RE Committee

Simone Andrews, Chair
Loretta Choquet
Vanessa Hall

Kate Howard

Minister

"I am so excited about the program that the Religious Exploration (RE) Committee, teachers, parents and volunteers have launched and the children and youth have embarked upon here at the Unitarian Church of Staten Island.  Through this brochure, I hope you will dig deeper into what it can mean for children and youth to explore the central questions and mysteries surrounding  living, learning and laughing together in a spiritual community dedicated to building the beloved community we dream of."

Reverend Susan Karlson

We encourage all our children to:

• learn how to play and work cooperatively

• express their feelings about themselves and others

• develop a sense of belonging

• see congregations as places for making and caring about friends

• appreciate how we are all alike yet different

• view nature as a source of gifts that needs our care

• celebrate the different religions and cultures of the world.

Unitarian Universalist Principles

1. Everyone is important

2. Treat everyone fairly

3. Everyone is welcome and we keep learning

4. Everyone is free to look for what is true and right

5. It is good to talk to each other about things that concern us

6. We want a peaceful, fair and free world
7. We care for our planet earth                                               

The Six Sources
These ideas come from many places:

1. The sense of wonder we all share
2. Women and men long ago and today —        people whose lives remind us to be kind and fair
3. The ethical and spiritual wisdom of the world’s religions
4. Christian and Jewish teachings which tell us to love all others as we love ourselves
5. The use of reason and the discoveries of science
6. The harmony of nature and the sacred circle of life

Thankful for all of these ideas, we want to learn even more. We come to church where we share our thoughts and feelings and promise to trust and help one another.

Sunday Schedule

10:30am Early Childhood Room
open for drop-off and transition

10:45am Service Begins
Children age 6 and up begin their time at church in the sanctuary sitting with their parents and/or friends

11:15am Children and Youth go to their classes with guides and advisors

12:15pm Religious Exploration ends. Parents of younger children should
come downstairs to pick up their children and can check in with their
teacher. All children and parents are encouraged to join hospitality hour in the Parish Hall.

Religious Exploration at UCSI begins with discussions of experiences that hold meaning for children and youth: experiences of nature, the mystery of life, family, friends and community; experience of loneliness, sadness and times when life does not proceed as we would wish. These are the focal points of exploration in both children’s worship and classroom activities.

First Sunday
On the First Sunday of each month, children gather for chapel and fun activities downstairs and youth have a special activity beginning at 10:45am. The Early Childhood Room is open for younger children.

We are glad you are here!

 

Welcome to our community of  growth, visioning, reflection, and spirit building. We invite you to join us in this exciting journey!

Visitors

We welcome new families in our RE classes. We ask the adult responsible to fill out a form providing us with basic information. After four visits, the family will be asked to register their children.

Registration
We ask parents to register each child who will be participating in the UCSI exploration program. Our registration fee is 30.00 per child. No family will be excluded if payment is a hardship. Please see the RE Coordinator or a member of the RE Committee.

Get Involved
Our program counts on the congregation's participation. We ask families to serve as RE Greeters and chalice lighters, to assist in teaching and childcare, facilitate special events and social gatherings.

 

Sophia Lyons Fahs
Early Childhood Room
With childcare providers and parent volunteers, preschoolers (and younger children) explore the concepts of friendship, family, community. Activities include story time, free play, and arts and crafts. Drop off and transition time begins at 10:30 to give children time to separate comfortably before the upstairs service begins.

RE Explorers (ages 6-11)
The Explorers, as the name suggests, engage in a journey of spiritual and religious exploration along with their adult "spirit guides."  Exploration takes place through story telling, discussion, and an exchange of thoughts and ideas regarding specific topics.  Our goal is to provide children with an emotionally safe space to engage in spiritually and socially engaging experiences that help them develop their own framework for spiritual growth. Children are grouped according to emotional and chronological age.  As a result, we make every attempt to meet the child where they are developmentally and place them appropriately. 

 

Youth (12 and up)

Teens and adult guides gather on Sundays to engage in intellectually stimulating exchanges regarding religion, spirituality and social justice. Flexibility in structure allows the group to respond to the dynamic needs of participants.  A goal of youth programming is to develop an orientation towards continued spiritual growth and passion for justice. 

As they grow, children and youth in our program gain an understanding of the nature of religion and  its relationship to their lives. With their teachers as guids and mentors, the explore our Unitarian and Universalist heritage, its roots in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and the similarities and differences with other religions. We promote responsible self-esteem, respect for others and a positive attitude toward life.

We introduce children to the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism and to the precepts and practices of a variety of  religions through stories and hands-on activities. Last year one group studied world hunger, baked cookies to sell at coffee hour and contributed the proceeds to a program serving teen runaways.

Our children begin three of the usual four Sundays in the Sanctuary where they participate in readings and share their joys and concerns after which they are "sung  out" to their classrooms. One Sunday a month they stay with their classes for a young people's worship service.

As our children grow into young adults, we hope to keep them involved through peer bonding, the exploration of issues pertinent to their lives, and Church community service.

Our Religious Exploration Committee and part-time Religious Exploration Coordinator strive to provide a structure for our program that offers the children the security of the familiar and opportunities for exploration. We stress

Responsibility for the RE Program is shared by the RE Committee, the Minister, and members and friends of the congregation.

RE Registration forms are available from the Religious Exploration Coordinator.

Our nursery is staffed on Sunday for infants and toddlers.

If you are interested in our Children's Religious Exploration Program, send us an email with your name and phone number.

Or email us: Simone Andrews, Chair, RE Committee