First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church
Religious Education Update
for Sunday September 15, 2019
RE starts this Sunday!

On Sunday September 15
Religious Education begins this week with a dedication of students and teachers in the sanctuary. The students and teachers will then go to their classrooms.

Don’t forget to register your children this Sunday for Religious Education!
New “Nursery- PreK” Class. Our curriculum Chalice Children , appropriate for children ages 2 - 5 years. Chalice Children delves deep into our Unitarian Universalist faith. It strives not just to teach about our faith, but also to provide experiences around the strength of community, the wonder and awe that transcend everyday understanding, and life issues we all share. Early childhood (the years between ages 2 and 5) is filled with curiosity and wonder. In this group setting, young children can engage in spiritual seeking, develop their openness to sharing, and experience the benefit of a supportive community. Their time in Chalice Children can set a pattern for the rest of their lives and bring lasting benefits. We'll be sharing the story Only One You by Linda Kranz.
Grades 1-2 Class: Wonderful Welcome. This program helps children understand and practice values central to Unitarian Universalism such as friendship, hospitality, and fairness. It offers children safe, positive and intentional ways to relate to one another, the people in their families, and the world around them as they investigate how they use gifts they can't see or touch to welcome others into their lives. Children will think about the intangible gifts they bring into the world, and the intangible gifts they receive. This week they will join their teacher We'll be reading the story Will I Have a Friend by Miriam Cohen. Another teacher is needed for this group.
Grades 3-5 Class: Travel in Time Uses the imaginative device of time travel to help participants explore their religious identity. Participants learn about the origins of Unitarian Universalism in North America and the lives of individuals, past and present, who exemplify our faith. Please note: this class will have “acolyte” training September 29 after class to practice lighting the candles and chalice for the opening of services.
Grades 6-8 class: What Would Buffy Do? The Middle School group will be using the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer to explore UU values. We need one more adult leader. On Saturday September 21 st this group is invited to a pizza party and a special viewing of a few episodes of Buffy beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Coming of Age program: Youth Grades 9 and 10 (and older youth who haven't previously taken part) are invited to participate in Coming of Age, the UU equivalent of confirmation or bar/bat mitzvah. Youth explore their theological understandings and values, consider how they want to live them out, and end by writing and presenting their "Credo" to the congregation. This group will meet on Sunday mornings (but not every week). Their first meeting will be this Sunday, September 15.

SciCohRockWell Youth Group: High School students are invited to participate in our joint youth group program with the youth of the UU churches in Cohasset, Norwell, and Rockland. This group rotates among the churches and meets one or two Sunday evenings a month. A date for their first meeting will be announced soon.

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Scituate Appalachia Service Project 2020: Interested high school students and their parents are invited to an information meeting this Sunday, September 15, at 7:45 p.m. at the First Trinitarian Congregational Church, 381 Country Way, Scituate. For the past 13 years, Scituate ASP has made homes warmer, safer, and drier for families and provided transformational service experiences for volunteers. Though sponsored by the First Trinitarian Congregational Church of Scituate, this trip is open to teens and adults from the Scituate area, no matter the church affiliation or faith. Every summer, a group of teens and adults travels to the poorest counties in Appalachia to work on repairing the homes of the neediest, helping to make these homes “safer, drier, and warmer” and perhaps having their lives change in the process.  This is a mandatory meeting for youth and parents. If you choose to register your child you will need a check for $250.00. If you are selected to go on the trip this check becomes non-refundable. Students and parent group leaders are chosen by lottery. If you choose to accompany your child as a parent leader, you too will require a check for $250.00 and upon your selection becomes non-refundable as well. Registration closes on Thursday, September 19th, 2019. For more information: https://www.facebook.com/ASPScituate/


Youth Group: I will be attending a national UU Youth Group seminar this Saturday September 14 th in Boston. The focus topics will be covenantal leadership, multigenerational relationships, spiritual development, beloved community, justice making, pastoral care, faith exploration, and identity formation in our youth programs. It is from 12:00 pm to 5:00 and if you want more information please call me at: 781-985-5877 or 781-383-0073. The seminar is also available “live” on line and youth leaders can sign up at: Youth Ministry Reboot

Childcare
Childcare has been incorporated into the new Nursery - Pre K class, 2-5 years old. Toddlers are welcome to go upstairs to the class at any point in the service or to remain in the sanctuary with their families. The rocking chair area in the corner of the sanctuary is specially for families with young children.
 
Coffee Hour
Please remember to supervise your children during coffee hour especially if they are in the sanctuary or outside on the playground. Children are not supposed to be upstairs during coffee hour since everything needs to be left in order for Erdman on Monday morning.

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RE Registration
Please remember to register your children and youth at the RE table this Sunday!
Upcoming Family Events
Save the Date! Religious Education Potluck Supper
 Saturday October 19, 2019. 5:30-7:00 pm. Come get to know one another!
Middle School Pizza Party
Come enjoy pizza and some learn about the Buffy-verse! Saturday September 21st 5:30 p.m. to watch episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Guiding Good Choices Workshop
Scituate FACTS is again offering this substance use prevention workshop for Scituate parents and caregivers of children ages 9-15. Guiding Good Choices participants will get the latest data on local youth substance use, learn about the risk factors for addiction. and acquire skills to build protection in their own families. 

Parents/caregivers must attend all four classes the series. (Children ages
9-15 attend session three for refusal skills practice and pizza! ) Space is limited in each group to 20 people. There is no fee for the class, but there is a $12.00 fee for materials. Financial assistance is available; email: scituateFACTS@gmail.com . For dates and to register, see Scituate FACTS' website: https://www.scituatefacts.org/education-and-workshops