SUNDAY SCHOOL HAPPENINGS

by Sarah Ortner, Director of Religious Education

Welcome to the Religious Education Program! I want to invite every single one of you to consider this aspect of church life and how it can enrich you, as well as how you can support it. Religious Education is a touchstone in the life of any congregation—it gives newcomers a reason to invest in the church, allows children and youth to be connected to the mission and purpose of religious life, and enables adult members to more deeply connect to the whole community.

This year, Sarah and the young scholars are exploring how to be the change they wish to see in the world, literally. We are looking at social justice—what it means, and, more importantly, how we can bring it about—at all levels, large and small, of the communities that we live in. We began by having discussions about what issues we really care about, and how we want the world to look with regard to those issues. It turns out that our kids have a lot of really important ideas about what is worth preserving and what is worth changing in their world, and what it means to build a vibrant community. As the month goes on, we’ll continue talking and developing ideas about what projects we want to take on as a group, how to support each other’s passions, and what social justice means in the first place.

We are also beginning those changes in our own spiritual home! As part of our understanding of community, we talked about insiders and outsiders, and how it feels to be an outsider. We talked about this in particular with regard to new kids to our community, and have decided that we will be the ambassadors to new kids, making sure they feel welcome and answering their questions while inviting them to join our circle! To that end, we’ve made special ambassador nametags to help people find us—look for them this Sunday!

As always, the Sunday School enthusiastically welcomes visitors and helpers. This year in particular we are eager to have guests who will share with us their own stories of social justice activism—particularly stories about how you were active as a young person, and what changes came about, or what you were able to protect.

OUR WHOLE LIVES: OWL is a curriculum developed jointly by the UUA and United Church of Christ which teaches, in age-appropriate ways and levels, healthy body image, self worth, loving relationships, and sexual development. In 2008 we offered, for the first time and with tremendous satisfaction, OWL for grades K-2. In May-June 2009 we offered the OWL curriculum for grades 4-6, again to great satisfaction from students and parents. DRE Sarah Ortner is a trained OWL facilitator and co-taught the class with volunteer Joe Nabbefeld. For more information about OWL and when we might offer it in future, speak with Sarah.

SPECIAL FOR TEENS: In the past, RVUUC has offered a youth group focused on lively and meaningful activities and discussions during the latter part of the service most Sunday mornings, led by Kristin Grace. We don't have an active youth group at this time, but if you'd be interested in one, please speak with Sarah.

NURSERY CARE FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS: RVUUC's nursery supervisor, Tarah Helliwell, offers caring supervision and fun activities for children ages 4 and younger in the foyer during services.

If you would like to register your child for Sunday school, have questions about the program, or would like to help, please talk with Sarah on Sunday or email Sarah.