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We Encourage Children and Youth
The church is happy to introduce Margaret Dietz as the Director of Religious Education. Together with Margaret, let us live up to the first core value in our covenant statement, "We encourage children," and help our delightful UU kids grow up to be good and faithful stewards of the universe we inhabit and share.
To contact Margaret with questions regarding Children and Youth Religious Education, please e-mail her at dre@uumuk.org.
Children, ages 5-12 years, attend their Religious Education Class during the Sunday Service. Children stay for about the first 15 minutes of the service, participate in a short story time called, Time for all Ages, sing a song with the congregation, and then leave to go to their class.
Youth ages 13-18, meet twice a month for religious education and/or service projects at locations such as member's homes or service locations.
RE takes a 'vacation' for the summer and resumes in September.
2010-2011 Religious Education starts September 12
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
The children will be studying the UU principles with singing, music, play and dance. (Some new musical instruments have been purchased, so get ready to have fun.) The children will learn from the curriculum, We Believe, Learning and Living Our UU Principles.
MIDDLE SCHOOL YOUTH
The middle school youth will be exploring books that show the UU principles in action, through a book club to discuss the books that are being read. The first book will be The Book Thief. The youth will meet at a central location, to be determined.
HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH
The high school youth will be participating in a year of service projects, putting our UU principles into action. One big project planned is to take a trip to New Orleans and work with Habitat for Humanity to help build a house (all church members would be welcome to join). Other projects will be helping with the annual coat drive and serving the homeless.
In addition, the high school youth can participate in the Coming of Age program using the book, Coming of Age- Handbook for Congregations.
A meeting on September 12th following the service is planned to go over the RE curriculums and meeting days and times. If you would like to register your child/youth please send Margaret an email at dre@uumuk.org.
Our Goals
The goal of our religious education program is to teach Unitarian Universalist Principles and Practices. We use many avenues to achieve this goal. Studying world religion and biblical scriptures enhances our ability to look at what others believe and then relate those teachings to what we believe.
What does 'spiritual' mean?
'Spiritual' is a word likely to mean something different to each person, in part because it reflects a very personal experience. At the core of many definitions is the sense of connection in some way to something much larger than the self. Here's one way to think of it (from UU & Me). Imagine you are walking along an ocean beach in the middle of summer. You feel the warm sand as it touches your feet, and smell the salt in the air-you can even taste it. When you look up, all you can see ahead of you is miles and miles of water. You hear a seagull passing overhead and the sounds of your friends laughing in the waves. You can feel that you are using all your senses: touch, sight, smell, hearing, and taste. Or you may find spiritual connection through prayer, meditation, music, art, or countless other media.
Life Span Faith Development
UU`s believe in the lifelong search for truth and meaning. We have a number of opportunities for adults to gather in small groups to continue learning, sharing and enriching each others lives with their spiritual stories.
Children and Mass Media
The websites below help parents make more informed choices regarding mass media and children:
www.chinaberry.com/
www.lionlamb.org/
www.parents-choice.org/
Remember ...
Love is the spirit of this church
And service is its law
to dwell together in peace
To seek the truth in love
To help one another
This is our great covenant
One book, One Website Recommendations
Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv is a book about how today Nature is something for us to watch, to consume, to wear, and to ignore. Television ads depict a four-wheel-drive SUV racing along a breathtakingly beautiful mountain stream - while in the backseat two children watch a movie on a flip-down screen, oblivious to the landscape and water beyond the windows.
A web site for families
www.greenhour.org is the website for the National Wildlife Federation which is rich in family-friendly content.
Then log off and return to Nature, as Richard Louv says, "... not only because ethics and justice demands it, but also because our mental, physical, and spiritual health and the health of the Earth depends on it."
Mukwonago, Wisconsin
At the Peace Camp, the children made chalk drawings.
