Religious Exploration

For the Most Recent Information,
Visit our Religious Exploration Overview & Schedule
and Read the Latest Religious Exploration Newsletter 

We observe COVID safety protocols such as meeting online or outside (weather permitting).
When we meet in person, inside or outside, we wear masks, skip snack time, and
maintain distance. Visit our RE Overview & Schedule page for additional information.

Nurture Spirituality. Foster Compassion. Engage in Service.

“My wife and I came to CUUC after a long period without any religious connection, mainly to give our children a better moral and ethical grounding without imposing a particular set of beliefs. The RE program has encouraged them to develop their own values and beliefs, awakening their compassion for others, and has also transformed us as parents through teaching and volunteering.”
~ Al R.

 

Religious Exploration Council Mission Statement (2022)

The CUUC Religious Exploration Council, in fellowship with the Religious Educator, Minister, Board of Trustees and congregation at large, is dedicated to offering spaces and opportunities for religious exploration for children, youth and adults that foster spiritual growth, create community, and reject racism and all forms of oppression by celebrating diversity, promoting equity, and working for justice. Our goal is to prepare congregants of all ages to engage with the world as loving, curious, courageous individuals of conscience ready to inspire positive change by living into our Unitarian Universalist values.

Welcome!

Greetings and welcome to our religious exploration ministry for children, youth, and adults. The primary goal of our religious exploration ministry is to inspire discovery, inquiry, interrelationships and reverence for life in its infinite diversity. Each class uses appropriate curricula to provide the tools for all ages to understand and articulate their Unitarian Universalist faith. We offer safe spaces to understand and explore beliefs in an intergenerational community. The following is our usual Sunday morning schedule: 

From 9:45 - 11:45

Each Sunday morning, we have nursery care available for young children.

From 10:00 - 11:15

Children and youth worship in the sanctuary with their families. We offer a quiet activity area in the sanctuary and quiet activity boxes for use during worship. On our special Whole Congregation Worship Sundays, our young people remain in the santuary for the entire service.

From 10:00 - 11:15

On Sundays when Religious Exploration (RE) classes meet, children, youth, and volunteers may go directly to classes or begin in the worship service and leave after the Time For All Ages. RE classes are geared to their specific age. Visit "Children & Youth" for more information on programs.

Safety 

In order to ensure the safety of both our children and our adults we have enacted a “Safe Congregations Policy.” All staff, religious exploration volunteers, and adult helpers regularly working with children and youth undergo background screening. We require that there be at least two unrelated adults in each space with children and youth. In addition, we have a Safe Congregations Committee made up of qualified individuals to address concerns.
 

Covenantal Faith

Unitarian Universalism is a covenantal faith.  We do not all have to believe the same thing so part of what unites us in community is our covenant (commitment, agreement) to support each other on our unique, individual journeys.  Our congregation has a community covenant and at the beginning of each year, classes and youth group create their small group covenants. This is an opportunity to listen to what each person needs in that space and from each other so they can continue learning and growing.  These agreements are recorded and posted so they are available as a resource throughout the year to call each other back into covenant, to remind ourselves of the promises we made to each other when challenges arise.  

In addition, the Religious Exploration ministry at CUUC strives to create thoughtful communication and connections in a climate that promotes and affirms the values of our eight UU Principles and supports the CUUC mission. The ultimate objective is for each adult, each youth and each child to experience a positive and rewarding learning experience.