First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans

Religious Education Programs
for Children & Youth

At First UU Church of New Orleans, we offer our children and youth a safe, caring community of intergenerational sharing, respect, and joy.

We encourage them to grow into Unitarian Universalists who:

can articulate a personal religious philosophy,
are compassionate,
feel awe at the wonder of the universe,
and have faith that their positive efforts are worthwhile.

Our Director of Religious Education (DRE) develops and coordinates the religious education program in conjunction with our RE Committee, which is a group of dedicated parents, RE teachers, youth, and other interested church members.

On a typical Sunday morning, people of all ages are welcomed into our sanctuary for worship. Following the Words for All Ages, children and youth are invited to religious education classes. We offer child care for infants and toddlers through age 4, and classes for the following age groups: 3.5-7; 7-11; and 11-15. We have found that offering flexibility around age groups helps us to meet the unique needs of each family. Older youth are invited to join us for Sunday worship, and to participate in bi-monthly youth group activities. See the sidebar for links to pages for each class. Every so often (this year, on Mardi Gras weekend, Easter Sunday, Earth Day and Religious Education Sunday on May 20), all ages of our congregation stay together for a full, intergenerational worship service. These services are lively events, with elements to speak to the youngest and oldest among us. In the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina, we lost most of our materials, but because of our lack of storage space, the rebuilding of our collection has to be done slowly and with a good deal of thought.

We do have a wish list for the RE program on amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1Y7Q9S938WYF7/

For more info please contact our Director of Religious Education, Coleen Murphy at re@firstuuno.org.

TRADITIONS WITH A WINK
Unitarian Universalist Identity for Middle Schoolers
(ages 11-15, or 6 th-8 th grades)

What do you say when someone asks you what Unitarian Universalists believe? This curriculum teaches an understanding of UU faith that can replace the often heard, vague “anything we want to” statement with: “We come from a long tradition of questioning and searching. We come from a long tradition of loving kindness and good works.” We have powerful stories and visions of hope. It is time to share them with our older children as they begin the process of shaping their own faith.

And… we’ll have fun doing it!

The UU traditions taught in this curriculum include:

...the way we create services of celebration and memory, with lessons on Flower Communion, Memorials, and Dedications.

...the place of Science and Reason, with lessons on Darwin, creationism, the invention of soda pop.

...the different ways UUs create community, with visits to various web sites.

...our tradition of good works, with making a church gift, social justice projects, and United Nations Sunday.

... our music and hymns, with Hymns and Readings from our Singing the Living Tradition hymnbook.

...our Purposes and Principles, with a UU rosary of beads for each purpose.

...our roots in Judeo-Christian culture, with themes from the Bible, including Psalm 23, The Lords Prayer, King David and King Solomon.

We’ll also build community with worship, games and regular Social Nights: Six Foot Banana Split Night, Scary Stories Night, Weird Foods Night, White Elephant Gift Exchange, Pie Making Party, Valentines, Science Fair Social, Egg Social, Hogwarts School Immersion ...

And more yet to be imagined.

For further information, check out http://www.uure.com/traditionswithawink.html

SPIRIT of ADVENTURE!
Unitarian Universalist Identity
For ages 7-11, or 2 nd through 5 th grades

Written by Kate Tweedie Erslev, Spirit of Adventure is a new approach to UU curricula - written especially for active 2nd - 5th graders – featuring 35 sessions with unique themes, such as sports, medicine, architecture, science and food, and emphasizing active play such as circus arts, a "take apart party," obstacle course, and a treasure hunt.

From the author: The teachable moments about UU Identity in this curriculum are not meant to be memorization of the names of famous UUs. The famous people mentioned in “Spirit of Adventure” lived lives which exemplified a UU Identity. In each lesson there is a quote or worthwhile insight that pertains to all of our lives. (Some of) the quotes, which illustrate our UU Identity, are summarized below:

“I believe we’re all one family and need each other in times of grief and gladness. And I believe in the power of human ingenuity and people of goodwill to make a difference in the world. This is my credo as a Unitarian Universalist. It’s what Superman and I have in common.” Christopher Reeve, Actor

“I do not wish to give [women] a first place, still less a second one--but the most complete freedom, to take their true place whatever it may be,” Elizabeth Blackwell, First Woman Physician in Modern Medicine

“Think for yourselves!” Maria Mitchell, Astronomer

"Leave the beaten track o ccasionally and dive into the woods. Every time you do so you will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. Follow it up, explore all around it, and before you know it, you will have something worth thinking about to o ccupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the results of thought." Alexander Graham Bell, Inventor

“I have tried to do my humble bit of preservation in this district.” Beatrix Potter

Complete information can be found at http://www.uure.com/spirit.html

Spirit Play:
A Unitarian Universalist Adaptation of Jerome Berryman’s Godly Play
Multi-age group of children ages 3 through 7, or pre-K through 2 nd Grade

We see the purpose of religious education as helping children in living into their own answers to the existential questions: Where did we come from? What are we doing here? How do we choose to live our lives? What happens when we die?

We use the Montessori approach and Berryman's morning as worship approach for the structure of the morning. As in Montessori, the key elements are the classroom environment and the teachers. These elements free the children to work at their own pace on their own issues after an initial lesson.

The Door Keeper helps the children get ready to enter the classroom. The Storyteller leads the circle in the story of the day, followed by the wondering.

Children choose an art response or to work with a story previously heard, helped by the Door Keeper.

Children clean up, followed by a feast (snack) with the Storyteller. Leave-taking is a formal process of saying good-bye to the Storyteller when children are ready.

Stories have been developed in the following categories: Unitarian Universalist Focal Shelves, Promises (Principles), Sources, Stories of the Mystery, Beginnings and Endings, Sacred Places, Church Corner, Religion Boxes and Ways to Pray, Heroes and Heroines.

Spirit Play is being developed through grants from the Unitarian Sunday School Society and the Fund for Unitarian Universalism.

For further information, please see http://www.spiritplay.net

Religious Education Programs for Children & Youth

Religious Education Programs
for Children & Youth