First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church
Medfield, Massachusetts

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Religious Education 2007-2008

The great end in religious education is not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own.
William Ellery Channing

Joyce Fetteroll
Religious Education Chair

Jeanette Ruyle
Director of Religious Education

Goals of Our Religious Education for Children and Youth

• To help each child develop a sense of purpose and a respect for his or her own unique worth.
• help the child understand and respect the unique worth and dignity of other people.
• stimulate the child’s awareness and comprehension of our Unitarian Universalist religious tradition, to broaden each child’s perceptions of what religion can mean and of the many roles of a liberal church.
• foster sensitivity to and appreciation of the wonder we find in the physical world.
• help each child explore the difficult questions so as to enlarge his or her insight on life, and to launch each child on a pursuit of personal religion.
• provide experience with worship.
• offer a community to which the child can appreciate belonging, and to nourish the feelings “I am glad to be alive” and “I am glad to be a Unitarian Universalist.”

Our Philosophy

“Religious Education” fosters a nurturing environment that
• Supports personal spiritual growth and ethical development as lifetime endeavors.
• Promotes making connections with each other, thereby building a loving community.
• Encourages sharing our talents and gifts in caring for each other and the world in which we live.
• Recognizes that we of all ages are both teachers and learners.

Our Religious Education Committee

The RE Committee is comprised of volunteers from the congregation whose role is to ensure that the religious education program at First Parish is motivating, nurturing, attractive, and exciting.

The RE Committee members work in collaboration with and in support of the professional religious education staff.

The mission of the RE Committee is to maintain and enhance a quality religious education program and cultivate an atmosphere for continuing human and spiritual growth.

Religious Education Committee Members, 2007-2008
• Ann Cunningham
• Kirsten D’Abate
• Joyce Fetteroll
• Cissy Hull-Allen
• John Kornet

Worshiping Together

On most Sundays, all children are invited to sit with their families or friends during the first part of the regular worship service which starts at 10:30 a.m. This time includes announcements, chalice and candle lighting, a “Moment with the Children,” offertory, and songs. The children then leave to be with their respective groups.

On the first Sunday of every month, starting in October, a Children’s Worship Service is held in the vestry at 10:30 a.m., the same time as the worship service upstairs in the sanctuary. Children of all ages are welcome to experience a short time of worship that is meant especially for them.

Throughout the year there are several inter-generational worship services when parishioners from the youngest to the oldest gather together in the sanctuary for worship in community and celebration. Our usual inter-generational services are

• Ingathering Service
• Thanksgiving Service
• Winter Solstice Service
• Christmas Eve Service
• Easter Service
• Coming of Age Service (held biannually)
• Bridging Service (honoring high school graduates)
• Closing Service (before summer) tradition

Preschool and Kindergarten
• We Are Many, We Are One is a curriculum that offers young children the freedom to discover and express their own uniqueness, along with beginning to learn about their religious community and traditions. The curriculum is based on the philosophy that children learn about religion through relationships. Sessions include simple stories, crafts, songs, and other activities.

First and Second Grades
• With Around the Church, Around the Year, children begin to understand their Unitarian Universalist community–our buildings, people, rituals, celebrations, and beliefs. Stories, crafts, and music are used to provide further opportunity for children to explore their feelings about themselves and their relationships to others and their environment.

Third and Fourth Grades
• Timeless Themes introduces the most familiar Bible stories from Adam and Eve to The Good Samaritan, and are retold in ways that are true to the original source, yet suited to young readers. Imaginative activities, games, and role-playing help our children's understanding and appreciation of biblical tradition.

Fifth and Sixth Grades
• The life and teachings of the historical Jesus are explored in A Kingdom of Equals: Jesus' Radical Path to Love and Justice. Children become familiar with an important figure in Western thought and history and gain further insight into our faith's Jewish and Christian roots. The lessons address the life of the person, Jesus of Nazareth, and emphasize the ideas of equality, justice, and love as taught by Jesus.

Seventh and Eighth Grades
• Using the curriculum Neighboring Faiths as a starting point, this group looks at the basic beliefs and practices of Christianity and Judaism and other world religions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Islam, and Earth-centered traditions. Participants develop an awareness of the many connections and relationships between Unitarian Universalism and other world religions.

Coming of Age Program for 9th and 10th grades
• Our Coming of Age program is a process designed to encourage the contemplation and articulation of one's personal beliefs. Both independently and as a group, participants explore various aspects of religion and spirituality, including Unitarian Universalism, from personal as well as member-of-community viewpoints. Volunteer mentors from the congregation guide them in this process and are with them at the culminating Coming of Age celebration in late spring.

Youth Group
• High school aged youth can lead the way in what they want to do and learn regarding spirituality, service to others, social justice, and just having fun being together. The group may choose to participate in activities with other Unitarian Universalist groups in the area.

For Our Youngest Ones
• Our "Little Lights" corner provides a warm and caring environment for young preschoolers, toddlers and older infants. 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 10:15-11:45. Parents may bring young infants to this comfortable setting as they might need during the service.

Religious education for children during the months of January and February give children the opportunity to be in their “RE community” together as a whole group and in smaller groups of varied interests and ages. Each Sunday in Winterim begins with all children, preschool - 6th grade, gathering together to hear the plan for the morning activities. Then children are given a choice of activities to join in on– sometimes by interest and sometimes by age. We are all in the same large room during this time.

The theme and activities of Winterim the have to do with peace and peacemaking. There are many aspects of peace to explore experientially, from how to reach inner peace, to learning peaceful conflict resolution, to imagining peace in the world. Peace, and the necessary condition of social justice, are integral to our Unitarian Universalist values and the building of a loving community as well as enhancing care and acceptance of self.

Our religious education program for children is made possible by the strong commitment of our volunteers. Parents of enrolled children are expected to help out in some way. Other parishioners including older youth, and adults without children in RE, are also called on to help. The children are our future!

Ways in which people can help:
• Serve on the RE Committee
• Teach, or assist with teaching, in the fall or spring
• Assist with December activities or with the Winter Solstice preparation
• Facilitate a Winterim small group activity for one or more Sundays
• Assist the Director of RE with filing, maintaining supplies, photography, library tasks, bulletin boards, or one of many other options!

We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote
• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

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First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church * 26 North Street * Medfield, MA * 02052 * (508) 359-4594
Rev. Bob McKetchnie, Minister
 First Parish is a Welcoming Congregation to all persons