We are a Welcoming Congregation. We welcome and affirm people of all ages, abilities, races, ethnicities, gender identities, family structures, sexual orientation, and faith backgrounds. View our Covenant of Good Relations.

Education

Welcome!

We offer programs for children, youth and adults to help them along their spiritual paths. Our programs are developed to be age appropriate and offer a safe and welcoming place to explore our growing and deepening spirituality and to learn to live our faith.

Unitarian Universalism affirms and promotes a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Questions are encouraged and diversity of belief enriches all of us. Our programs are based on the belief that the search for truth and meaning is a lifelong search. We believe that one of the roles of a faith community is to offer opportunities to grow deep roots connecting us to our heritage as Unitarian Universalists and to provide experiences that allow us each to stretch and grow spiritually and personally.

Our programs for children and youth provide a safe setting in which to explore their own values and spirituality, develop their identity as Unitarian Universalists, learn about the lives and faiths of others, and discover that they can make a difference in the world.

Our educational programs for adults meet throughout the week. The mission of our adult program is to provide programs that help individuals understand what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist, to broaden our understanding of our own spirituality and that of other faith traditions, and to provide opportunities for individuals to grow from their interaction with others in a safe intimate environment.

The First Unitarian Universalist Church was originally founded as a Sunday School for both children and adults in 1873 and since that time we have been committed to keeping religious education central to the life of this congregation.

Come grow with us!

Liz Jones
Director of Religious Education

Religious Education Philosophy

Religious education at First Unitarian Universalist Church

In 1873 this church was founded as a Sunday School for children and adults. Since those early days, religious education for all ages has held a central place in the life of this congregation. Our programs for children, youth, and adults are based on the belief that the search for truth and meaning is a lifelong search. We believe that one of the roles of a faith community is to offer opportunities to grow deep roots connecting us to our heritage as Unitarian Universalists and to provide experiences that allow us each to stretch and grow spiritually and personally.

Our programs aim to assist each individual to understand our Unitarian Universalist heritage and to develop a "UU" Identity. It is also our goal to provide the context for individuals to develop a knowledge of and respect for other religions as well as and understanding of the place of religion in our culture. We must also challenge ourselves and each other to live out our values in our lives. This inevitably leads us to reach beyond ourselves and our doors and into the world at large.

These are challenging goals. It forces us to stretch and grow. We work hard at First Church to offer such challenges to individuals at all ages. Understanding how to provide these challenges while being realistic about the abilities and developmental process of each age is critical to helping every person develop their own sense of Unitarian Universalist identity. We encourage you to share your ideas for and concerns about our programs so that together we can help each other grow as religious beings and into a deeper sense of ourselves as Unitarian Universalists.