Religious Education for Young and Old

Welcome to our Religious Education Program at All Souls Church! This page is designed to give you an overview of the program and much of the information you will need for participation in our cooperative program. More information can be found in the printed Religious Education brochure available at the church. For your additional questions, please speak with one of our Religious Education Director, Carolee Fogg, and watch our newsletter, The Chimes, for updates.

In our program, religious and spiritual topics are addressed in age appropriate ways at each level. Some of these themes are carried over into worship and adult programming. In this way, we hope to inspire conversations between the different generations within our church community.

Throughout the year there will be opportunities for our young people to build their sense of self and a feeling of responsibility for their own spiritual journeys.

They will participate in ritual in their classrooms and in the sanctuary and they will participate in social responsibility activities in their classrooms and in the world.

They will be exposed to ideas, practices, and writings from the world's religions including those closest to home. They will learn about Unitarian Universalist history, and they will explore the principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the sources on which UU's draw.

We look forward to sharing this exciting adventure with you and the children this year.

Unitarian Universalist Association Principles

Children's Version

We believe:

= That each and every person is important

= That all people should be treated fairly and kindly

= That we should accept one another and keep on learning together

= That each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life

= That all persons should have a vote about the things that concern them

= In working for a peaceful, fair and free world

= In caring for our planet Earth, the home we share with all living things.

Our Classes

Nursery

Our Nursery provides a cheerful and safe place for our youngest children throughout the year. The Nursery is easily accessible from stairs at the back of the sanctuary and parents who wish to keep children upstairs for the beginning of the service and decide later to take them downstairs are free to do so. The sound system broadcasts into the Nursery for parents who wish to remain with their children for a portion of the service while still hearing what is happening upstairs.

Nursery care is provided for all 10:30 am services for our youngest children. The nursery is staffed beginning at 10:20 am. If pre-school children and their parents wish to make use of the nursery care during intergenerational services they are welcome to do so.

This year our classes will focus on common themes using age appropriate materials. Our classes will be divided into the following:

Pre-School - Typically Ages 3 & 4

Primary - Typically Grades K-3

Elementary - Typically Grades 4-6

Youth Group - Typically Grades 7-12

Religious Education Philosophy

At All Souls Church we believe that spiritual learning is a life long process. Our earliest ideas about the world are formed in the experiences that we have as very young children. Throughout the developmental stages of childhood we have many opportunities to widen and enrich our understanding. Even as adults the learning does not stop.

A formal religious education program helps children in their spiritual development in several ways. First, it provides an organized way to ensure exposure to important ideas and concepts. This is why what we teach is important. At All Souls Church we seek to expose our children to diverse religious and cultural expressions as well as to historical perspectives on the great questions that have been asked throughout human history.

Second, a religious education program provides a setting for spiritual exploration. It is sometimes said that "the method is the message." This is why the method of how we teach is important. We seek to provide a safe and secure environment that encourages children to ask questions and to develop confidence in their ability to find answers.

Third, a religious education program happens in the context of a larger religious community, thus, where we teach matters. In a society increasingly segregated by age, our religious communities are one of the few places where young and old still meet. At All Souls we strive to include our children in the whole life of the congregation so that they can see the lessons of the classroom unfold in real life.

We encourage you to be involved in the cooperative religious education program. Many of our adults have found some of the richest and most rewarding experiences at All Souls have come when they have involved themselves in the continuing development of our children.

Religious Education Calendar

2007-8 Religious Education Calendar

Non-classroom mornings are noted, however Group Fun and activities are planned for community and learning opportunities. Updates will appear in the All Souls newsletter, The Chimes.

We have been gradually collecting "Expressions of Gratitude" from members and friends of All Souls. If you have a practice or way in which you feel is an expression of gratitude for you, please share it by leaving it in the church office or giving it to an RE Committee member.

September 9 Water Communion - Intergenerational
October 7 Group Activity
November 16 Dickens Fair Workshop
November 17 Dickens Fair
November 18 Thanksgiving Service - Intergenerational
November 25 Special Activity - Winter Service Project
December 23 Winter Holiday Service - Intergenerational
December 24 Intergenerational Christmas Eve Service 5:30 pm
December 30 Group Activity - Kwanzaa, birth of a holiday
January 20 Group Fun
February 10 Youth Worship - Intergenerational
February 17 Group Fun
February 24 Group Fun
March 23 Easter / Spring Activities - Easter
April 20 Group Fun
April 27 Group Fun
May 11 Youth host Mothers' Day Brunch
May 18 Children's Worship and Recognition - Intergenerational
May 25 Group Fun - Memorial Day Weekend
June 1 Last 'Class' - Saying goodbye to our groups
June 8 Group Fun
June 15 Flower Communion - Intergenerational
June 22 Summer Services Begin

Registration Forms

Please be sure to fill out a registration form for each of your children. The annual fee for each child is $15 with a family limit of $30. If this fee presents a hardship for your family please see Rev. Rob. Guest forms are available for children visiting with us for the morning.

Adult Programs

Throughout the year there are a number of programs and events which offer adults the opportunity to interact and grow through provocative, interesting discussions, workshops and curriculum. These deal both with personal spiritual growth and with living as a liberal religious person in a complex world.
While many programs require no advance sign up, some do, so please check each offering. Also, many of the adult offerings are also open to interested teens or older children. Please check with the program leader if interested.
Our monthly newsletter, The Chimes, lists upcoming programs, as do the bulletin boards in the Parish Hall.
If you are interested in leading or co-leading a program, please speak to Rev. Rob.