Youth Religious Education (YRE)

Welcome to the GNUUC Youth Religious Education (YRE) community! Ours is a warm, supportive and caring program, where children can feel comfortable, find acceptance and fellowship, and have fun.

Unitarian Universalists view religious development as a journey every individual makes. Our congregation is an affirming and challenging environment which supports its members in their personal odysseys. Our program is staffed by volunteers.

Our programming is open to all, regardless of religious background or present beliefs, non-beliefs and wonderings. We gather to worship, celebrate, learn and grow. Come join us! RE programming meets from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 a.m., at the same time as the regular Sunday worship service. The youth leave the 11 a.m. service after the Event for All Ages.

We offer the following Sunday morning religious education programming for children and youth through grade 12.

Nursery & Preschool

Story time and free play.

1st - 3rd Grade: Faithful Journeys

Participants embark on a pilgrimage of faith, exploring how Unitarian Universalism translates into life choices and everyday actions.

In each session, they hear historic or contemporary examples of Unitarian Universalist faith in action. Stories about real people model how participants can activate their own personal agency – their capacity to act faithfully as Unitarian Universalists – in their own lives, and children have regular opportunities to share and affirm their own stories of faithful action.
Through sessions structured around the Unitarian Universalist Principles, Faithful Journeys demonstrates that our Principles are not a dogma, but a credo that individuals can affirm with many kinds of action.

Over the course of the program, children discover a unity of faith in the many different ways Unitarian Universalists, including themselves, can act on our beliefs.

See http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/faithfuljourneys

4th - 6th Grade: Toolbox of Faith

What tools does Unitarian Universalism offer for the challenges of life? Children discover what aspects of UU faith are helpful to them, developing a toolbox of faith.
The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic who would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools. — Confucius
Toolbox of Faith invites fourth- to sixth - grade participants to reflect on the qualities of our Unitarian Universalist faith, such as integrity, courage, and love, as tools they can use in living their lives and building their own faith. Each of the 16 sessions uses a tool as a metaphor for an important quality of our faith such as reflection (symbolized by a mirror), flexibility (duct tape), and justice (a flashlight).

See http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/toolboxfaith

Additional Class Resource: the UU Kids Book.  http://www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=473

7th - 12th Grade: YRUU Youth Group & Coming of Age   

Coming of Age is a wonderful program where the youth, through a small group discussion setting, work through life's big questions and mysteries. As with all good UU curricula, no one answer is right and the youth are encouraged to derive their own answers. Coming of Age requires a commitment from participants as the program builds on itself. A fall and spring retreat are part of the program. In the Spring, each youth gets a mentor in the congregation. At the end of the year, the youth organize an intergenerational service for the congregation. Sessions will be twice a month. In the remaining weeks the youth will attend the service together. 

The YRUU Youth Group meets once a month to have fun and bond.