Greetings from the Religious Education Ministry!
Jess Pond, Director of Religious Education
Links to Class Descriptions, and More Ways to Connect with Us!
Current Announcements:
Hello UUCB!
Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate the end of the Religious Education year with us on RE Sunday! The volunteers, the families, and the support of this congregation are all crucial parts of the foundation of this RE Ministry – thank you, thank you, thank you!
Have you ever wanted to teach a religious education class, volunteer in the nursery, or join an adult faith development ministry team? Now is your chance! We will need at least twenty volunteer teachers, youth advisors, and a few additional nursery volunteers in the upcoming year, as our religious education program and attendance continue to grow!
I am also working on forming two ministry teams for next year: Adult Faith Development, and Religious Education for children, youth, and parents. Would you like to see more faith development programming for adults? Talk to me about joining the Adult Faith Development Ministry Team! Would you like to help with special programming for kids and parents, including potlucks and party planning? Talk to me about the Religious Education Ministry Team!
As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions or thoughts about Religious Education for any age group at jpond@buffalouu.org.
I look forward to cheering on the Pride Parade with you all on June 4, and bridging our graduating seniors and celebrating Flower Communion on June 18! If you are or if you know a graduating senior or a young adult who would like to participate in the Bridging Ceremony on June 18, please let me know!
Bright blessings,
Jess
It’s never too late to register for Religious Education! Please complete this form if you would like to register your child for Religious Education classes: https://forms.gle/4LzWAX73L8vwNQWV6
Check out the RE Calendar here: https://rb.gy/hxvmju
__________________________________________
NURSERY IS OPEN! I am very excited to announce that a new childcare supervisor has been hired, and our nursery will now be open for our littlest members on Sunday mornings, 9:30-12:30. Parents are welcome to bring infants, toddlers, and pre-k children to the nursery immediately upon arrival on Sunday mornings, or after the Time for All Ages when the children leave the service for RE classes. There will be a sign-in sheet in the nursery that you will be asked to fill out during drop-off.
VOLUNTEER IN THE NURSERY: In addition to our childcare supervisor, I will be building a list of volunteers to act as the second adult in the nursery for best safety practices. Listen to the streamed worship service while serving the young families in our community! If you would like to volunteer to help in the nursery or for childcare for special events, please email me at jpond@buffalouu.org.
_______________________________________
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR OUR WHOLE LIVES (OWL) CLASSES! With a holistic approach, OWL provides accurate, developmentally appropriate information about a range of topics, including relationships, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, sexual health, and cultural influences on sexuality. Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their relationships, sexual health and behavior.
It is my hope that we will be able to provide an abbreviated series of workshops for the K-3rd grade and 4th-6th grade groups in June or July this summer, with 5 or 6 trained volunteers. There is an online training in May with seven sessions, and all sessions are mandatory to be considered fully trained. Registration for the training is due by March 27. All costs for the training will be covered by the RE budget. If you are already trained in OWL and you would like to help out with workshops this summer, or if you would like to sign up for the training in May to be able to volunteer, please email me at jpond@buffalouu.org ASAP! Let’s bring OWL back!
_______________________________________
Also, check out our Adult Faith Development Offerings
Our Classes
Pre-K & Kindergarten: Consistent with Unitarian Universalist Principles, in Pre-K we will learn about loving and respecting ourselves, our families, our church, our community, the earth, and the world around us. We will celebrate ourselves, all kinds of holidays, the seasons, diversity, and anything else we can think of. Our curriculum is flexible and ever-developing, responding to the interests of our students.
Grades 1-3, Spirit Play: Spirit Play is a Unitarian Universalist program of religious education that evolved from a long line of Montessori-based religious education programming. This curriculum seeks to engage children in the existential questions about life within the context of the Unitarian Universalist faith. Stories are presented dealing with these questions accessing our broad base of sources. They are presented using an active storytelling method followed by a “wondering” time that opens up the child’s response to the story, then the child is free to work directly with that story or another, or to respond to the story or to their feelings with art materials.
Grades 4-6, In the Middle: This curriculum aligns with the monthly themes in our Worship Services, encouraging the students to reflect on the topic of the month through age-appropriate stories, open discussion, and fun activities.
Grades 7 & 8, Heeding the Call: As Unitarian Universalists, we are called not to admire justice from a distance but to live right in it, under its roof. This series of workshops offers a unique opportunity to engage youth in the critical work of developing skills as Unitarian Universalists committed to social justice. The workshops encourage youth to reflect on their own lives while also making connections to the lives lived by others. This both/and approach increases youth’s self-awareness while also developing leadership skills. The stories offer real-life examples of people facing the complexities of living lives of justice. It is under this roof that the youth become Justice Makers. Justice does not come into being automatically. Individuals must work together, learn together, listen together, laugh together, and heed the call together.
Grades 9-12, Youth Group: High school students are encouraged to explore living into Unitarian Universalist beliefs with each other, engaging in their own searches for what they believe is right and true in life. Youth develop leadership skills through participation in a youth-led, covenant-based environment.
More Ways to Connect with Us
– Join our Facebook page for updated news and events!
Facebook Group “UUCB Religious Education“
– If you are interested in any of the classes, projects, or other groups that we are starting, please contact DRE Jess, at jpond@buffalouu.org