Services and Sudnay School take place at 11am each Sunday (September through June). For more information about the RE program, please contact the Director of Religious Education at firstchjp@aol.com or call 617 524 1634
Our NURSERY for ages 3 months to 4 years, is staffed by two teen babysitters, and supervised by the RE Director. The Nursery is a safe, enclosed environment, enriched by toys, books and games, where parents can leave their children in order to attend worship. Parents are always welcome there, and young children are also welcome in the sanctuary.
CHILDREN'S CHAPEL is a 15-minute worship service for children 4 to 10 years. In this format children are introduced to liturgy, hymns, prayer and offering, and given a chance to express their "Joys and Concerns."
Chapel leads directly into SPIRIT PLAY, a Montessori-based curriculum that presents the core stories of the UU faith and the Judeo-Christian tradition, and introduces other major world religions. The heart of a Spirit Play lesson is a story, told on a felt mat using small objects. The story presents the children with an existential question to wonder and reflect upon. It is followed by a response time, and then an extended period for creating artwork inspired by the story or its themes. Spirit Play is one of the most effective ways of engaging young children in religious language and thought. Parents are encouraged to visit a Spirit Play class, which creates an atmosphere of wonder and mystery not easily described in words.
MIDDLERS, ages 10 to 13, move out of Spirit Play and into a somewhat more academic approach to religious education. For four years they study world religions in depth, deepen their UU faith, and undertake the OWL (Our Whole Lives) program in relationships and sexuality issues. They complete this time with a Coming of Age year, which concludes their formal religious education.
From this time on our young people are part of the YOUTH GROUP, which determines its own program of social events, including social events, weekend convenings with other UU youth (Youth CONS), peace and social justice work, and community service.
