We are currently searching for a permanent Director of Religious Education (DRE)!
Read the Job Description here. 


Religious Education Philosophy

The Religious Education Committee of the Unitarian Unversalist Church of Manchester recognizes the need to provide a safe, nurturing environment for children and youth to explore their spirituality, their commitment to social justice and action, and their relationships with themselves, family, community, and the larger world.

The Committee selects age-appropriate curricula that encourage self-esteem, respect for each person’s individuality, environmental responsibility, appreciation of our religious practices and traditions, and tolerance of the opinions and differences of others.  Consistent attendance over the years will expose our young people to the full range of benefits to be obtained from the liberal religious education process.

Our young people are a valued and important part of our church community.  We support them as they put their faith into action, and we encourage everyone to show them the way.

Church School Program and Curricula

Preschool Age 4 through Gr. 6:  Spirit Play

Using story, art, movement and play, children are encouraged to ask questions and to wonder about life’s questions great and small, to hear how others have experienced their search for truth and meaning, and what our Unitarian Universalist religion stands for.  Each Spirit Play circle is age-appropriate in its offerings.

Grades 7 & 8:  Our curriculum cycle for this age group is a two-year process.  Every other year, we offer the Our Whole Lives curriculum for this age group.

Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips our youth with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Our Whole Lives provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.

The O.W.L. program is by parental consent-only, and once sessions have begun, the classes are not open to new attendees (this is for the purposes of group-building and confidentiality).  Young people in this age group who come to UUCM after the program has begun are invited to attend worship with their parents, or to volunteer in the church school program with younger ages.

More information about the O.W.L. program is available on the UUA website at uua.org.

In alternate years, we offer Jr. YRUU and Bridging the Gap, which explores what other religions believe and how they worship, and encourages the examination of their own belief structures.

Grades 9-12:  Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU)

Our senior high youth meet with their advisors most Sunday nights, 6 to 8 PM.  Our wish is to provide an environment where our young people can explore teen issues and be guided in their faith as Unitarian Universalists.  They may also choose to join with youth throughout the district in attending youth conventions (“Cons”) and taking on leadership roles through volunteering with the District Youth Council.

Program Overview

Our program includes Sunday morning classes and Spirit Play Circles, worship, social justice projects, social outings, and leadership opportunities.  We explore with them topics such as UU History and Identity, Social Justice and Action, World Religions, Stories from the Jewish and Christian Bibles, and Respect and Caring for the Earth.  These topics reinforce our UU Principles and Sources (traditions).

Worship

Once a month, the children join the adults in our Sanctuary to participate in the beginning of the service and to hear a story for all ages.  After the story, the children leave for their classrooms.

Children’s chapel is held monthly, and all grades worship together.

Each Spirit Play Circle begins and ends with interactive worship.  A sharing of Joys and Concerns helps create an experience of worship in community.

Several times during the year all ages of our church community join in a worship service for the entire congregation.

Multigenerational Services

Several times during the year, the congregation’s worship services are fully multigenerational. In these services, the children and adult communities join in a worship service for the entire congregation. 
 

Staff and Volunteers:

Barb Koumjian is our Interim Director of Religious Education (DRE), responsible for the week to week operation of our Religious Education program. Barb trains classroom teachers, leads chapel worship and sees to the smooth running of the classrooms on Sunday mornings.  However, this program could not exist without the support of the entire church community and more specifically, without our wonderful volunteer staff! We have twenty or more volunteer teachers and advisors exploring with our children and youth on Sundays and a Religious Education committee —again all volunteer—to plan activities and oversee the program.

UUCM Religious Education Committee:

Co-Chairs: Alisa Macone, Rebecca Nelson-Avery
Music Advisor: Don Beecy
Melissa Ormerod
Ann Norton

 

Statement of UU Purposes and Principles

We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote:

Each and every person is important;

All people should be treated fairly and kindly;

We should accept one another and keep on learning together;

Each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life;

All persons should have a vote about the things that concern them;

Working for a peaceful, fair, and free world;

Caring for our planet earth, the home we share with all living things.

-As used in We Believe

 What is “Spirit Play”?

 “Spirit Play” is a story-based UU curriculum developed by Rev. Nita Penfold. 

Each session begins with circle time, where the children discuss their joys and concerns.  Storytime follows, illustrated with props and action.  The stories are chosen or written to help children address the deep questions of living in community and approaching what some call the Great Mystery.  They are also chosen to illustrate our Unitarian Universalist values and the sources of our tradition. Discussion sparked by open-ended questions ends the story session. 

After hearing the story, children are guided to activities which include art media and working on their own with story baskets.  They may choose to work with other children or by themselves.  Sometimes the class will do movement activities, which are chosen to promote group-building, to engage the whole child, and for pure fun! The session ends with another circle and a symbolic “feast”.

Each Sunday’s stories and activities make up an independent lesson; children who miss a Sunday can step right in the next time.   

Spirit Play is designed to encourage children to wonder, explore, and think.  It gives children a chance to experience the joy of discovery that is at the heart of the UU Search for Truth.

Sunday Morning Schedule


9:00
OWL Class begins
9:45 Teachers arrive to prepare classrooms, nursery opens
10:00*
Children's Chapel or Church School begins.
10:30
Children's Chapel ends and classes begin.
11:00
Nursery closes at end of service.
11:15
Church School ends.  Parents pick up children from their classrooms.  Please do not interrupt the children's activities before they are ended.

* Some Sundays, children join the adults for the first part of the service and then go to their classrooms for the remainder of the morning.

Read our Safe Congregation Policies for Children and Youth

 
For information on Adult RE programs, click here.