What We Offer Through the Lifespan

We provide childrenyouthyoung adultsand adults an opportunity to explore, reflect, and learn in a nurturing spiritual community. Unitarian Universalist religious education programs offer all ages, inspiring:

  • Ethical growth – internalizing enduring values like justice, equity, and compassion, and gaining tools to act on them in everyday life.
  • Social growth – connecting with peers and people of all ages on a deeper level. Finding acceptance among people who see beyond the superficial.
  • Spiritual growth – feeling a connection with the sacred within, among, and beyond us.

Religious education programs include more than classes. On a Sunday you might find the preschoolers singing songs about kindness, the 2nd graders engaging with a story about loss and bereavement, the 5th graders talking with a Muslim couple about Islam, the 7th graders learning about responsibility in a lesson from our progressive sexuality education program, and the high-school youth raising money for the local homeless shelter. Many programs incorporate social justice activities, worship opportunities, service trips, fellowship, and fun.

Our religious educator and minister lead many of our congregations’ lifespan programs. Parents and other members of the congregation often lead them, too. Teaching can be a very fulfilling way to deepen one’s own faith.

Children’s and youth religious education programs are typically offered on Sunday mornings starting at 11:20 am, and adult programs are usually offered on afternoons or evenings.

Safety for children and youth is paramount and it’s part of our moral obligation to seek parental consent for programs with sensitive topics such as sexuality. In all matters, Unitarian Universalist religious education works to affirm, equip, and accompany parents and legal guardians as children’s primary religious educators.

We invite you to explore these pages and contact our religious educator to get connected.

AUUF RE Mission Statement

The Religious Exploration Program of the AUUF is dedicated to fostering a sense of wholeness in our children and youth and enriching their spiritual lives as they explore faith traditions and religious and ethical questions within a supportive UU community. Guided by the AUUF Mission Statement and the UUA principles, and leading by example, those involved with the RE program empower young people to respect the inherent worth and dignity of themselves and others, search for individual spiritual meaning, make responsible decisions, and understand what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist in a world of religious diversity. We strengthen the bonds between AUUF young people and adults, and help our children and youth understand the importance of working with the larger community to care for the earth and to bring about a safe and just world.