PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN CHILDREN'S CHANNEL
FAITH DEVELOPMENT AT UUCGL
We believe that the spiritual journey is a lifelong process. Support and participation in community is essential. The challenges of our contemporary society are ever new and changing. Boundaries of knowledge and of inspiration continue to expand. We grow by drawing on the wisdom of the ages, the inner spark of our own spirit, and thoughtful conversation with others.
All our events and programs for children and adults are open to the larger community.
ENROLLMENT IS OPEN NOW FOR PRESCHOOL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL
FAITH DEVELOPMENTfor CHILDREN & YOUTH
Worship and learning every Sunday, 10-11am.
Evening family programming for 7th grade & up on select Sundays September – June.
UUCGL
Sunday Family
Programming
Your family is invited to join in the exploration and celebration. We’re delighted to have you with us!
You don’t need to go it alone. Parents and caregivers come to Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations because our communities help raise children to be kind, respectful, fair-minded, caring, and strong enough to side with love, fight for justice, and be good environmental stewards. We nurture truth-seeking, spirituality, and a commitment to healing divisiveness in our world that will continue to shape and support our children as they grow.
Here are some things we’ve been at UUCGL doing lately...
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Learning about native plants & stewardship of the Earth
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Acting, designing sets, & making our own video productions
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Visiting neighboring churches & learning about the world’s faith traditions
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Making meals for families facing food insecurity
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Exploring the world through art
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Embarking on field trips & active learning projects
Questions? Read more about our programs below and then come visit! Reach out to our Minister of Community Life and Learning, Rev. Chris Scheller with any questions and to coordinate your visit. After a few visits, if you’d like to attend more, please register all PreK-12th graders through this link.
Sunday Morning Programs
Pre-K – 6th Grade
On Sunday mornings our pre-K–6th graders learn through doing, and this year we have some wonderful STEM and arts-based activities, service projects, and our popular video storytelling productions in the Sunday morning lineup.
Through these projects, children are encouraged to embody and critically engage with our values-based curriculum in playful ways that support their own independent thinking.
CLICK HERE to see some pictures!
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Multiage Programs and Worship
7th-12th graders are always invited to join our PreK-6th grade Sunday morning programs. However, roughly twice a month they are encouraged to participate in our multiage video storytelling productions (check out our last video here) or in a service project, such as putting together meals for My Brother’s Table guests. On Sunday evenings our 7th-8th graders are invited to participate in our OWL class, while our 9th-12th graders are invited to our Youth Group (see below).
Look for a sign in the foyer on Sunday mornings as you enter to let you know where children and youth programming will begin. Sometimes they will begin in worship with adults, but more often than not they will begin in the Skylight Room right at 10am for their own opening rituals. Parents or guardians may drop off their children to program, as well as the nursery, anytime between 9:45am-10am, as worship begins at 10am, and then meet back up with them after worship at the start of Fellowship Hour in the Parish Hall. Children and youth are always welcome to worship with their parents or guardians instead of attending programming throughout the year.
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Nursery
For children younger than pre-K, we provide childcare in our nursery during the Sunday Service. We have a dedicated Childcare Provider and always abide by our Safe Church Policies and Guidelines.
Sunday Evening Programs
Our congregation offers a comprehensive sexuality education curriculum called Our Whole Lives (O.W.L.) every two years. We will offer OWL together with the First Church in Salem to our 7-8th grade youth in the fall of '23. As with all our programs, this program is open to the wider community. Parents/guardians and youth attending OWL are invited to join our Sunday Evening Community Meals (for all ages), scheduled roughly to coincide with the evenings that the Youth Group is offered (see below). This year we are also offering a group for Parents and Caregivers As Sexuality Educations. Read more about those programs here.
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Core to our Youth Group model is youth leadership development. Each year, the Youth Group is invited into the process of choosing service projects that reflect their values and priorities, as well as fun social outings they’d like to do together.
Additionally, on the Sunday evenings that the Youth Group meets, both parents and youth are invited to join us for a Community Meal, usually from 5-6:30pm, before Youth Group begins. This year, the Youth Group will also be writing their own screenplay based on the core values they feel are most important to their faith. This will then become the basis for our multiage spring video storytelling production!
CLICK HERE for the '23-'24 tentative schedule and to see pictures!
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