Welcome to Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church. We offer a cooperative religious education program in a warm, nurturing environment for children and youth.
Our program is woven around four strands of our religious philosophy: UU history and identity, our Judeo-Christian heritage as it relates to Unitarian Universalism, universal beliefs subscribed to by religions around the world, and our commitment to social justice.
The program is also designed to enhance children’s sense of self-worth, decision-making skills, and sense of responsibility.
Classes are team taught by volunteers from the congregation. Teachers are supplied with curricula, but often use other resources to supplement Sunday classes.
Please note that our 9:30 service offers multi-age programs based on different subjects as they relate to UUism and spiritual development. Our 11:15 service offers our age-based groups. Special programs and our youth group will meet on Sunday afternoons and evenings.
Nursery care is available during the services (9:30 AM and 11:15 AM)
We will be offering new interest oriented RE opportunities for preschool & elementary aged children. These groups will explore Unitarian Universalism through the subjects of:
Two groups will meet each week. For a detailed schedule, see the Religious Education Booklet or the newsletter.
Around the Church, Around the Year
This class will introduce toddlers and preschoolers to circle time & sharing, with stories, music & movement, simple activities, & free playtime. Celebrating Me & My World begins by celebrating the wondrous qualities of the children in the group, and expands outward to the people and things around them.
Special Times explores the richness of our Jewish and Christian heritages by celebrating holidays and other special times we set apart for worship and ceremony. This year we will include opportunities to uncover special times and ceremonies of other traditions (Muslim, Native American, and more).
A Stepping Stone Year will help our children to focus and discover their responses to important religious questions: How did the world begin? How did life begin? How did I begin? How Can I live so as to make my life worthwhile? Haw can I make decisions? What is right and wrong?
A Kingdom of Equals, Jesus’ Radical Path to Love and Justice is an exciting UU curriculum about the life and teachings of Jesus. The curriculum highlights Jesus’ teachings on justice and holds equality and it’s value as a central theme.
This group will question many things as the curriculum How Can I Know What to Believe provides them an opportunity to reexamine their own beliefs and conceptions about Unitarian Universalism, People and Death, the Bible and other religious texts, and God.
Our Whole Lives- 7th & 8th Grade
Our Whole Lives 11th & 12th Grade
Our Whole Lives is our faith-based sexuality education program designed to create a positive and comprehensive lifespan educational program that helps participants gain the knowledge, value, and skills needed to lead healthy, responsible lives. The program provides messages about issues that fall into one or more of four areas—self worth; sexual health; responsibility; and justice and inclusivity. OWL programs are used across the continent in United Church of Christ and UU churches. It has also been used by schools and in other contexts, selected because of unique design and excellent content. We will have two separate groups with different stages of the OWL program.
Coming of Age 9th & 10th Grade
This year our coming of Age group will work on Deepening Ties Within our Congregation. This year-long dynamic program will be a life-changing opportunity. We will work to develop deep, authentic relationships between the youth in this group and other people in the congregation using rituals, learning, testing, and celebration. Group members will develop faith statements to share with the larger congregation. The group will travel to Boston in the spring to explore some of our UU roots.
Junior Youth Group (7th & 8th Grade) 7-8:30 p.m.
YRUU (Young Religious UUs) (9th -12th Grade) 7-9p.m.
Our Junior Youth Group & YRUU Group will meet on Sunday evenings. Because of the other programs offered for these age ranges, these groups will not meet weekly for the most part. Youth group meetings will include opportunities for Worship, Youth-Adult Relations, Community Building, Social Action, Learning, and Leadership. Youth groups will have occasional lock-ins and other events that will take place outside of the regularly scheduled times.