Family Ministry
Some days it’s amazing that the family gets fed, that people are dressed and out the door that everyone wraps up the marathon of obligations and competing needs with any sense of connection to and compassion for one another. It can be hard these days to raise a family at all, harder still to do so with any intention and care.
And so we come together. We gather as a community of families to help one another in the sometimes daunting, sometimes sublime task of cultivating a conscious and loving family life in these days. We gather and create opportunities for our children and youth to learn about their worth and dignity, opportunities for them to ask deep questions, and to be help as they search within and without for answers.
We gather to support one another, to know and be known, to meet families of like mind and heart and to cultivate connection. We gather to be a part of something larger than our own individual needs, and to help bend the world toward justice and love.
We look forward to being in community with our children, youth and families at South Church.
Warmly,
Revs. Lauren Smith & Chris Holton Jablonski
Religious Education Philosophy
The Religious Education Council recognizes the need to provide a safe, nurturing environment for children and youth to explore their spirituality, their commitment to social justice and action, and their relationships with themselves, family, community, and the larger world.
The Committee selects age-appropriate curricula that encourages self-esteem, respect for each person’s individuality, environmental responsibility, appreciation of our religious practices and traditions, and tolerance of the opinions and differences of others.
Consistent attendance over the years will expose our young people to the full range of benefits to be obtained from the liberal religious education process.
Our young people are a valued and important part of our church community. We support them as they put their faith into action, and we encourage our community to show them the way.
At South Church
We nurture spiritual growth
Through worship, learning, and community;
We celebrate the worth and dignity of all people,
And we inspire one another to act on our faith
in the larger community.
Our children, youth and entire congregation recite this mission statement each Sunday of every year.
Guided by our Unitarian Universalist principles and sources, the mission of our Religious Education Program at South Church is to provide spiritual experiences for people of all ages and stages that promote a Unitarian Universalist identity. This is achieved through spiritual enrichment, multigenerational connections, faith development and social justice within a welcoming and safe community.
Young Church
Building a sense of community is the foremost goal of South Church’s Young Church program. Children worship and explore with each other and with adult volunteers, building ties and learning lessons that will help them throughout their lives.
On most Sundays, Young Church starts upstairs in the Sanctuary. After a welcoming and a hymn, the children are called to the chancel for a “reflection for all ages”. Sitting in front of the congregation, they might hear a story, watch a skit or answer questions about the day’s theme. That theme continues when the children are “sung out” of the Sanctuary and head to their classrooms. The children are divided into age appropriate classes: 3 & 4 year olds, Kindergarten, 1st-2nd grades, 3rd-4th grades, 5th-6th grades, Junior Youth (7th-8th graders) and then Senior Youth for our high school students.
Our Young Church School is a community-supported program. Each term we staff over 50 volunteer teachers, Youth Advisors and support staff who are supported by the Religious Education Committee —again all volunteer—to plan meaningful programming and oversee the program. We also rely on the congregation to volunteer their time and talents with our youth. As a cooperative, we expect all families with children to contribute time and effort to make the program the best it can be for everyone.
Curriculum
Tapestry of Faith is a new series of programs and resources for all ages that nurture Unitarian Universalist identity, spiritual growth, a transforming faith, and vital communities of justice and love. These resources are being developed out of a broad series of conversations that articulated a future direction for Unitarian Universalist religious growth and learning and denomination-wide focus groups which helped shape a program that would offer a variety of resources—downloadable, printed, viewable, interactive, and more—a religious growth and learning program for the twenty-first century.
In September 2010, South Church began using this curriculum in grades 1-6 with great success. To learn more about our curriculum go to the UUA’s website: www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith
Our Team
Rev. Chris Holton Jablonski
Rev. Lauren Smith
Sheila Shea, Director of Religious Education
Religious Education Council
Bryan Campbell
Jen Del Deo
Charles Forcey, Chair
Barney Hoop
Kirsten Hunter
Tracy Lipsitt
Alyssa Murphy
Tom Parrott
Susan Remillard
Ginny Scease