We operate during both Sunday services (9:00 and 11:00) with well over 100 youth registered. We offer curricula for pre-school through high school as well as diverse opportunities to build friendships among young people and adults in our community such as: monthly intergenerational services; RE Sunday; mentoring; Committee of Youth and Adults; and an annual society wide Talent Show.
Programming for our youth starts with a Montessori-style kindergarten/preschool class based on story telling and wonderings. This is a pilot UU curriculum that has been a huge success with our children and the adult storytellers. Class curricula over the eight-year course involve: Judeo-Christian themes; world religions; Native American spirituality; social justice; UU history and values; and the Our Whole Lives Human Sexuality curriculum. In 9th grade, youth attend the Affirmation program to learn about UUism and develop their own theology. For high schoolers we offer an active and diverse youth group. They attend youth conferences and host society wide dinners among other activities.
Children and youth have many opportunities to experience worship in a variety of settings including Children’s Worship with our Director of Religious Education, Vicki Merriam, with our Minister, Josh Pawelek, with their families and with their peers.
Please feel free to visit us and ask questions for further information. Or call 860 646-5151 to talk to someone on our staff.
This UUA Tapestry of Faith multi-generational program “focuses on the stewardship of water. Nowhere can our stewardship be better directed than toward the shared water resources on which all life depends. We can and must join with other progressive and caring forces to sustain, extend and improve life on earth. This serious purpose does not preclude pleasure in the accomplishment. Gather the Spirit intends not just to help save the world, but to engage participants in positive, engaging and enjoyable community action.” Coordinated by Ellen Castaldini and Leah Plourde. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, sign up on Garden Level or email Vicki, uusevicki@sbcglobal.net.
This Unitarian Universalist tradition for children and babies welcomes our youngest into our community and affirms our commitment to them and their future. If you are interested in learning more and possibly participating, please let Rev. Josh or Vicki know. We offer this several times each year and will be glad to give you all the details.
Our Affirmation youth were exceptional and their Credo statements were amazing! It was very hard to distill them down to these brief excerpts so I chose some that moved me personally. If you missed the service and would like the full text, let me know. Thanks to them, their mentors and their advisors, Jim Adams and David Garnes, for creating a meaningful and fulfilling year during this transitional year both out of the building and in their passage to adulthood.
Tristan Bock-Hughes - So far I have not found a way to achieve what I want in my life. Thus, I have resigned myself to making my life one large experiment. I will try things until I am dead and hope that at least one of those things will be good.
Colin Carlson - I’m content to accept that the universe is what it is…I have faith in the fact that our existence requires no further explanation…because I see life as enough of an incentive…I know whatever convoluted “scenic detours” I take along the path to my goals, both the detours and the goals are reward enough for me, since I’m the one who chooses them, and they are a reflection of me.
Caitlin Eaton-Robb - I must prepare myself for that place in which I find happiness and discover new ways to give back...I must do more than just hope for universal understanding but try to obtain it for everyone now, here, in my lifetime.
Veronica Greenfield - I do know that all religions and beliefs are sacred and should be recognized as just that… Unless we start to accept and respect other people's ways of life there will not be the respect and safety we all need and deserve to feel.
Kat Houser - What and who I am is because I have had many experiences build me into the person I am today.
Andrea Morey - I believe that there’s something out there, but I haven’t figured out what it is yet…we are always changing, so our beliefs change as quickly as our lives…One thing that I know won’t change is my belief and trust in the seven [UU] principles.
Nevin Ounpuu-Adams - I believe that the only way you can live on is through how living people will remember you. For this reason, I believe it is very important to live life to the fullest and leave your mark on the world... being Unitarian Universalist is not easy.
Helen Phillips-White - I believe that all life is precious, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant...I believe that everyone has the ability to be good. I believe that we are all created equally, but what we choose to do can separate us from all the rest, and that how we act defines who we are.
Becca Salustri - …as long as I work harder to be kind, open minded, and curious, I should turn out okay and be able to lead a happy life. Then, when the time comes I will be free to go back and answer my own, personal “holy curiosity.”
India Reiss - I take the things I believe in and help shape the world around me…I believe in life. Wherever there is life there is a divine presence. I want to live my life to the fullest. I want to help the greatest amount of people possible and change the world.
Fiona Phillips-White - The most important thing that I believe in is treating everyone in this world as an equal. I believe that everyone is born equal, but the choices a person makes in his/her life will determine them to be a better or a worse person. I also believe in showing compassion to every living being, which, to me, means to treat everything with respect.
Being a UU may be not be “easy” but it is incredibly rewarding!
Vicki Merriam, Director of Religious Education
I didn’t know the depth of my feelings at being out of our home and how moved I would be when we all returned. Though some of us had been working in the building getting everything ready for more than a month, until we actually had worship services and children’s programs, it was just a building. Then we began and it’s incomparable.
Though I had stood on the stage when no one was there, being there during our first service back with a full room of folks was a bit of a shock. So many smiling faces, such a beautiful space, such anticipation for things to come, all conspired to make the moment truly spiritual. Then the children, teachers, and I left for our religious education program and it happened all over again.
The children had mixed feelings upon entering the garden level. They were amazed by the newness, the space, the changes. They were thrilled to be back and in their own place again and to see friends they had missed all the past months. But they were disappointed as well. They all talked about missing things: the ceiling tiles that had been painted by children over the years; the main door at the bottom of the stairs that had a picture of the earth created by Jason Corsa surrounded by their handprints; all the photos, art work, hangings, and more that had decorated the space. But then we talked about the things we would be doing over the next few months and they were excited to have a chance to create something new. During our tour and “scavenger hunt”, they were all glad to discover the mural in my office. Here was one thing that was familiar that had been saved. (It was interesting to me that the children remembered it, but most adults did not.) But mostly they were jubilant and their shout of joy soared all the way up to the meeting room (which many of you heard).
That Sunday and the next, though I did not think it possible, there were moments when my emotions and spiritual feelings increased even more. One child, who had started in the last few weeks at Center Church and apparently remembered me, silently slipped her hand in mine as we walked through this unfamiliar place. The children’s jubilation at being back expressed by their shout of joy which soared all the way up to the meeting room (and which many of you heard). There was the light recognition in the eyes of three siblings who had been to shy to approach me before but which now bloomed into conversation and trust. And just being with them, playing and teaching and sharing and connecting and having fun.
I have a deep and abiding need to be with the children. I had forgotten how they fill me up and bring me to life.
With love,
Vicki Merriam, Director of Religious Education
The following curricula are used at the appropriate age/developmental level over the entire course of our religious education program for children and youth ages 3 to 15. Different curriculum is used in any given year. See the scope and sequence chart for more specific examples.
AFFIRMATION This is our coming of age program for youth who are preparing to be welcomed into the adult congregation. With the support of their mentors, participants will develop their own credos. Areas of study include: UU heritage and theology, personal beliefs, worship, and social responsibility. Culminates in the spring with an Affiirmation Ceremony.
Breakfast Club An informal and free-flowing gathering of youth with the DRE to discuss current issues and topics of interest to pre-teens.
Carry the Flame An interactive program of self-discovery and religious identity related to our seven UU principles.
Fox Indian Village Participants in this program explore Native American cultures, traditions, and philosophies, experience spirituality through nature, create ceremonies, hear stories, make crafts, learn survival skills, and more as we learn to live in harmony with the earth. Supplemental curricula include: “Honoring Mother Earth”; “Caring for Planet Earth”; and “Who Speaks for Wolf”.
Holidays and Holy Days This favorite curriculum is a hands-on exploration of world religions through the festive celebrations of significant holidays in various cultures and religious groups. Each lesson explicitly relates the theme of the celebration to a specific UU value or belief.
How Can We Know What to Believe? A look at how our UU beliefs can help us develop our beliefs about God, the Bible, death, and religion by exploring the existential questions that human beings have asked for millennia: Is there a God? What happens after we die? Why is there evil in the world? How are we to live our lives? And others. No answers, but the search begins. (note – this curriculum has been recently (07) adapted and renamed)
Messages In Music An introduction to the seven Unitarian Universalist principles and their sources using contemporary music.
Neighboring Faiths This introduction to the faith traditions and practices of other religious groups in our community engages us in a religious journey, reflects on unique and universal religious experiences, and helps us explore our own values, increase our understanding and appreciation of religious diversity, and strengthen our UU identity.
Our Whole Lives - OWL This UU human sexuality curriculum is designed to help adolescents acquire accurate information, develop positive attitudes, and make healthy decisions about the role of sexuality in their own lives in the context of a safe and trust-building setting with a focus on UU values. The advisors for this year-long program are trained by UUA. Commitment to regular attendance and parental permission are required. Parent meetings will be scheduled.
Practicing Our Principles The children will be putting our UU principles into action by working together on projects that have meaning to them. This is a hands-on course that is designed to be flexible in meeting the needs of the group. It involves group dynamics, social action, creative expression, and interaction with the larger UUS:E community.
Race To Justice This exploration of racial justice celebrates human diversity as a positive, enriching fact of life and invites youth to affirm important religious values, particularly our belief in the “inherent worth and dignity” of all people.
Special Places, Sacred Spaces This experiential curricula helps children to feel at home in many places, including their own bodies, UUS:E, and the world at large and to engage in the spiritual growth that being at home facilitates.
Spirit Play One of our favorites, this program encourages engagement at the child’s developmental level and mode of learning. By using stories from many traditions and “wonderings” about the lesson we hope to help the children to begin to “live into their own answers” to the big questions in life through the lens of UU values and beliefs.
Stories About God Inspired by images and issues from the Bible, world religions, feminist studies, science and human experience, we’ll find personal expression for our own thoughts and feelings about god.
Timeless Themes Jewish and Christian biblical literature, which is central to our cultural heritage, will help us explore fundamental ideas about trust, personal responsibility, justice, loneliness, loyalty, forgiveness and love.
Traditions with a Wink! By teaching an understanding of the UU faith through exploration of our religious identity and traditions, we hope to help our youth begin the process of shaping their own faith and building a sense of community.
Travel In Time Through the analogy of time travel, we’ll explore our religious identity and our sense of community. Along the way, we’ll learn about the origins of Unitarian Universalism in North America and the lives of individuals, past and present, who exemplify our faith, heritage, values, and principles.
Treasure Hunting This curriculum strives to involve children in the excitement of the search for meaning in life at the concrete level of their understanding with a goal of reaching the emotional and spiritual life of the child. It places an emphasis on activities that promote an accepting community while addressing the conflicts and problems that children face daily. Each week through games, crafts, songs, and stories, the children explore the meaning behind a Unitarian Universalist principle or value.
We Believe: Learning and Living Our UU Principles With each session focusing on one of our seven principles, we hope to develop a sense of UU identity, to help young people to be able to make positive statements about their beliefs, and to put those beliefs into action.
You the Creator With a focus on the themes of religion, creation, arts, individual creativity, and universal creativity, we’ll explore the innate creative power of each person to shape ourselves and the world.
Key to Scope and Sequence:
UU – Unitarian Universalist identity/principles/spirituality
WR – World Religions
J/C/B – Jewish, Christian, Bible
N/E – Nature/Environment
UUS:E Religious Education Program – Scope and Sequence (pdf)
Last updated
May, 2010
Day of the Dead
