Lifespan Religious Education

Our Religious Education (RE) program is one of the major points of focus in UUCCH.  Indeed, one of the primary driving forces in our recently completed "Building Our Dream" expansion program was to provide enlarged facilities for our RE classes.

Unitarian Universalist religious education is unique because, in addition to teaching about our Unitarian Universalist faith, we help our children build an openness to the richness of other religious traditions.  We encourage our children to develop a reverence for all life and a sense of interdependence with the universe.  Our goals are to provide each child with opportunities for personal and group religious experience, with exposure to the range of diversity of religious activity, and with support for their ongoing personal religious development.  While introducing our young people to the place of religion in human experience, we help them learn to think and respond affirmatively for themselves.

Our program offers instruction in Unitarian Universalism, Jewish-Christian Heritage, and World Religions.  Each theme is explored for a full year, rotating on a three-year cycle.  Social Justice and Diversity topics are interspersed throughout the year and reinforced with hands-on service projects.  The focus is on experiential learning at the younger ages, moving gradually to a more discussion oriented, didactic approach at the higher grades.

Weekly volunteer-led classes are held for children and youth age three to grade 12.  Kindergarten through eighth graders attend the first part of the worship service with their families.  Teachers will escort the children to class following the "Story for All Ages."  Chalice Children (ages 3 & 4) begin class at 10:15 a.m. and may be dropped off as early as 10 a.m

In addition to the religious education classes you will see listed below, we attempt to introduce the experience of communal worship.  On all but the first Sunday of each month, children join with the adults for the beginning period of our main church service, which includes a special story for the children.  On the first Sunday, the children have their own worship service.