2014-2015

Religious Education

This years’ exciting curriculum for our children & youth:

Pre-K to 1^st Grade –Spirit Play is a new UU curriculum.  It’s an adaptation of the Godly Play curriculum combined with aspects of the Montessori method. Providing stories and art in a sacred place; Spirit Play supports children in finding their own answers to some existential questions. Learn more about Spirit Play here.

1^st to 4^th Grade- Spirit of Adventure a new UU identity curriculum will keep this group busy using unique and engaging activities.  Sports, medicine, food, science, building and exploring are the themes for learning about our history, famous UUs who have made notable contributions to our lives, and ways to incorporate our principles into our daily lives.

5^st to 11^th Grade- Traditions in a Wink UU curriculum that teaches an understanding of UU faith that can replace the vague “anything we want to” statement with: “We come from a long tradition of questioning and searching.  We come from a long tradition of loving kindness and good works.”  We have powerful stories and visions of hope; we will share these in a fun and new way with our young teens as they begin the process of shaping their own faith.

 

Meet our new
Director of Religious Education

The First UU Board of Trustees has accepted the recommendation of the Ad Hoc RE Committee (Matt Baumer, Megan Miller, Liz Cook) and we have hired Penny Vick as our Director of Religious Education.

Penny comes to us with enthusiasm for Unitarian Universalism and experience working with youth. She has a background in public health, sex education, and program planning & evaluation.

Penny lives in Indiana with her husband, Brandon, IUP Economics Professor and their sons Jonas and Harlan.

 2014

 Power Pack Food Drive

Throughout the month of March, First UU collected food for the Power Pack Program. This social justice project was submitted to the congregation by the Religious Education students. Depicted here is all the food collected throughout the month including what the students purchased with their own social justice fund (see below). Both the congregation and the RE students also made monetary contributions to the Power Pack Program. Shown here is some our our Religious Education students and teachers with an ICAAP representative. 

Field Trip to Saint Thomas More

February 23, 2014

As part of their world religions curriculum, every three weeks the religious education students grades 2-12 take a field trip to a site of worship belonging to a religion other than Unitarian Universalism so that they may observe similarities and differences between that religion and their own first hand. This is a vital part of their religious education experience.

Shown here are some of our RE students and teachers in front of the altar and sculpture  after attending Catholic Mass at Saint Thomas More. Posing with them on the far right is Father Michael.

Power Pack Shopping Trip

Sunday February 16, 2014

The RE Students voted at their Annual Meeting in December to use the social justice portion of their Children’s Own Fund to sponsor the Power Pack Program.

The PowerPack Program is designed to help children in local Elementary Schools who are at risk of hunger by providing them with non perishable foods they can take home to eat during non school hours.

India and Koan (pictured above) choose $153.03 worth of non perishable food items to donate to the Power Pack Program. The selected foods, calculated and carried heavy bags of groceries. It was truly inspiring to see the delight they felt at providing food for other children. The RE students are also donating $150.00 in the form of a check to the Power Pack Program.

First UU will be collecting non perishable food items for the Power Pack program throughout the month of February. Please bring anything that’s been sitting in your cupboards and place it in the plastic bins that are located under the coats in the foyer.