September 2018

Scroll down for updates from Director of Religious Education Beth Moss. Beth can be reached at dre.firstu@gmail.com.

Registration

  • Sign up for this year’s Religious Education classes here. This form also allows you to sign up for the RE email list.
  • For grades 6 and up, an additional sign-up is required for the Coming of Age (COA) program. Please read about coming of age in this letter. The end of the parent letter contains a printable sign-up form, or use the digital version: COA sign up form.
  • Please sign up up for regular classes and COA by September 16.

This Month’s Schedule

September 9

  • Water Communion inter-generational service: At this beloved annual service, you are invited to bring a small vial of water from your home or travels to kick-off our church year with clear vision and ready hearts. We’ll join them all together, uniting as one to begin this new, shared church year. A “backpack blessing” is offered to our children and youth to pledge our love and support to them as they begin a new school year. Kids (and adults!) – bring your backpack (or briefcase!).
  • Childcare in the nursery resumes regular hours: 9 am to 1 pm.

September 16

  • FIRST DAY OF CLASS! Please join us! Note: All students start in the sanctuary before heading to class; “time for all ages” during the weekly service resumes. Classes run concurrent with the rest of the service.
  • Following classes, please drop by the RE registration table for a teacher meet-and-greet. See you there!

September 23

September 30

  • Regularly scheduled RE classes
  • Coming of Age, first meeting – 10 am to noon

RE PROGRAM UPDATE from director Beth Moss

It’s been a great Summer here at church, and a great first year for me as your DRE! Students who attended the summer program had SO much fun with the World of New Friends curriculum. Activities varied from deep conversations about Taoist sayings, to making cornbread to honor the role corn plays in the lives the Hopi people, to lighting incense after our Buddhist meditation and more. From these lessons, students found that those who are different from us are also like us and full of wisdom we can learn from. It’s been a joy seeing the kids gain this insight that truly all of us can stand to be reminded of. I look forward to the important work in the coming year of providing many other fun lessons that uphold the seven UU principles and draw from the many sources that strengthen our church community.

Being able to offer these vital lessons many kids don’t have access to in school and continuing to build the sense of community among RE kids and families is the most important function of my job here at First Unitarian. As many of you know, this job would not be possible without the help of the many AMAZING volunteers who have stepped up to support the program.

This year, with the help of the ministers and the board, I am pleased to announce we are piloting an anchor teacher program for the year. This means each class will have one anchor teacher, and one volunteer assistant teacher working with the group.

What are the benefits of hiring anchor teachers?

  • More class offerings will happen this year to better meet the needs of multiple age groups
  • Teachers know what has gone on from week to week in each class
  • Teachers will get to know student needs
  • The DRE can devote more time to content development
  • Lead teachers can communicate with the DRE about class needs over a longer time period
  • The teachers we have chosen are AWESOME!

To learn more about the superheroes who will help make this year’s RE program a success, please check out our 2018-19 classes. Additional volunteers from the First U community are needed on a regular basis for each class! Each volunteer assistant teacher will serve as helping hands as well as UU guides; anchor teachers serve as direct instructors. As a volunteer, you sign up, show up, get to know the kids and enjoy their company for the day, and help the teacher as  needed. Please sign up to jump in!

Please contact Beth Moss, Director of Religious Education, if you are interested in learning more.