Our Religious Exploration Goals

UUFC considers religious education of children and youth central to our mission. Our approach is to guide, support, and assist individuals while they explore life questions. Our Religious Exploration (RE) program provides a sense of fellowship through participation in fun and meaningful activities, sharing ideas and experiencing personal success. Our RE program provides a sense of fellowship through participation in fun and meaningful activities, aharing ideas and experiencing personal success.

Specific Goals
  1. Provide a welcoming and meaningful experience for children and youth.
  2. Create a physically and emotionally supportive environment.
  3. Encourage feelings of self-worth.
  4. Build a sense of community.
  5. Help children and youth clarify moral, ethical, and interpersonal values.
  6. Nurture feelings of love and respect for personal family, intergenerational church family, family of humanity, and our earth.
Curricula
The curricula selected by the RE Council and the co-Directors of Religious Exploration is focused on building a strong UU identity. Curricula themes include, by are not limited to:
  1. UU history and heritage
  2. World religions
  3. Service to others
  4. Peace, social justice and the interdependent web of life
  5. Life questions
Curricula provides opportunities for service to others and reflects our latest understanding of anti-oppression, anti-racism, and multi-culturalism.

Curriculum Theme for 2007-2008:
"Living in Harmony with the Earth"

This an important topic for us as Unitarian Universalists to explore because:
  • we have a moral imperative to deepen our understanding of how to care for and live sustainably on this planet.
  • many of us derive great pleasure and spiritual sustenance from being in Nature, whether hiking in the wilderness, working in our garden or simply laying in the grass.
  • we grieve over environmental destruction and need to find ways to maintain hope for the future.
  • life is a mystery and a wonder.
  • we need direct experiences of the forces which uphold life.
  • life is an interdependent web of which we are a part.
  • together we can accomplish what we cannot do alone.
We will explore "Living in Harmony with the Earth":
  • by getting out into nature, to hike, clean trails, garden, study, work and play.
  • through creative crafts and art projects, like making banners and tiles, writing poetry, drawing, and singing.
  • we'll watch films, read stories, have discussions, act out skits, and bring in guest speakers.
  • we'll worship and meditate and pray together.

Winter Holiday Program

Each year all the children and youth from the Religious Exploration program join together to present a worship service for the entire congregation.

This year the theme is honoring the darkness of the winter months and welcoming the light for the new year. The service will include stories and fales about the return of the sun from many different traditions.

Learn more about Religious Exploration
for children and youth
 From Our Directors of Religious Exploration
Children's Program
Youth Programs
Online Resources

Home Page--Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis, Oregon