Religious Education for Children
★For Our Youngest Ones★
Our "Little Lights" corner provides a warm and caring environment for kindergartners, preschoolers, and toddlers. Competent, paid sitters care for and play with the children in a prepared part of the large room downstairs from the sanctuary. Care is provided from 9:45-11:15. If parents with an infant need a retreat during the service they're invited to use the area.
✿ 1st - 6th Grade ✿
We continue our dynamic and intergenerational approach to integrating children’s worship with age-appropriate stories and activities. We offer religious education classes for grades 1-6 every Sunday during worship services (10am-11am). The children begin service in the Sanctuary with their parents and then are dismissed after the Moment for All Ages.
The children then participate in their own worship service with adult facilitation. In the segment where one would typically find a sermon, we alternate between telling a story in a way that engages the children or providing a selection of activities through with the children can explore the meaning of the previous week's story. There is no cost associated with a child's participation in Sunday Children's RE. We do, however, expect parents to agree to be volunteer facilitators for 2 four-week periods of time.
This year, we will continue to work with Tapestry of Faith curricula, beginning with Faithful Journeys, a spiritual exploration of the meaning of each of the Seven Principles in each of our lives and the ways we enact them. Children from first grade to sixth grade are welcome to participate; younger children may participate with a parent present to assist them with activities.
Important Dates:
September 25th, 2011
- Beginning of Faithful Journeys and Neighboring Faiths
October 2nd, 2011
- Faithful Journeys: Children will select either a game or an arts and crafts activity that explores the theme of life as a journey, and how our principles influence the type of journey we take.
October 9th, 2011
- Faithful Journeys: Children will engage in a lively retelling of stories from the childhood of beloved Universalist minister Hosea Ballou, learning about how he developed his theology of God as unconditional love.
October 16th 2011
- Faith in Action Sunday: Children & Youth 1st-8th grade are invited to participate in a fall fundraiser to help fund Jocelyn Brown’s volunteer work as a midwife for benefit MamaBaby Haiti.
October 23rd 2011
- Faithful Journeys: The children will contemplate what makes a person “worthy” as they learn story of Christopher Reeves in our rendition of “Welcoming Superman” from the Tapestry of Faith curricula.
October 30, 2011
- Dia de Los Muertos Celebration for children in 1st-6th grade
Each class requires one teacher and one guide who can each commit to being present FOUR Sundays in a row, and attending ONE brainstorming session prior to their teaching term. Tentative dates for trainings and terms are below:
Training Date Teaching Start Date
September 18, 2011 September 25, 2011 10a-11:30am
October 16, 2011 October 23, 2011 10a-11:30am
January 4, 2012 January 8, 2012 10a-11:30am
January 22, 2012 February 5, 2012 10a-11:30am
February 12, 2012 March 4, 2012 10a-11:30am
March 18, 2012 April 1, 2012 10a-11:30am
April 29, 2012 May 6, 2012 10a-11:30am
Faith in Action Sundays
Service activities are periodically incorporated into Children’s Worship so that children can experience that service to humanity is a worshipful activity.
Worshiping Together
▸ On most Sundays, children of all ages are invited to sit with their families or friends during the first part of the regular worship service which starts at 10:00 a.m. This time includes chalice and candle lighting, offertory, and a “Moment with the Children,” after which children are dismissed to the U House.
▸ Throughout the year there are several multi-generational worship services when parishioners from the youngest to the oldest gather together in the sanctuary for worship in community and celebration. Our usual multi-generational services are
- Ingathering Service
- Thanksgiving Service
- Winter Solstice Service (children help with this)
- Christmas Eve Service
- Easter Service
- Coming of Age Service (held biannually)
- Bridging Service (honouring high school graduates)
First Parish is committed to the diversity of our congregation. We are a Welcoming Congregation to all