Children & youth

Children and youth belong here, every Sunday of the year. From September through mid-June there is religious-education programming 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 C. Jones, our Director of Religious Education (DRE), keeps four things in view: that children grow into a Unitarian Universalist identity, learn a few spiritual practices, build real friendships, and have fun.

Children working together on a large drawing during a religious-education session — Hands-on learning in an all-ages RE session.

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 experienced childcare providers.
Children’s workshops: Begin in worship, then sung out after the Lamplighting ritual, around 10:15am, to blended-age groups.
Youth: Junior Youth (middle school) and Senior Youth (high school) take part in the Youth Service Corps. With other local UU congregations we offer Our Whole Lives (OWL, a lifespan comprehensive sexuality-education program) and Coming of Age.
All ages: About once a month the whole congregation worships together in the Sanctuary, with a service designed for all ages.

Children & families

Children begin in the sanctuary with everyone else. After the Lamplighting, around 10:15 am, they’re sung out to their session. In that ritual, the flame from the sanctuary chalice is carried out to light the chalices in the RE room, marking the start of their session.

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.

Any 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.”

Neurodivergent children belong in that picture too. However a child needs to be here – wiggling, stimming, headphones on, slipping out for a walk and back – is welcome. When you register, tell us what helps yours feel at ease, and we’ll meet them where they are.

Children and adult volunteers gathered in a religious-education classroom — A Sunday class in the RE wing.

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 how to articulate it in language that feels right for them.

Five teenagers walk a wooded path carrying sap buckets and wearing gardening gloves on a bright spring day — Our youth, out on a spring morning in the woods.

Getting started

Mostly, you just come. Visit on a Sunday and let your kids try RE; 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.

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, session 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 [email protected].

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 the Gathering Room, covers Unitarian Universalism, spirituality, justice, gender, parenting, world religions, death and dying, and more. An updated Children’s Library is in progress.

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.