Religious Education for Children and Youth

Registration for the 2025-26 Religious Education Classes for Children and Youth is now live by clicking here: PLEASE REGISTER FOR 2025-26 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

We welcome you and your family to Religious Education for Children and Youth at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock. Open to all, whatever your religious background, we provide fun, engaging structured learning and spiritual experiences appropriate to children's developmental stages and interests, grounded in the values represented by the Values and Inspirations of the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Covenant of this congregation. This is a community where questioning and curiosity are welcome, kindness is nourished, and opportunities for service to those in need are provided.

The theme for this year in Religious Education is the Unitarian Universalist Shared Value of GENEROSITY. We will go on a journey to explore how we can be spiritually generous to ourselves, extend generosity to everyone we know, and globally expand and inspire a culture of generosity throughout the wider world. These discoveries and more will be infused throughout the classroom experiences and processed in depth between all ages in Children's and Youth Worship in the Chapel led by Lifespan Religious Education Coordinator Carson Jones and RE Music Specialist George Weisman. Through multi-sensory methods such as storytelling, singing, art, dance, journaling, and playing instruments, we will nourish our souls so that we may feed others in building a better world.

Here are the 2025-26 Religious Education Classes that your children and youth will experience this year: 

Nursery (Newborns to 3-year-olds) 

4-year-olds to Second Grade: Spirit Play

Third Grade: Feasts and Festivals 

Fourth Grade: Toolbox of Faith

Fifth and Sixth Grade: The Questing Year  

Seventh and Eighth Grade: Crossing Paths: Buddhism, Quakerism, Paganism, and Humanism 

Ninth Grade to Twelfth Grade: Senior Seminar

Feasts and Festivals will continue to highlight a couple of rotating holiday celebrations each year as community-wide events! This year, we will be commemorating the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival in October and Ramadan in March.

Our Whole Lives for Grades 7-9 is being offered on Friday evenings in the fall. Please look here for more information and registration: Our Whole Lives for Grades 7-9

Once a month, we all gather together for Family Worship Services where we celebrate holidays and mark milestones at the Youth Worship Service and the Bridging Ceremony.

The Young People's Choir, under the direction of George Weisman, gives young singers the opportunity to learn music that is shared with the congregation in the Worship Services, and the Jazz Ensemble is a multigenerational group of youth and adults that play during Worship conducted by Dan Pratt.

Service opportunities are available at all age levels as part of the curriculum and at special events, including fundraisers and social action out in the community.

Social events throughout the year include Sleepovers, Game Nights, the annual Halloween Party, the Holiday Decorations Crafting Party, and the Bridging Picnic in the spring.

Please feel free to reach out to Lifespan Religious Education Coordinator Carson Jones at cjones@uucsr.org to have a conversation on how we can best serve your family.

We look forward to getting to know you and your family.