Life Learning at UUCDC

FALL '09 Religious Education Registration!

These words are taken from the song, "Spirit of Life", written by Unitarian Universalist musician and activist Carolyn McDade. As we welcome you to this year's Lifespan Religious Education Program, we hope these words will come to mean something special to you too. It is our hope this year to explore the roots of our faith that ground us in tradition while empowering our spirits with the wings to fly forth and change the world for the better.

Welcome to our Lifespan Religious Education Program

Rev. Peter Friedrichs

The Mission Covenant of our church states that "we provide a haven for nou-rishing the spirit and mind, while we strive to build a just and sustainable world." "Nourishing the spirit and mind" takes many forms in our community. We find nourishment in the worship services we attend. We are sustained by the relationships we build through programs such as our Small Group Ministry program. We grow in commitment and community when we work together on social service projects. And, of course, our Lifespan Religious Education Program exists specifically to nurture our spirits, our bodies, and our minds. For some, the words "Religious Education" may have a sterile and austere ring to them, evoking images of indoctrination sessions where dogma is drilled into one's head until we learn the "one true way" of the church. This image could not be farther from the reality of our program of faith development here at UUCDC.

Religious education at UUCDC is a journey of exploration. With experienced teachers and facilitators as our guides, we engage our hearts, spirits and minds in a process of opening and unfolding. How we learn, when we experience an "a-ha mo-ment," how the spirit can erupt from unexpected places is sometimes inexplicable.

The goal of our RE program is to create the environments where such events may occur. While many of our children experience religious education in a classroom setting using time-tested curricula, we also provide our youngest members with hands-on learning experiences. Our older children learn about other religious traditions through the "Neighboring Faiths" program, and our youth move through an intentional "coming of age" process that helps them address issues of transition from childhood to young adulthood. Our high school youth participate in a YRUU Youth Group that supports them as they confront the complexities of their later teen years, helping to reinforce the values they've developed in younger years. We also offer age-appropriate sexuality education from kindergarten through adults with the "Our Whole Lives" program.

We take a holistic approach to spiritual development for our adults as well, engaging the body, mind and spirit through programs as diverse as Tai Chi and Martial Arts, to Bible Study, to courses on sustaining committed relationships. Our Adult Religious Education offerings provide a safe environment where we can intentionally explore the deeper meanings of our lives and discover the shape and direction we want to move toward as spiritually-aware individuals, all the while encountering the unknown with a sense of curiosity and joy.

Peace, Peter

Rev. Peter Friedrichs, Minister, UUCDC
Email or call (610)566-4852, x1

From Our Religious Education Director
Irene Friedrichs

"Spiritual Growth and Faith Traditions" will be the focus of our 2009-10 Lifespan Religious Education Program. We will be teaching UU traditions and exploring other faith traditions together with the goal of everyone learning to respect, to accept, and to engage in open-minded conversations with others who practice different religions.

In our Sunday School Chapel, we will be talking about our Unitarian Universalist Principles, about what it means to be a Green Sanctuary, and further exploring Social Justice and Antiracism issues. Chapel is only fifteen minutes long, but plenty long enough to plant a good seed or two in our children's minds and hearts.

For adults - our offering of Adult RE Workshops is full of life this year. Some of our programs among many will be: Pachamana, Adult Owl (A Sexuality Program) and a Poetry Club. Hopefully, everyone will be able to find something that speaks to them.

Our Lifespan Religious Education Cooperative has many available opportunities for those seeking spiritual and personal growth - through participation and as a volunteer teacher, facilitator, or assistant. As a volunteer in our church community, working with both children and adults, I have personally experienced more spiritual growth than I could have ever expected.

I look forward to working with you all this year. My door is always open.

Peace, Irene

Irene Friedrichs, DRE
Email or call (610)566-4852, x3

Roots and Wings
Religious Education Council (REC)

The mission of the UUCDC Religious Education Council (REC) is to inspire and challenge children and adults to explore the Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources of our Living Faith as they travel on their spiritual journey. The REC is excited about the Lifespan RE program for the 2007/2008 church year. This is a strong program for all ages - from pre-school, to teens, to adults.

Lifespan Religious Education at UUCDC

Broadly, the Lifespan Religious Education Program at UUCDC is divided into three programs: Adult RE, Youth RE (grades 7-12), and Sunday School (pre-K to grade 6). Each program is administered by a team of advisors, leaders and teachers. The advi-sors, leaders and teachers are parents, non-parents, church members, and friends. All members, guests, and visitors to UUCDC are encouraged to be involved in the RE pro-gram as students, participants, teachers and facilitators.

The UUCDC Religious Education Council (REC) is a group of UUCDC members dedicated to ensuring the delivery of a high-quality RE program. The REC sets the goals and objectives of the RE program and oversees the many individual levels to en-sure continuity and completeness of the religious education provided. The REC con-sists of the chair (Rich Cairncross), the Coordinator of Religious Education (Irene Frie-drichs), representatives from each program team, and several at-large members. The REC meets the first Monday of every month at 7:30 PM - you are welcome to attend to learn more about the program or provide feedback.

The success of the UUCDC RE program depends on a reliable group of enthusias-tic volunteers who deliver the curricula, forums, and RE programs - last year this amounted to over seventy volunteers helping to run the RE program! The Religious Education Council would like to thank in advance all of the volunteers throughout the RE program - we are sure 2009-10 will be a great year for Religious Education.

Religious Education at UUCDC is everyone's business. It takes a lot of people to make sure that our program runs smoothly. Whether you are a parent or guardian of a child or youth in the program or not, please take a moment to fill out the RE Registration Form. Select an opportunity to participate in our Cooperative and put it in the DRE mail box in the administration office. You won't be sorry you did!

Your RE Council

Rich Cairncross, Chairperson
REC@uucdc.org
610-627-9302

Irene Friedrichs, Director of Religious Education
dre@uucdc.org, (610) 566-4853 x3

Marge Caton, Youth Programs Team Leader
youthprograms@uucdc.org
(610) 217-7016

Loretta Orndorff, Adult Programs Team Leader

Gail Freedman, At Large

Animesh Karna, At Large

Want to Get Involved?

Have a gift to share? Call our Director of Religious Education,
Irene Friedrichs, at (610)566-4852 x3,
or send her an email.