Children & youth
Children and youth belong here, every Sunday of the year. From September through mid-June there are religious-education classes for them; they’re always welcome to stay in worship with the rest of the congregation too.
We don’t teach children what to believe. We help them ask good questions, hear how different traditions have answered them, and pay attention to their own answers. The adults are doing the same work, a few decades on.
It is a search we take together, across ages. Emily Jones, our Director of Religious Education, keeps four things in view: that children grow into a Unitarian Universalist identity, learn a few spiritual practices, build real friendships, and have fun.
Sunday mornings at a glance
- The year
- Most Sundays, the Sunday after Labor Day through mid-June.
- Nursery
- Infants through age 4, 9:45–11:30am, staffed by two providers.
- Children’s classes
- Begin in worship, then sung out after the Lamplighting, around 10:15am, to blended-age groups.
- Youth
- Junior Youth (middle school) and Senior Youth (high school), plus OWL and Coming of Age.
- All ages
- About once a month the whole congregation worships together, with no separate classes.
Children & families
Children begin in the sanctuary with everyone else. After the Lamplighting, around 10:15 am, they’re sung out to their classes. In that ritual, the flame from the sanctuary chalice is carried out to light the chalices in the RE rooms, marking the start of the sessions.
Classes meet as blended-age groups. Over the year they explore Unitarian Universalist identity, our Jewish and Christian roots, world faiths, justice, caring for the earth, and age-appropriate teaching about relationships and sexuality.
A child who would rather stay in worship is welcome to. Up front is the VIP area – Very Inquisitive People – with a cloud couch, art supplies, books, kaleidoscopes, and dancing scarves. As one member, Emily O’Neill, put it: “the noises and wiggles of the youngest members are the sign of a healthy church.”
Nursery & little ones
Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers are always welcome to stay with you in the sanctuary. The foyer just outside has an audio feed, so a caregiver with a wiggly infant can still follow the service, and there’s a changing table by the RE foyer.
If you’d like a break, the nursery is staffed every Sunday by two paid providers, so the youngest children see familiar faces. Stay as long as you both need to, then slip into worship when it feels right.
- For
- Infants through age 4
- Hours
- 9:45–11:30 am, every Sunday
- Staff
- Two paid childcare providers
Youth
Older kids meet in their own groups: Junior Youth for middle-schoolers, Senior Youth for high-schoolers. They gather for programming, community service, and time together. Two longer programs anchor the teenage years.
- Our Whole Lives (OWL) – the UU curriculum for sexuality and relationships, taught with honesty and respect.
- Coming of Age – over a year, teens work out what they believe and read their own credo to the congregation.
Getting started
Mostly, you just come. Visit on a Sunday and let your kids try a class; there’s no need to tell us first. If they’ll be back, fill out a short registration form so we know about allergies, medications, and anything they need while they’re with us.
Register a child for RE or childcare
New here? Plan a visit, or read about Sunday worship. Grown-ups keep learning too, in small groups and affinity groups.
Lend a hand
More than sixty members help with the program each year, as nursery helpers, class leaders, guides, and youth advisors. To work directly with the children we ask non-members to be part of the congregation for about six months first; it is a child-safety policy, not a test of belonging.
Questions about any of it – kids, youth, OWL, Coming of Age – reach our Director of Religious Education, Emily Jones, at EmilytheDRE@gmail.com.
Good to know
Registration & child safety
Every year, the children and youth in our programs complete a registration form; you can do it on a Sunday in September in the foyer, or online any time. It tells us about allergies, medications, and health concerns, and helps us place each child in the right group. A parent or guardian’s name, phone, and email or mailing address let us stay in touch.
Permission forms are required for field trips, medical care, audio and/or video recordings, and still photos of the children. Photos are used only with permission, and with name identification withheld.
The safety of the children comes before everything else we offer. The Board of Trustees has enacted a written safety policy that we follow without exception: two adults are always present and in charge in each classroom, more than one childcare worker is always present when childcare is offered, and windows in every classroom door let a parent peek in on their child’s group without disturbing it.
Libraries
We keep two lending libraries. The Adult Library, in Room 7, covers Unitarian Universalism, spirituality, justice, gender, parenting, world religions, death and dying, and more. The Children’s Library, in the RE wing, holds just over 900 books, from board books to chapter books. To borrow, pull the card, sign it, and drop it in the box. Donations are welcome.
Summer camp scholarships
The Children’s Memorial Fund helps children and youth from A2U2 attend Unitarian Universalist summer camps. It was set up in 1984 by Kathie and Peter Stead in memory of their son Jeffrey, and has grown with gifts over the years; each year the fund’s interest is made available as need-based scholarships.
Nearby UU camps include Ferry Beach in Saco, Maine; Star Island off Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Rowe Camp and Conference Center in Rowe, Massachusetts. Scholarships may also be used for Friends Camp in South China, Maine. To apply, reach our Director of Religious Education.
Related topics: families, children, religious education, RE, faith formation, Sunday school, children's programs, youth group, nursery, childcare, OWL, coming of age.