Welcome!

It is with great joy and that I welcome your family to our 2009-10 Religious Education program at the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF). Whether your family has been at ERUUF for many years or whether you are new, I hope you will find ERUUF to be a welcoming, loving and safe environment for your child(ren) and you to learn, grow and celebrate in community.

We have put together a strong program of the most up-to-date curricula that we believe will best support parents as the primary religious educators of their children. Our emphasis is on helping children to nurture and grow their own spiritual lives, to nurture their faith, moral and ethical development, and most of all to feel that ERUUF is their spiritual home and faith community. As we say in our Child Dedication service, “This is now your fellowship—a place for your faith, your doubts, your accomplishments and your failures. Never be afraid to be yourself within the security and comfort of these walls.” In partnership with parents, we will do our best to help our ERUUF children have the skills they need to help make it a better place for all of us, in spirit, service justice and love.

 Holly McKinney

Acting Director of Religious Education

 

Our Religious Education Mission

The mission of the our Religious Education Program is to serve the children and youth of ERUUF by nurturing their spiritual growth, promoting Unitarian Universalist values and encouraging their participation in our religious community.

Our Unitarian Universalist Principles (in language for children):

• We believe that each and every person is important.
• We believe that all people should be treated fairly.
• We believe that our churches are places where all people are accepted and where we keep on learning together.
• We believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life.
• We believe that everyone should have a vote about things that concern them.
• We believe in working for a peaceful, fair and free world.
• We believe in caring for our planet earth.

 Our Religious Education Goals

• Children and youth will be able to articulate their individual theology and Unitarian Universalist values and heritage.
• Our children and youth with be religiously literate and engage in spiritual practice.
• Peace and social justice work will be integrated into the curriculum.
• Our children and youth will experience the wonder and mystery in nature.

Children and youth worship as part of the larger congregation at the beginning of most services and in intergenerational services. They also gather once a month for Children's Chapel, a special 15 minute worship service created for and by themselves. Special emphasis is placed on experiencing a sense of the sacred through stories, music and meditation.

Our Religious Education Staff

 Holly McKinney, Acting Director of Religious Education

489-2575 x107

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Office Hours: Su, 8am-1pm; M-Th, 9:30-5:30

 

Melissa Gjestvang-Lucky, Youth Ministry Coordinator

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Office Hours: By appointment

 

Ellen Beechhold, RE Assistant

489-2575 x107

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 Our Religious Education Committee

Working collaboratively with the Director of Religious Education, the RE Committee sets the vision for the RE program, articulates the goals and direction of the program, and supports the RE staff and volunteers to achieve these goals. The committee meets with the Director of RE once a month and communicates on a more regular basis through email and phone calls. Members of the RE Committee specifically assist in five areas of Religious Education:
Curriculum: assist in the selection of curriculum and providing support to teachers by modifying curricula as necessary
Evaluation: assist in evaluating the RE program, from both the parents' and teachers' perspectives, to better inform its development and growth;
Parent Association: enhance the capacity of parents as the primary religious educators of their children and encourage active parental involvement to enhance the quality of our RE program;
Special Events: provide activities throughout the year which build community and support the goals of the congregation and the RE Committee;
Teacher Support: organize effective activities and assist in creating systems which support and nurture our volunteer teachers.

 Robyn Stout, Chair

Susan Criscenzo

Jane Freburger

Melissa Gjestvang-Lucky, Youth Ministry Coordinator

Holly Kingdon

Holly McKinney, Acting DRE

Liz Raymer

 

Registration

Registration is required for all infants, children and youth. New families may visit three times before registering.

 We follow the public school guidelines for grade placement. Children who turn five before August 31 will be placed in the K-1 group. The Preschool group is for three- and four-year old children who turn three before August 31 and who turn five after August 31. Children may not switch groups mid-year (e.g. from Nursery to Preschool). 

 Our work on behalf of children and youth at ERUUF is a partnership with parents, ERUUF staff, volunteer teachers /advisors/mentors, the Board of Trustees and the whole congregation. There are no fees charged to families to fund the RE program’s operating expenses. All ERUUF members and friends share in financially supporting our RE program through their generous contributions to our operating budget. We ask that all parents join in this support of our program by making a generous pledge. Contact the ERUUF office for information on making a pledge to the operating budget.

The Sunday Morning Schedule

·        The Nursery opens at 9a.m. and closes at 12:30 p.m.

·        Preschool through Grade 5 (9:15) and through Grade 8(11:15) attend the first 15 minutes of the worship service or Children’s Chapel (1st Sunday of the month).

·       RE classes end at 10:30/12:30. We ask parents that they enjoy 15 minutes of adult conversation at coffee hour before picking up their children at the appropriate time.

 Creating a Safe Place

It is our top priority that we do all we can to assure your child’s safety. ERUUF has instituted a Child and Youth Safe Congregation Policies for the protection of our children and youth. Here are the precautions that we take and ask parents cooperation:

·       Parents must complete an annual registration form that includes information on allergies, special diet restrictions and any other special needs information.

·       Visiting families will complete a Guest Religious Education Card with information about allergies and special needs.

·       Parents of preschool children must sign in their child upon arrival at ERUUF at the RE table located near the Sanctuary entrance. On Children’s Chapel Sundays (1st Sunday of the month), the sign in clipboard will be at the Commons Room entrance.  

·       Parents of children in grades 3 and under must sign out their child(ren) at the end of the RE classes (10:30/12:30) on the attendance sheet in the classroom.

·       All staff and volunteers working with children and youth are required to sign the Unitarian Universalist Code of Ethics Policy and complete an Authorization to Perform a Background Check. We perform background checks on 10% of the volunteer staff and on all paid staff having contact with minors.

·       We require two adults to be present with a child or group of children at all times.

·       We require our paid child care staff to take infant/child CPR and first aid training.

·       Posting procedures in the event of a fire or emergency and conducting at least one fire drill per year.

 

Infants, Toddlers and Young Children

The Nursery (Infants and Toddlers)

We provide loving care to infants and toddlers up to age three in a safe and stimulating environment. Our paid teen staff is trained in infant/child CPR and first aid. Parents should plan to arrive a few minutes early to help their infant or toddler get settled in. New families should complete a nursery care sheet listing the ways the child is most comforted when fussy. Finally, we have parents provide their cell phone number so we can reach you by text message or call (phone on vibrate during the worship service!). We are exploring the possibility of a silent paging system for the future.

 If you prefer to keep your infant with you during the worship service, the Straube Chapel becomes our “cry room” where you can see and hear the worship service without having to worry about your infant being fussy and disturbing others during worship.

 Chalice Children   Ages 3 & 4

Based on the premise that children learn best through direct experience, Chalice Children is designed to nurture children’s spiritual growth, creativity and connection to Unitarian Universalist community by involving them in “hands-on” rituals, simple rhymes, finger plays, games and other activities. Children are introduced to the Unitarian Universalist chalice, discover the concepts of birth and death, and explore the themes of families and our relationship to nature. A special “Teddy Bear unit” at the end of the year helps children to focus on self-awareness of feelings and to develop empathy for the feelings of others.

 The Elementary Years

 A Discovering Year  (Kindergarten-Grade 1)

The kindergarten program nurtures children's spiritual and religious growth through connections to their ever-widening environment. The children celebrate this world as they explore themselves and friendships, their families and congregation. The goals of the program are to learn to appreciate the worth of each person, to work and play cooperatively, to recognize and express their feelings, to explore the diversity of humankind, to celebrate and explore the interconnectedness of all living things and to discover and express a spiritual dimension in themselves.

 Moral Tales/Faithful Journeys*     (Grade 2-3)

Moral Tales engages children in identifying and articulating their own sense of right and wrong. As they interact with a variety of stories from folk and faith traditions and share stories from their own lives, children are encouraged to articulate and apply their own “spiritual compass” to find moral direction.

In Faithful Journeys participants embark on a pilgrimage of faith, exploring how Unitarian Universalism translates into life choices and everyday actions. In each session, they hear historic or contemporary examples of Unitarian Universalist faith in action. Over the course of the program, children discover a unity of faith in the many different ways Unitarian Universalists, including themselves, can act on our beliefs.

 Toolbox of Faith/Windows & Mirrors*     (Grade 4-5)

Toolbox of Faith invites fourth- and fifth- grade participants to reflect on the qualities of our Unitarian Universalist faith, such as integrity, courage, and love, as tools they can use in living their lives and building their own faith. Each of the sessions uses a tool as a metaphor for an important quality of our faith such as reflection (symbolized by a mirror), flexibility (duct tape), and justice (a flashlight).

Windows and Mirrors will be offered during the second half of the year. Through a lens of UU faith and justice, children look inward at themselves (mirrors) and outward at the communities to which they belong, especially their congregation (windows). How do we experience true affiliation with others who may, at first, seem very unlike us? How do we acknowledge our own perspectives and respect the perspectives of others? How do we move out from “me” to “we?”

*These are curricula in the Tapestry of Faith series and are available to view online at www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/index.shtml 

 The Middle School Years

 The Questing Year Grades 6-8 (11:15 only)

This program engages middle schoolers in four different quests connected through the central themes and purposes of faith development and social action. The goal is for participants to have a greater understanding of their beliefs and their faith with respect to Unitarian Universalism and will have explored ways in which they can live their faith, particularly through social justice work.

 Our Whole Lives Grade 8 (11am – 12:30pm)

Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.

Parents are required to attend a parent orientation session and submit a signed permission form. Once the program begins, the class is closed to new students. Regular attendance at this class is imperative to create and sustain a trusting bond and to most benefit from this program.

 Middle School Youth Group Grades 6-8 (1st & 3rd Sundays, 4-6pm)

Being a young UU in a world where it seems UU values are not always the norm is hard enough. You don't have to do it by yourself. Create lasting, supportive friendships with other UUs at ERUUF's Middle School Youth Group (MSYG). This group meets on the first and third Sunday of the month from 4-6p.m.

 The High School Years

 Coming of Age Grade 9 & 10

(Two Sundays per month, 1-2:30; see RE Yearly calendar for meeting dates.)

This program enables youth to grow more into their personal beliefs and deepen their Unitarian Universalist faith through workshops, retreats, group trips and social action/ community service projects. Each participant is paired with a mentor who helps guide his/her self-discovery over the course of the year. At the end of the year a congregational worship service recognizes the culmination of this year’s worth of spiritual and faith deepening.    

Partcipation in Coming of Age involves a significant commitment from parents and youth. In addition to requiring a commitment to regular attendance, the youth also participate in two weekend retreats (one in the Fall and one in the Spring), at least one service project, fundraising for their end-of-year trip, and several rituals and celebrations that fall outside of the usual class time.

 High School Youth Group Grades 9-12 (11:15 only)

Religious values, leadership skills, social action, worship and life issues are at the heart of our High School Youth Group program. We provide our youth with the opportunity to participate in a youth group with their peers, in an environment of mustual respect and support. Participants and adult youth leaders plan activities together and may include discussion topics of relevant issues, social justice projects, outings, overnight retreats and fundraising events. This group meets on Sunday mornings during the 11:15 service.Other Ways Children and Youth are involved in ERUUF…

 

Child Care

We have child care available for infants and toddlers during worship services and for infants, toddlers and children during many ERUUF events. Paid child care staff is trained in Infant/Child CPR and first aid.

 

Children’s Worship

Children attend the first 15 minutes of the worship service with their families on most Sundays. On the first Sundays of the month they attend Children’s Chapel, a special 15-minute children’s worship service that is more participatory.

 

Child Dedications

 A Child Dedication is a uniquely Unitarian Universalist naming ceremony which offers parents the opportunity to have their child blessed by the congregation, their family and our ministers. During this time, our congregation commits to help the child to grow in the ways of love, truth, justice and peace. Child Dedications are held at the All Souls, Christmas and Easter services, but may be arranged at other times. Contact the Director of Religious Education to schedule a dedication.

 

Special Events

Throughout the year the RE Committee host a variety of events to promote a sense of community especially across generations. Our traditional events are a Halloween Party, Nifty Gifty Workshop in December and the Secret Pal program. We look forward to other opportunities in the coming year to bring families together. 

 

Parent Responsibilities

 Attendance

Regular attendance on Sunday mornings and at other ERUUF events creates community and is an integral part of spiritual growth. We need to feel we belong to a community of faith and making an effort to come regularly will build friendships and relationships to foster that sense of belonging. At some point, all children express a reluctance to attend. When you demonstrate a positive attitude and regularly attend, your child will learn the importance of a committed relationship to a spiritual community. As your connections to our community deepen, so will theirs.

 Support

Our work on behalf of children and youth at ERUUF is a partnership with parents, ERUUF staff, volunteers teachers/advisors/mentors, the Board of Trustees and the whole congregation. There are no fees charged to families to fund the RE program’s operating expenses. All ERUUF members and friends share in financially supporting our RE program through their generous contributions to our operating budget. We ask that all parents join in this support of our program by making a generous pledge. Contact the ERUUF office for information on making a pledge to the operating budget.

 Involvement

The success and strength of our RE program depends on the commitment and energy of many volunteers. We expect that at least one parent of each child enrolled in the program will take an active volunteer role during the year. The RE registration form lists the various ways parents can volunteer. We offer a range of options from one-time opportunities to ongoing ones.

You can further your involvement in the following ways:

a      Assist in your child’s classroom two or three times a year.

a Learn the names of your child’s teachers.

a Read the ERUUF newsletter, Parent Association notices, and emails from teachers.

a Attend family-friendly ERUUF events.

RE Calendar for 2009-10