Religious Education for Children and Youth (CRE)
ur music and hymns, with Hymns and Readings from our Singing the Living Tradition hymTable of Contents
• our Purposes and Principles, with a UU rosary of beads for each purpose.
• our roots in Judeo-Christian culture, with themes from the Bible, including Psalm 23, The Lords Prayer, King David and King Solomon.
CRE Mission Statement
Children’s Version of Unitarian Universalist Principles
Parent’s Participation
CRE Staff and Volunteers
Signing Up for Classes - Registration, Signing In and Out, Field Trips, Class Assignments
Sunday Morning Programs - Chapel Services, Intergenerational Worship, Curriculum and Location for Each Class
Fall 2007 Calendar
2007 - 2008 Curricula
As a church community,we commit ourselves
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To provide children with a sense of belonging to a caring community where they feel safe and secure.
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To help children value themselves and others, to accept responsibility for their lives and to return to the community the same love and support they receive from it.
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To offer an opportunity to explore one's own spirituality while learning to respect the diversity of religious expression.
Children's Version of Unitarian Universalist Principles
We believe . . .
• That each and every person is important;
• That all people should be treated fairly;
• That our churches are places where all people are accepted;
• That each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life;
• That everyone should have a voice in things that concern them;
• In working for a peaceful, fair, and free world;
• In caring for our planet – Earth.
Please take time to talk about these principles with your children. On Sundays, we reinforce what the children are learning at home. We provide a safe environment for our children to come together in a religious community of shared values. And we make it fun!
Although the home is the most important environment in the spiritual growth of our young people, church can play an important supportive role. As we strive to support you, we ask you to support our program in the following ways:
• Come to church together. Make a special effort to be with your children at our family activities.
• Arrive on time and attend regularly. Children develop a sense of belonging to their class when they attend consistently. As groups of children develop projects together and create bonds, it really helps for everyone to be there every Sunday.
• Support our church. Make a pledge of financial support to the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia appropriate to your family’s situation. Consider becoming a member.
• Ask us about the program. Follow up with discussion questions at home about the themes your children are exploring in religious education.
• Have your children dress in clothes for active participation. Sometimes classes involve running, painting & making messes.
• Pick up your child from Sunday School class promptly at 12:15 if your child is in preschool – 6th grade.
Our Children’s Religious Education Director is Jansen Wendell. His primary responsibility is to ensure that all Sunday morning programs operate smoothly: childcare, chapel services, classes and youth groups. He supervises the paid childcare staff and supports the work of volunteer teachers and youth group advisors. His office phone number is 215-563-3980 ext. 305. His e-mail address is jansen@philauu.org.
Children's Worship Team: Kate Connolly, chair; Roderick Wolfson, Janet Scannell
Registration
We are always ready to welcome new children into our program, so registration is open all year round. All children—infants through high school—must be registered prior to attending classes. Registration is as simple as filling out our Registration Form and returning it to us. You may give your completed Registration Form to the teacher of your child’s class. To help defray the cost of snacks and materials, there is a registration fee of $20 for one child or $35 for a family with more than one child.
Visitors are our guests. We require only that a Registration Form be completed before dropping children off. If you find your child(ren) are attending Sunday School regularly, please pay the registration fee as set out above.
Please take the time to complete our registration form (PDF), and return to the church office with payment.
First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, 2125 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
andSigning In and Signing Out
For the safety of all our children, all infants,toddlers and pre-schoolers must be signed in and out of class each week by a parent or guardian.
Field Trips
If a child or youth will be going off church grounds for a church sponsored event, a field trip permission form PDF must be completed by the child's parent or guardian and submitted to the supervising adult, teacher of RE Director. All children and youth must be accompanied by a responsible adult when leaving the church grounds for a church sponsored event. The supervising adult must have the permission forms with him/her at all times. A copy of the permission forms will be kept in the RE Director's office.
Class Assignments
At the beginning of each school year or upon registration, our children are assigned to a class based upon their age or grade in school. If a parent feels their child should be moved to a different class, this must be done in consultation with the CRE Director and the teachers of both classes. No child should be moved to a class, different from the one to which they have been assigned, without this consultation.
Children's Worship Services
Except for special Sundays, all children, grades preK through 7th will either attend Chapel or Sanctuary services from 11:00 to 11:15am. Parents of preschool children are required to attend chapel with their children and to sign them into class after chapel. Parents of all other children are strongly encouraged to attend chapel with their children. Following chapel, parents are welcome to join the adult worship service in the sanctuary (please exit the lobby and enter the sanctuary from the Chestnut Street entrance). Parents of children in preschool – 6th grade must pick them up from their classrooms at 12:15pm.
Chapel services start with a song and chalice lighting. Following a moment of silence, a special guest gives a homily or short presentation. The children then take a collection (they decide together where to donate the money) and light candles to share special events in their lives.
Intergenerational Worship
On holidays and special Sundays, children grades preK-7 and youth remain with their parents in the Sanctuary for an intergenerational service. Childcare is still offered on days with intergenerational worship. Preschool teachers may opt to hold classes on a late schedule on these Sundays.
All-Together Sundays
About once a month, instead of regular church school classes, the children gather for an extended worship and service with a theme relating to this year's curricula, the season, or a church-wide theme. This usually happens on the last Sunday of the month. The session includes the elements of their regular 15 minute worship, plus a demonstration, story or discussion, followed by an activity and a snack. Last year's subjects varied from growing up in segregated Texas to same sex adoption to blessing of the animals. The presentations are designed to be short and of interest to all ages. the 7 UU priciples are interwoven in the program so that the children will become more familiar with them and come to understand their importance in everyday life.
Children worship in chapel, then leave for class.
Sunday, December 16 1:00 p.m.
Holiday Pageant: What meaning does the nativity scene hold for UU's? The children will enact the manger scene while we explore the conflicting accounts of Jesus' birth.
Sunday, December 23, 11:00 am
Children worship in chapel, then leave for class.
Sunday, December 30, 11:30 am
All-Together Sunday in Griffin Hall
2007-2008 Curricula
Infant/Toddler Care (ages 0-2)
Infant/Toddler Care (ages 0-2): Joanna Mongelli, professional child care staffer
Preschool (ages2-4): Kim Woods, professional child-care staffer
Pre-K/Kindergarten: (ages 5-6) "A Discovering Year"
A Discovering Year nurtures children's spiritual and religious growth through connections to their ever-widening environment. They explore selves, friendships, families, church, nature, and religious and cultural days. Through ritual, sharing times, quiet times, crafts, activities, singing and music, games and movement, stories and talks, they learn to appreciate the worth of each person, to work and play cooperatively, to express feelings, to celebrate human diversity, and to feel part of their UU community.
1st – 3rd grade class: (ages 6-9) "Free to Believe"
Free to Believe explores Unitarian Universalist principles and sources while nurturing the emotional, social, and spiritual life of children. Its first sessions focus on UU principles, values, and beliefs through hands-on activities, stories, games, songs and discussions. Children address the conflicts they often face, and create an accepting classroom community. Later sessions focus on life's big questions (about God, death, the creation of life) through the lens of UU sources.
4th -5th grade class: (ages 9-10) "Traditions With a Wink"
The goal in Traditions with a Wink is to teach our UU traditions, to both 4th and 5th graders and their teachers, while adding fun with which they connect to issues and stay enthusiastic about their church experience.
6th - 8th grade class (ages 11-14) "The Questing Year"
• our Purposes and Principles, with a UU rosary of beads for each purpose. • our roots in Judeo-Christian culture, with themes from the Bible, including Psalm 23, The Lords Prayer, King David and King Solomon.
The Questing Year engages participants in four quests designed to help them seek and develop their own answers to deep life questions about human faith and the web of existence. Connected through social action and spiritual search, the Mystery Quest, the Inner Quest, the Action Quest and the UU Quest are all challenging and fun.
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