Programs
Worship
Worship for the children is practiced in three ways. An Intergenerational worship, in which the children stay with friends and family in the sanctuary for the whole service. Usually the Minister, DLRE (Director of Lifespan Religious Education), and the Minister of Music put together an interactive service.
At other times, the children attend the service in the sanctuary for the first 15 minutes. During this time, there may be a story, special music, or the occasional child dedication.
Our Children’s Chapel is the third form of worship and is offered the second Sunday of the month. It is held downstairs in the basement in the first room on the left. This is also for the first 15 minutes but the children set up the chancel, help with the chalice lighting and have a vote in what songs and mediation we use. Twice a year this form of worship lasts the whole hour.
Nursery Room
The Nursery is open every Sunday there is Church. When you view the world through the eyes of a young child, life is full of wonder, ready to be discovered. Children are becoming aware of themselves and their bodies, experiencing life through their senses, exploring their environment, and expressing their emotions and ideas.
Social Justice
Our sixth Unitarian Universalist principle sets the goal of a world community with peace, liberty and justice for everyone. This year we will be spending two blocks of Religious Educations time working on social justice issues. In the early winter the focus will be on Pennies for Peace, a program that helps to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the early spring the focus will be on environmental justice. We will again plant a garden for the food pantry. On the social justice weeks, the children and adults guides will gather in Chapel then all the children will have a chance to learn about or work on a project for social or environmental change.
We can learn from the children about how to be a good Unitarian Universalist
Some Parents bring their children to church because they themselves have sought a community to support a personal search for truth and meaning. Other parents seek out a church because they feel they need help in the religious education of their children. Either way, for the family with growing children, the Young Church program becomes a critical part of their involvement in the church community. We believe that the parents are the primary religious educator of their children.
Our religious education program exists to provide a structured opportunity for religious exploration in the presence of a caring community. The Exeter Unitarian Universalist Cooperative Young Church helps parents and children explore together that which gives meaning to life. Each family with children registered in the Religious Exploration Program is expected to make a time contribution to Young Church. Our primary need is teachers or youth advisors. There are many ways to contribute. You need not be an expert. All we ask is that you willingly give time and show your children that you believe in the Importance of their ongoing religious education. Chances are you will learn something yourself in the process!
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Curriculum
The goal of this program is to spark the minds and hearts of our children and youth with a vision of the person they hope to become. We will explore together our Unitarian Universalist value system and how we take those values into our everyday lives. We will discuss our diverse religious heritage and help each other to develop and articulate our own religious philosophy. We will work with a variety of materials and experiences in exploring the great religious questions:
- Why am I here?
- What gives my life meaning?
- What is my responsibility to others with whom I share this planet?
- Why was I born?
- Why do we die?
- Do I believe in the divine that some people call god?
We are born asking the questions-here we try to provide a safe place of exploration. We organize all our classes except preschool according to theme. We offer these themes in three methods.
- Worship for all grades
- Traditional curriculum for grades preschool and 1st–8th
- An introduction on what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist in preschoolkindergarten.
Each theme lasts approximately six weeks and that is called a Block. The first theme is World Religions. From there we have two weeks of a social justice project. In the next block we will be exploring Unitarian Universalism. We will then move onto our next social justice block which will consider environmental justice. In our final block Jewish Heritage will be explored.
Traditional Curriculum is based on a lesson plan. The children start the class with a chalice lighting and a check in. Following check in, there is a review from previous week's lesson, followed by a story, idea, or discussion of a concept. This leads the children and teacher to a project, game or music. This venue is a great way to promote intergenerational community. Children and teachers covenant to learn from each other and the conversations can be lively.
SR. YRUU
This group meets Sunday morning at 12:30. We will use the small group ministry model. They pick a topic relevant to what is going on in their lives and talk about it. In years past they made the dessert to go with the Salvation Army meal, read tarot cards with the DRE and went bowling.
Our Whole Lives (OWL)
This comprehensive sex education program is grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, addressing not only the physical aspects but the spiritual, emotional and cultural dimensions as well. Participants are given a unique opportunity to deepen their faith, develop and articulate their religious and sexual values and learn to make responsible, healthy decisions based on those values. [We are currently in the planning stages and intend to offer OWL in the 2011-2012 church year for grades 7-8.]
Coming Of Age
This is a place for High School youth to explore their Unitarian Universalist beliefs. They will start in November and meet monthly. The first activity will be a ropes course. During the year they will make death masks, visit the UUA youth office, and plan a service. [This year we are not offering this program.]
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