Our Religious Education 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.

INFANT AND TODDLER CARE.

Our nursery caregivers offer a safe and caring play environment for children from birth through age 2 every Sunday from 10 - 11:3O AM. If you leave your child in the nursery, you have the option of taking a pager, which we can use to call you out of the service if necessary.

OUR 2007 - 2008 CURRICULUM
FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH.

Chalice Children (preschool, ages 3 & 4)

Religious education for the preschoolers focuses on helping the children identify with their classmates and our religious community. We use a curriculum published by the Unitarian Universalist Association. Through stories and hands on activities, the curriculum promotes the children’s acceptance of each other as unique individuals and introduces Unitarian Universalist principles and values.

Primary (grades K & 1), Adventurers (grades 2 & 3), and Voyagers (grades 4 & 5)

We have three themes for 2007-2008: Our UU Principles, Social Action at UUCCH, and World Religions.

For the first several weeks of the year, children in kindergarten through fifth grade will learn or review the seven UU principles using lessons from curricula developed by UU’s. Each week will be devoted to one specific principle.

In the late fall, they will participate in a “mini session” about some of the social action programs in which UUCCH is active. The Transylvania Partner Church Connection and the Cherry Hill Food and Outreach Council are two of the initiatives we will cover.

World Religions will be the topic for the bulk of the year. From January through May, we will focus on one religion each month. On the first Sunday of each month, the entire K-5th grade group will gather for an overview of the religion for that month. For the next two to three weeks, the children will learn about the religion in age-appropriate ways in their individual classrooms.

The units planned are:
January – Islam
February – Earth-centered religion/spirituality
March – Hinduism
April – Secular Humanism
May – Buddhism

World Religions classes will incorporate lessons from UU-based curricula with guest speakers/visitors from the congregation who have direct experience with the religions studied.

Junior Youth (JYG – grades 6 through 8)

This group bridges the gap between the curriculum-driven, adult-led K– 5 class structure and the more autonomous, youth-led structure of the high school aged youth group.

The JYG themes for 2007-2008 are Our UU Principles and World Religions. From September through December, the 6th and 7th graders will review the Seven Principles. From January through May, they will study different religions of the world. These classes will utilize curricula developed for use in a UU setting.

Eighth graders participate in a Coming of Age program that culminates in a service they prepare and lead in May. The goal is for these teens to be able to articulate their current beliefs about spirituality, life, death, and what being a Unitarian Universalist means to them. In their journey this year, they will use curricula specifically written for UU Coming of Age classes, take a heritage trip to Boston, MA, and work with adult mentors to develop a personal credo of their current beliefs.

All the Junior Youth also participate in service projects and are invited to attend a variety of social events throughout the year. One new initiative this year is the Middle School Cluster Program. UUCCH has joined with three Philadelphia UU congregations – First Unitarian Church, UU Church of the Restoration, and Unitarian Society of Germantown – to offer social, worship, and service opportunities to the middle school youth in our churches. The cluster program is a wonderful way for our Junior Youth to meet UU youth from other churches in the area and know that they are part of a larger UU entity.

Senior Youth (grades 9 through 12)

The youth leaders, working with adult Youth Advisors and parent leaders, plan their own weekly group sessions, fundraisers, and social events. In the past, the curriculum has included such topics as diversity, AIDS, dating, UUism, spirituality, gun control, conflict resolution, stress management, and social activism.

We encourage adult members of the church community to get involved in facilitating these classes, as the youth greatly appreciate the opportunity to get to know the adults of the congregation.

Our Whole Lives (OWL) Sexuality Education Program

In addition to the usual Sunday morning religious education program, we will offer the Our Whole Lives program to 7th and 8th graders in fall 2007 and to 5th and 6th graders in spring 2008. OWL provides participants with age-appropriate information about human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture so they will have the knowledge they need to make decisions about their own sexual behavior. OWL will help our children and youth to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.

SUMMER PROGRAM.

Our nursery is open all summer on its regular schedule. In addition, Religious Education activities are held each Sunday throughout the summer for children ages 4 through 11. In July and August the children will "visit" a different country each week with the help of guest speakers.We expect parents to ensure that children are either in the adult supervised children’s program or under their direct care during the morning worship time. Children under 12 may not be left unsupervised on the church grounds at any time.