UU Society of Cleveland Religious Education

In July, 2008, the UU Society hired Nathan Staples as Director of Religious Education. His enthusiasm and experience show in the exciting new direction our Religious Education (RE) program is taking. The hard work Nathan, the Religious Education Committee and the Parents Covenant Group have put in is really showing itself in our renovated nursery, the reorganization and ongoing improvement of our RE space, and the overwhelming support of the program itself.

We hope you'll come visit us soon and see what a great experience a Liberal Religious Education can be.

Just click on a link to find out more:

RE Philosophy at the UU Society

Nursery and Toddler Care

Chalice Children

Elementary and Up

Adult RE

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Philosophy at the UU Society

We strive for several goals with our Religious Education programming.

With the children’s program, our goal is to teach ethical values, the importance of community, social responsibility, and our place in the global community. We want our kids to have a great time while they learn to live in the world. As children grow with our program, they go from being nurtured and loved, to learning to live with others in community and what it means to be Unitarian Universalist, to learning social responsibility and how to take that out into the larger world.

With our adult RE programming, we hope to nurture our members and provide a safe haven. We also strive to provide educational opportunities that stretch our boundaries in many ways: push our minds to think outside the box, encourage us to identify and confront injustice, to go beyond what is comfortable and to grow in ways we never thought possible.

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Nursery and Toddler Care

Come visit our beautiful nursery. We have a large, comfortable room with lots of room to play and lots of toys and interesting things to do. Two of our fun-loving nursery volunteers are there every Sunday throughout the year, excluding August, when we have informal activities or discussions. We love our toddlers and babies and want to provide them with the best environment possible.

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Chalice Chlidren

Our 4-7 year olds are learning about our congregation and Unitarian Universalism. The UUA curricula, We are Many, We are One and Rainbow Children, that we are using this year are based on the belief that children gain a sense of belonging to their religious community and the Unitarian Universalist faith when they have concrete experiences with its people and places. Both curricula focus on diversity and inclusivity and are intended to affirm young children in their spiritual growth, creativity, and connection to the congregation and the world community.

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Older Elementary and Middle School

This year the older children are doing a variety of activities which include topical discussion and hanging out time, planning and executing social action projects, and other creative modes of connecting with one another and the congregation. One exciting project in the works is developing a film project, from writing and storyboarding to recruiting actors, directing and filming.

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Adult RE

Adult programming takes many forms at the UU Society.

A variety of Covenant Groups are available to members, friends, and newcomers. These are relational and special interest groups on a variety of topics with a maximum of 12 members, usually meeting monthly. Participants sign up in the fall and commit to attend October through June. This year we have: Banned Books, Earth Based Spirituality, and Green Sanctuary. Send an email or call the UU Society to find out if there is space in a group you are interested in.

Our Sunday Services are in a large part adult religious education. Our Minister, Rev. Colin Bossen, leads the worship life of the community. We also invite guest clergy, Commissioned Lay Leaders, seminary students, and members and friends of the UU Society to speak on a variety of topics. We try to cover a diverse theological spectrum as well as current topics pertinent to life in our community and the world.

Special Adult RE Classes are announced during the year. Look at our Calendar page or call the UU Society office for more information.

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