonal skills and knowledge.

Grades K & 1 (Winter)
(Sunday Mornings from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.)
This first in a five-part lifespan program introduces children to sexuality first by teaching about them about their bodies—body parts, healthy and safe bodies. They then explore family life in all of its diversity. They will learn, too, about conception and birth, as well as adoption. All stages of life, from infancy through old age, will be celebrated. The teachers attend a weekend long district training. The program will begin with a mandatory parent/child orientation. Separate registration is required and the group is closed once registration is closed.

Grades 7 & 8
(Sunday Evenings from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.)
This is the third part of the comprehensive sexuality program, and helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. Through a variety of engaging activities, they build values, interpersonal skills and knowledge. Teachers attend a weekend-long training. Mandatory Parent Orientation is required. Separate registration required. The group is closed once registration is closed.

Registration Form (pdf)

Children and Youth Religious Education 2007-08 Sunday Morning Classes

Children and Youth Religious Education
2007-08 Sunday Morning Classes