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RE Safety Policy
It is our intention
to have a teacher and a teacher assistant in each classroom, and in the
nursery. This is for safety purposes
and well as practical assistance. Each
teacher signs a code of ethics stating they will treat the children
respectfully and will report any evidence of abuse or neglect. We reserve the
right to do background checks on all personal who work or volunteer with
children. If you want to see the
entire policy, and procedures, follow this link: SAFETY POLICY.
2007-2008 Children's RE Curricula
Pre K- 1st grade
Teachers:
Jan When, Suzanne Adams, Janet and Cory Williams
Our youngest class of children will be
following a format called “Way Cool
Sunday School,” a model that
combines intergenerational worship, art, play and social justice with
traditional curriculum. We will adapt
this program for our younger children to create an interesting, yet cohesive
plan that creates community and reinforces our principles and purposes. Besides the group activities, our children
will use the curriculum, “Dr. Seuss”
and “Holidays and Holy Days”. The
curriculum celebrates our purposes and principles in a fun and creative way,
inspiring the children to live and learn their UU values.
Holidays
and Holy Days will be interspersed
between sessions of “Dr. Seuss Changed
my life”. To lend a spirit of
child-friendly worship, Holidays and Holy
Days will be used to celebrate holidays from many world religions. Children learn the value of celebration and
community, as well as respect for the many religions throughout the world.
Grades 2-6
Teachers:
Ellen Stark, Robin Page, Lyn Koslo, Susan Paxson
Our middle class of children will also be
following a format called “Way Cool
Sunday School,” a model that combines intergenerational worship, art,
play and social justice with traditional curriculum. We will adapt this program for our older
children to create an interesting, yet cohesive plan that creates community
and reinforces our principles and purposes.
Besides the group activities, which will be together with the younger
children, our children will use the curriculum, “Dr. Seuss Changed my Life” and “Holidays and Holy Days”. The curriculum celebrates our purposes
and principles in a fun and creative way, inspiring the children to live and
learn their UU values.
Grades 7-12
Teachers: Ken Ellis, Ted Macosko, Dan Paxson
This age group will follow a discussion type
format for most of the year. The teachers and youth will meet early on in the
year to select a theme for their meetings.
Toward the end of the year, the youth may collaborate with the middle
school group on a social justice project in the community.
In
addition to regular RE classes, the youth will attend regular church services
approximately 1-2 times per month. It
is also planned to have them participate, on an individual basis, in portions
of the regular service throughout the year.
This will include readings, chalice lighting, music performance, etc.
Youth who are uncomfortable with this type of participation are, of course,
under no obligation to do so.
Our
graduating seniors will be invited to “bridge” into the adult group at the
end of the year. The students and
parents participate in a special Sunday service where this transition is
acknowledged.
YOUTH GROUP
The SWUU Youth Group exists outside of the
regular RE programming and serves the 7th to 12th grade youth in our
church. Its purpose is to create an
atmosphere where participants can get to know each other, share ideas, have a
greater say in the content of their religious education, and be challenged to
accept a somewhat greater responsibility as UU’s and members of SWUU. The role of the Youth Advisor is to
facilitate the goals and activities of the Youth Group. Ted Macosko is serving as advisor this
year. Activities in the past have
included such things as:
·
Fall Party
·
Movie Nights
(dinner, movie, and sometimes discussions at the home of the advisors.
·
Trips to Trinity
Cathedral where the Youth Group will help prepare and serve a lunch for the
homeless in the Cleveland area.
·
A skating outing
at the Strongsville Ice-Rink
·
A winter camp-out
(Don’t worry, we don’t really camp. We
stay in heated cabins.)
·
Leading a Group
Activity for the younger children
·
Helping with the
Annual Church Earth Day Clean-Up
·
A Bowling Night
·
A Spring Hike
·
Participation in
District YAC (Youth Adult Committee) Conferences.
Some of these activities are already
scheduled, while other activities will obtain firm dates as the year
progresses. Updates and notices will
be sent to the youth via e-mail and posted in the SWUU Forum as well as the Sunday Bulletins.
Sunday Services
Worship services are held every Sunday morning
at 10:30 AM in the small auditorium of Kulas Hall in Berea, Ohio. The
children join us for approximately the first 15 minutes of the service to
share our opening words, chalice lighting, a song, and a special children's
focus. At that time they will be escorted to their classrooms by their
teachers.
Child care will be provided for younger
children. Our child care provider is Kristin Wright. Our child care attendant will be available
before, during and after church from 10 AM to 12:30 PM.
The following INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICES are
planned:
Sept. 9 Water Communion
Dec. 24 Christmas Eve
May 18 RE
Recognition/Bridging Ceremony
June 29 Flower Communion
At these services, plan to have the children
remain in the worship service the entire time. Children are welcome to stay for the entire
service on any Sunday.
Group Activities
In addition to these regular age-appropriate
classes, there will be some scheduled group activities in which classes will
be joined together for fun and learning. The schedule will be as
follows: (Some activities may switch
dates)
Sep. 16 People
Scavenger Hunt
Sep. 23 Beginning
of Year Party/meet teachers
Sep. 30 Hike/
thank you flags as backup for rain
Dec. 2 Santa’s Workshop
Dec. 9 Santa’s
Workshop
Dec. 16 RE
Show
June 1 Park Clean-Up
June 8 Gay
Pride Activity
June 15 Spring Hike
June 22 Play Day
In addition, we
will be scheduling two social justice activities with the children during the
year.
Parents As Religious Educators
As a parent or other adult family member, you
have a substantial impact on the attitudes, values and religious beliefs of
the children growing up in your household. In order to help your child get
the most out of her or his experiences at SWUU, you can:
Encourage/ Require Regular Attendance
While we understand that in today's busy world
there are competing interests for your time, even on Sunday mornings, we hope
that you will make a sincere effort to bring your children to worship
services and Sunday school as often as possible. Children benefit from having
predictable rhythms and structures in their lives and they will certainly get
a better understanding of the curriculum by being in the classroom on a
regular basis.
At the same time, we'd like you to know that
all children, whether in shared custody arrangements or on sports teams that
meet on Sundays or who are otherwise unable to attend "regularly"
are welcome in our classes.
Show an Interest
Ask your child what went on in Sunday school
and/ or their worship experience that morning. Encourage discussions about
topics that seemed especially interesting to them. Participate with your
child in church or classroom service projects. Sit near them during
intergenerational services and help them follow the order of service.
Encourage them to sing the hymns and ask for their opinions following the
service.
Stay Informed
Our newsletter, The Forum , our calendar, and Order of Service announcements
are our primary means of communication with you. Please read them carefully
for important announcements and updates! Why not make a point of sharing The
Forum with your children too? This year, the UUA World magazine has a
special section devoted just to children.
Share Your Beliefs With Your Child
Sunday school is only one hour per week. So,
like it or not, you are your child's primary religious educator. Let your child
know about your religious beliefs.
Share your
"used-to-thinks" about God, prayer, heaven, etc., and what your
ideas are now. Let your child know why you chose Unitarian Universalism at
SWUU, and what it means to you. Talk about how you act on your beliefs about
fairness, respect, caring for the earth, etc., and provide your child with
opportunities to act on their beliefs.
Volunteer to Help
Our Sunday school program needs your help--you
can teach, lead or help with a group activity. Our devoted volunteers may
appreciate some help, so even if you are not sure you want to commit to five
weeks of leading lessons, consider checking in with the lead teachers to see
if they could use your help. A few new faces would go a long way even as
‘floaters’ rotating from class to class! A special skill or talent you have
may be shared with the children as a group activity. So be creative! With all
the talent in our congregation we all have the ability to make a lasting
impression!
We Want Your Feedback!
Let us know how we're doing. We welcome your
ideas and suggestions. Whether or not you have children in Religious
Education classes, your support is vital to the progress and success of our
RE Program. Remember, the children in RE today are the congregation members of
tomorrow, so stay involved. Let us know what kinds of curricula you would
like to see, participate in intergenerational services, and stay connected!
UU Principles and Purposes
Children's Version
·
We
believe that each and every person is important.
·
We
believe that all people should be treated fairly.
·
We
believe that our churches are places where all people are accepted and where
we keep on learning together.
·
We
believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in
life.
·
We
believe that everyone should have a vote about the things that concern them.
·
We
believe in working for a peaceful, fair, and free world.
·
We
believe in caring for our planet Earth.
2007-2008 Adult RE Classes
Tuesday
Evening
(All
times are 7:30 – 9:00 PM unless noted)
Roots: An
exploration of the traditions and practices of the liberal church. An
introductory course for newcomers and seekers, and those hoping to deepen
their understanding of our faith tradition.
We will look at the Unitarian Universalist Trinity: Freedom, Respect & Justice. Format:
video, discussions, games.
·
Oct. 2-Religious
Freedom: A Creedless faith
·
Oct. 9-A Tradition
of Respect- Covenant and Welcoming
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Oct. 16-Justice-
Living our values in the world
The Way of the Bodhisattva: This introductory course will focus on the
Buddhist practice of Bodhisattva ideal.
Through the models of the major Bodhisattva figures we may find our
own approach to the spiritual journey that acknowledges and connects us with
all creation.
·
Oct. 23-Mahayana
Buddhist Tradition and the ten Transcendent practices
·
Oct.
30-Shakyamuni, The long path to the Bodhi Tree
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Nov. 6-Manjushri,
Prince of Wisdom
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Nov.
13-Samantabhadra, Functioning in the world
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Nov.
20-Avalokiteshvara, Heart of Compassion
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Nov. 27-Kshitigarbha,
Monk as Mother Earth
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Dec. 4-Maitreya,
Bodhisattva as Future Buddha
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Dec.
11-Vimalakirti, The thunderous silence of the unsurpassed layman
Green Sanctuary:
Ecospirituality for Liberal Religious Congregations: This six week
course outlines the principles of the Green sanctuary program, and allows us
to apply the concept of the interdependent web to our church and personal
life. Format: discussion and creative
idea exchange.
·
Jan. 8-Green
investing, buying, reuse, recycle
·
Jan. 15-Water and
food
·
Jan. 22-Transportation
and energy
·
Jan. 29-No class
·
Feb. 5-Church
programs: Worship, simplicity circles,
community action
·
Feb. 12-Physical
plane: architecture, landscaping and
gardening
·
Feb. 19-Accepting
the challenge
Living by Heart: a 12 week covenant group based on creating
a spiritual practice. The course is a
conversation with poets and writers, Rev. Harry Scholefield and you. Attentiveness sitting and by heart learning
of wisdom words, poetry and scripture are the fundamental elements. Format:
video, workbook, group or individual spiritual practices and deep
listening.
·
Feb. 26-The
attentive heart: writing
·
Mar. 4-The open
heart: welcome
·
Mar. 11-The Wise
heart: discernment
·
Mar. 18-The
relational heart: kinship
·
Mar. 25-The
encompassed heart: presence
·
Apr. 1-The
nourished heart: poetry
·
Apr. 8-The just
heart: action
·
Apr. 15-The mortal
heart: death
·
Apr. 22-The
grateful heart: praise
·
Apr. 29-The
responsive heart: reciprocity
·
May 6-Living by
heart: the singing river
·
May 13-The
Creative heart: Developing your own
practice.
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