Religious Exploration at UU Bridge

 
Welcome to Children’s Religious Exploration at UUBRidge. We are so glad you are here! We currently serve families with children 12 months through 5th grade.

Many parents seek a church experience in order to provide their children with a sense of belonging, meaning, and spiritual identity. They ask questions such as: What will I teach my children about the world? What values do I wish to instill in my children? What spiritual community best reflects my beliefs? Our aim is to provide support to parents as they and their children embark on their spiritual journeys. We believe that parents are a child’s primary religious educator. Our program aims to supplement that with a faith community offering additional opportunities for faith development.

Our program aims to provide a welcoming and nurturing environment in order to:

• Grow multigenerational relationships
• Learn multiple religious perspectives
• Experience and appreciate a sense of awe, wonder, and mystery
• Doubt and ask the “BIG” questions
• Put values of love and service into action

Our RE Program is centered around 5 Core Pillars:

1. UU Identity
2. UU Principles
3. World Religions
4. Social Justice
5. Environmental Stewardship

UUBRidge is dedicated to providing a safe, fun, stimulating, and enriching environment for children and youth in several different ways. During the regular school year:

• Religious Exploration (R.E.) is provided for children K-5th grade in a fun, one-room schoolhouse approach. There is much value in multi-age classrooms. Activities include stories, crafts, and other activities focusing on UU principles, world religions, social justice, and caring for our earth and for each other.
• On most Sundays, children and youth will participate in the first part of worship before going to their class.
• Youth in 5th grade and up are invited to be mentors/leaders in the R.E. program. They may also enjoy participating in Sunday morning services.
• Several times a year we have intergenerational worship, and children remain in the service room with the adults for the entire service.

This year’s curriculum plan will utilize Picture Book UU. This curriculum explores Unitarian Universalism using beautiful and engaging picture books. Each lesson is complemented by an age-appropriate art or movement based activity.

Picture Book UU is based on the thirty six best picture books for teaching children about the love, reason, tolerance and good works that are the foundations of Unitarian Universalism and assist in developing a Unitarian Universalist identity. It is a fun and friendly way to introduce our faith to children. The curriculum introduces the concepts of our 7 principles and 6 sources, as well as important holiday traditions throughout the year.

If you have any questions about our RE program or would like to volunteer please contact our RE Coordinator, Brittany Roy, at re@uubridge.org