Youth Programs

Middle School Youth - 6th, 7th and 8th Grades:

This group meets from 11:15 am thru 12:30 am each Sunday on the third floor of the church in the middle school room.

"Tapestry of Faith: Families" curriculum explores families through venues that are based in the central tenets of UU faith. The focus is on what matters to and about families. The program first examines the composition of families and then moves on to how they function. This shift sets the stage for participants' project work—trying to understand families in their congregation. By thinking about family function, participants move beyond accepting simple appearances toward empathic inquiry.

Additionally, the Middle School class will be engaging with the book, "What Kids REALLY Want to Ask: Using Movies to Start Meaningful Conversations". This book is authored by church member, Rhonda Richardson, PhD. and A. Margaret Pevec, MA. It offers avenues for intergenerational communication as middle school youth deal with the changes in their lives and creates opportunities for discussion.

High School Youth - 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th Grades:

High School Youth meet each Sunday between 11:15 am and 12:30pm in the high school youth room on the 3rd floor of the church.

"Building Your Own Theology: Ethics" by Richard S. Gilbert invites participants to apply their beliefs, values and convictions to particular ethical situations. The program suggests a number of scenarios culled from history, literature, current events and the participants' own lives.

Youth will also explore the 7th principal through a social justice project, faith through music, AND create and participate in a youth lead worship service.

Coming of Age:

This program is offered on Sunday evenings (7:15-8:45). High School aged youth make a yearlong commitment to this curriculum, therefore this wonderful opportunity is not a drop in program. Many Unitarian Universalist congregations offer youth a chance to explore their religious beliefs, and at the end of the program they discern what it is that they believe. Another important part of the program is to build community at the church. Youth get to develop their connections with each other as well as with adults in the congregation. They meet each week with adult facilitators, and each youth is paired with an adult Mentor.