Religious Education

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Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Children's RE

Our Unitarian Universalist Rainbow Principles
RainbowPrinciples
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Sources of Our Beliefs
Our beliefs come from:

The sense of wonder we all share.

The women and men of long ago and today whose lives remind us to be kind and fair.

The ethical and spiritual wisdom of the world’s religions.

Jewish and Christian teachings which tell us to love all others as we love ourselves.

The use of reason and the discoveries of science.

The harmony of nature and the sacred circle of life.

The Sunday Morning Experience

Children and youth attend the service with their parents and come to their classes when they are sung out.

Intergenerational Worship & Activities
In addition to Sunday morning religious education classes the church offers a number of intergenerational events and activities throughout the year. These allow our entire congregation to come together – so that we might learn from and enjoy one another’s company. For our young people, these may enhance the feelings of belonging to the religious community. For everyone, we seek a supportive spiritual environment which spans the generations, extending our families to include others who might not live with us, and building a faith community as we demonstrate our concern for one another and the world we live in. Such events and activities include: Intergenerational Worship Services such as the Ingathering Water Service and holiday services. We also offer pot-lucks, Game Nights, Halloween Party, Twice Annual Camping Trips, a winter holiday event The Hanging of the Greens, and much more.

Watch the church newsletter, DUUF Youth Yahoo Group e-mails, the church web-site, and bulletin boards for upcoming events.

Attendance
Children will benefit most from our program if they come regularly. Only then will they find continuity in the program and a circle of friends so they look forward to coming each Sunday. If you are new, we ask that you sign our guest book and list the names of your children so we can prepare a name tag for them.

The Nursery (Infants to age 2)
The nursery is located through Fellowship Hall and at the back of the fellowship. Our youngest children receive friendly, safe and loving care here. Our nursery is warmly staffed by our Nursery Caregivers, with additional help from experienced volunteers. Visitors are always welcome. Parents must sign their children in before the service begins and include any special instructions. Parents are requested to bring bottles and diapers.

3 – 8 year olds - "Spirit Play" is offered during both services. This is a curriculum that uses the Montessori method with stories from various different sources including the UU Principles, the UU Sources and stories from other World Religions. Spirit Play is fun for the children, but also for the volunteer "story teller” and "door keepers".

9 – 12 year olds - "Spirit of Adventure" is an activity-based curriculum that teaches Unitarian Universalist identity. Instead of the usual arts and crafts, this curriculum uses other types of activities and experiences such as dissecting a computer, building cantilevered architecture out of graham crackers, circus arts, animal blessings, and singing Jingle Bells in "dog" language. This curriculum is also be offered during both services. It is fun and volunteers will wish they were a Tween again.

Middle School and Senior High Youth - Two program offerings.

On Sunday mornings, during the first service only, this age level uses "Compass Points" curriculum. The curriculum is a spiritual journey where the youth have opportunities to sort out their own feelings about themselves, their world and their beliefs as they begin to move into young adulthood. They also learn about UU history, polity and theology. Youth will come to appreciate what Unitarian Universalism stands for and how religious liberty needs to continue to be protected.

"Coming of Age" - This will take place at some time other than Sunday mornings (to be determined) aiming for October 1 as the beginning of this program. Like "Compass Points", the aim of this program is to help youth move toward young adulthood. Unlike "Compass Points" which uses a classroom curriculum, "Coming of Age" makes use of many different experiential opportunities to help the youth explore themselves and the world. Some of the activities may include workshops, community service activities, social action projects, retreats and rites of passage. The year will culminate for the youth in writing individual credo statements (statements of who they are and what they believe) and a service of recognition where the credo statements will be presented to the rest of the congregation. Finally, we hope to be able to take a group trip to a place of significance to the UU tradition (Boston would be fabulous!). Because this is an experience where we hope the youth will develop strong bonds and where they will be exploring personal things, we will be asking that the youth commit to attending all of the sessions or as many as possible. There will be more information coming later about this exciting new program.

Service Projects
It is the tradition of our Religious Education program to invite our children and youth to participate in service projects throughout the year. Popular projects have included fund raising to adopt endangered species at the Dallas Zoo, Trick or Treat for UNICEF, Guest at Your Table, collections and fundraisers for the local Food Bank and Homeless Shelters. Projects can change yearly as ideas are presented.

A special message to parents...
We sincerely hope that you and your children will want to participate in this exciting and rewarding religious education program. We encourage you to involve yourself in some of the ways indicated below. We need everyone’s cooperation if our program is to be truly rewarding. The program is carried out almost entirely by volunteers. We welcome and encourage your involvement and assistance in the following ways:

Consider ways you can help by volunteering. Volunteer to teach. We use teaching teams (so you only teach an average of twice each month) and we supply all needed materials. We also need RE greeters, committee and special events volunteers.

Take an interest in your child’s religious education. Become familiar with your child’s teachers, class, and the lessons being learned.

Ask teachers questions. Remember, much of your child’s religious education takes place in the home!

Put down roots in your religious community. Participate with your children in intergenerational activities. Get to know other families. Share with us your interests and concerns, as well as your talents. Let us know special things that are going on in your family. Become involved in the whole life of the congregation.

The religious education program has meant a great deal to Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship over the years. We welcome your caring and support as we offer ours.

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Sue Lowry
Director of Religious Education
Denton Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
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dentonuuf.org