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See this month's RE Schedule in the
Beacon
Our Approach to Religious Education
Our Religious Education program provides exposure to a variety of
religious experiences and ideas. Each program year will incorporate
elements from four major theme areas: Unitarian Universalism, Our
Judeo-Christian Heritage, World Religions, and Spiritual/Moral
Development. We will integrate all of these themes into our program
calendar, celebrating holidays and acknowledging the turn of the seasons
as they occur. Lessons will be drawn from many different curriculum
sources, with the opportunity for leaders to create a session of their
own, around a special interest they would like to share with the
children. As necessary, we will create our own sessions or adapt from
existing sources. This approach means we will no longer spend several
months or the year working from just one curriculum, focused on only one
theme area.
Within each theme area there are specific topics which we feel are
important to address. In Unitarian Universalism, we will teach and
reinforce the seven principles. We will also help the children understand
their UU heritage, and some of the important people who can provide
inspiration to all of us as we attempt to live out our beliefs. Our
Judeo-Christian Heritage will be addressed through bible stories, both Old
and New Testament, and how those stories have meaning in our lives
today. Celebrations of major Jewish and Christian holidays and holydays
throughout the year are another way we can help the children understand
these two faith traditions. In our exploration of World Religions, we will
see how people of different faiths view God, and learn about some of the
special days of celebration in these faiths. Finally, in the area of
Spiritual/ Moral Development, the children will be exposed to some of the
universal human values which can guide our actions throughout our
lives. These might include such things as compassion, responsibility,
courage, honesty, loyalty, respect for others, work, perseverance,
helpfulness, etc. There will also be opportunities to explore some of the
big questions in life - creation, birth, death, and the meaning of life.
It is obvious that there is overlap among these four areas, and that
nearly any topic we include can be related back to one of the seven
principles. We hope that by taking this integrated approach to program
development we will insure a well-rounded religious education experience
for all the children who participate, no matter how often they attend, or
at what age they enter or leave the program.
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