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Religious Education & Spiritual Enrichment
Sundays at 10:45am in the Martin House
Family Services: May 13 & June 10. The children are in the sanctuary for the first part of the service.
Intergenerational Services by the UUCH Players
May 20: The Right Way to Right Speech.
A fishy tale about knowing when our words are right or even helpful.
June 24: Outlawing Jelly Beans.
A humorous play about a very UU way to deal with injustice. Bring a non-perishable item for the food offering to benefit Food Resources.
These plays are appropriate for everyone school-age and up. The nursery will be staffed for pre-school children.
Come early and learn the songs at the singing practice from 10:25-10:30 a.m.
Elementary Class (kindergarten through grade four) meets every Sunday.
May will be our last month using the HeartwoodClassics series. On June 3, we'll celebrate of the end of the year and begin our summer lessons, which will use the Hands on Nature series to expand our awareness of animals, plants and habitats around the world.
Explorers (grade 5 and up) meet on the first and third Sundays. Older children attending on other Sundays will join the adults in the sanctuary.
Childcare for pre-school children is also available.
All children's programs are free. The classes and the nursery are in the Martin House where programs begin at 10:45 a.m. on Sunday mornings. If your child hasn't attended previously, please arrive earlier to talk with the teacher and complete a registration form.
If you're considering helping as a teacher or aide, with either class or the nursery, visit the Martin House after the adult service to talk with the RE volunteers and look at the curriculum materials. You can sign up for specific classes and Sundays on the chart in the Martin House or on-line.
Resources Needed for RE
We need volunteer teachers! If you have the time and energy to help support our relgious education program, please check out our current Sunday RE schedule, and contact us if you are available on one of the open Sundays.
The curriculum for the children's religious education program, Windows and Mirrors: A Tapestry of Faith, requires some materials not easily found.
If you can lend any of the items below, please contact Michele Grove or leave them-clearly identified- in the RE classroom in the Martin House.
- magazines with photographs. Need a wide variety of publications- local and national, mainstream and targeted (racial/ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, etc.) Note: these can not be returned as the children will be cutting items out.
- raku-fired pottery for display (for lesson 5 in November)
- recordings of songs in languages other than English or lyrics for simple children's songs in languages other than English. (lesson 7 in December)
- garments & packaged foods that show the country of origin and identify the fabric/ingredients. (Lesson 12 in February)
- photos, images or statues of the Virgin Mary, the Buddha, saints, gods or goddesses (Lesson 15 in March)
- religious objects: Catholic rosary beads, prayer beads from other religious traditions, Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheel or Jewish tefillin (Lesson 15 in March)
- illustrations of body prayer, especially a copy of Body Prayer, the Posture of Intimacy with God by Doug Pagitt or Praying with our Hands: 21 Practices of Embodied Prayer from the World's Spiritual Traditions by Jon Sweeney (Lesson 15 in March)
The RE program in the past has offered nursery care for children younger than five and a class for children ages five and up. This year, to provide more age-appropriate learning, the entire group will meet for welcome, chalice lighting and joys and concerns and then divide into learning activities for younger children and upper elementary and middle school youth.
A special thank you to the religious education committee: Cynthia Cantrell, Erin Collings, Carey Griffen, and Susan Hartman. We all look forward to a year of learning.
For more information about our religious education program for children, feel free to contact us, or stop in after the service and pick up an RE pamphlet from the pamphlet rack in the sanctuary foyer.
We are proud to have a great team of volunteer leaders and nursery workers but there is always room for anyone who wishes to volunteer in the nursery or as a floater.
Every week, the children gather by lighting the chalice and saying, "We light this chalice, to celebrate Unitarian Universalism. This is the church of the open mind, of the loving hearts, and the helping hands. We take care of the earth and each other." We close each week by saying the same benediction as in the adult worship service. "The light does not go out. It is transferred to each of us to share and to hold and to bring with us when we next return." Through Sunday learning, the children are exploring great ideas and defining their own faith journey.
About our Religious Education Program:
- Free childcare (with a caring adult and creative play) for infants and toddlers is provided in the nursery from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each Sunday.
- Children ages five to 10 (give or take a year or two) are invited to join us in the Martin House for the Spirit of Adventure class. Come ready to play and explore!
- On the second Sunday of each month, the children come to worship with the adults for the first 20 minutes. This is a great opportunity for multi-generational worship.
- Teachers are in place. However, any adult who would like to experience some of these great Sunday morning activities should see religious education director Michele Grove and sign up to be a floater. We want the children to get to know you!
Calendar & Location
Our regular religious education classes begins in September and continues every Sunday morning, 10:45 a.m. to noon, through May. Religious Education classes are also offered during the summer months.
Both religious education classes for children and our adult worship services are held at 13245 Cearfoss Pike, Hagerstown, Maryland. Our church property is approximately one mile west of Interstate 81, exit 7B.
For more information about our religious education program for children, pick up an RE pamphlet from the rack on the sanctuary welcome table or talk with Religious Education director, Michele Grove.
Our Unitarian Universalist Principles
Although Unitarian Universalists profess no creed, we have over the years voted to affirm principles which guide us. The version of our principles below was written by religious educators for UU children; it is also the underlying theme of all our religious education (R.E.) classes.
We believe...
- That each & every person is important
- That all people should be treated fairly & kindly
- That we should accept one another & keep on learning together
- That each person must be free to search for what is true & right in life
- That all persons should have a vote about the things that concern them
- In working for a peaceful, fair & free world
- In caring for our planet earth, the home we share with all living things.
How Can You Help Make Religious Education Meaningful?
- Bring your child regularly.
Our religion does not use fear or guilt to compel members to church each Sunday. However, your child will benefit greatly if you can strive for regular attendance (at least several times a month.) Many of our lessons are sequential; the child who attends sporadically will miss key activities or stories. Even more importantly, irregular attendance means your child may find it harder to develop the friendships with other UU children that enrich the R.E. experience.
- Dress your child for action.
As a parent, you know that children learn by doing-and many times, doing is a messy process. Our R.E. lessons always include an activity, from planting bulbs and painting murals to building a Tower of Babel.
- Learn about our program.
You can reinforce what your child learns on Sunday by discussing the projects and handouts she or he brings home. Please visit the classroom during coffee hour and look at our curriculum materials.
- Volunteer.
Additional religious education teachers are always needed. Our materials are fun and easy to use, even if you've never taught before. Each teacher agrees to work with a class for at least two weeks (although many people teach more!) If you can't devote that much time, volunteer a Sunday in the nursery with the little ones or as a classroom assistant. We can also always use help keeping the rooms tidy and well-supplied.
- Tell others about our program.
Many of our R.E. activities would be more enjoyable for the children if the classes were larger. (It's hard to teach cooperation through a noncompetitive game with only one child!) If you have friends with a similar liberal religious philosophy, invite them and their children to church. If you need additional copies of this brochure to share, check the pamphlet rack at church or call the R.E. chair.
Please check the Calendar of Events for Adult Spiritual Enrichment opportunities.
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