Our 2012-13 Religious Education Program

From September to June, our Religious Education Program for Children and Youth runs concurrently with the Sunday Worship Service, which starts at 10:30 am.  Children participate in the first part of the service and then leave after the “Message for All Ages”.

Once arriving in Room 31,  the children enter an interactive multi-aged group worship experience in which the weekly theme is coordinated with the sermon of the adult worship service.   This is a departure from traditional age-segregated “Sunday school” classroom learning.  There are no set grades and no required curricular goals that need to met at any particular time.  This gives our children and youth a refreshing break from the school-based model of teaching.

Our Children’s Worship is led by trained religious educators following the Mission Statement of the First Universalist Church:  Nurture the Spirit and Serve the Community.  The Tapestry of Faith

curriculum, from the Unitarian Universalist Association, is frequently used as a resource for this worship experience.  Our church year also includes a number of multi-generational worship services in which our children and youth join the congregation for the entire worship service.

Nursery care for babies and younger children is provided throughout the service on the second floor.  We also have seating in our second floor foyer, where parents can hold their little ones and listen to the service via speaker.

Religious Education Leadership

Our Children’s, Youth and Adult Religious Education program is guided by Rev. Lori Staubitz and the Religious Education Committee.  Rev. Staubitz joined our program in March 2012 as our half-time Minister of Religious Education.  She is a graduate of SUNY Brockport and Virginia Union University School of Theology.   She holds a dual fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association in Parish and Religious Education Ministry.  She and her husband, Ward, returned to Brockport, NY, in order to be closer to family and friends and to enjoy small scale farming.

Please let our Minister of Religious Education (dre@uuroc.org) know if you have any questions, concerns or ideas for our program!

The congregation’s Religious Education Committee welcomes your input and participation.  Please contact Charles Courtsal (dre@uuroc.org) the committee co-chair, if you are interested in learning more about our children, youth and adult education programs