Religious Exploration

Religious Exploration

Welcome to Religious Exploration (RE) at North Shore Unitarian Universalist Church! Our Religious Exploration Program is an exciting, warm, and wonderful place where you and your child will have experiences you never thought you could have in a church. Our Unitarian Universalist religion is a process…more than a statement. It’s a journey more than a destination. It is how we live – all the time – rather than a thing we do on Sunday mornings or a set of beliefs we can recite.

All of our lessons and activities find their roots in the children’s version of the seven UU principles. These are:

  1. Each person is important
  2. Be kind in all you do
  3. We’re free to learn together
  4. We search for what is true
  5. All people need a voice
  6. Build a fair and peaceful world
  7. We care for Earth’s lifeboat.

We currently have two RE classes that meet each Sunday during our worship service – from August through May, following the school year calendar. Our Sparklers class is for ages 5-9, and our Spirits class is for ages 10-12. We plan our lessons with inspiration from the Soul Matters RE Curriculum.

Soul Matters is theme-based, small group UU curriculum that fosters circles of trust and deep listening. For our 2022-2023 RE year, our themes have explored the paths crucial to helping us birth a ‘new normal’ worthy of our hopes, including:

  • September: Belonging
  • October: Courage
  • November: Change
  • December: Wonder
  • January: Finding Our Center
  • February: Love
  • March: Vulnerability
  • April: Resistance
  • May: Creativity

Collage of RE Activities at North Shore Unitarian Universalist Church

In each class, we share stories, games, art projects, discussion, and many more meaningful activities around our themes. Our RE classrooms remain open over the summer (June, July) during services for crafts, board games, and community.

We also have playground that is available before and after the service, and children 5 and under are welcomed in our staffed nursery.

If you’re interested in learning more about our RE program for your child, please contact our Director of Religious Exploration, Jessa Barthels, at dre.nsuus@gmail.com. You can also learn more about the UU RE program in general by visiting the Unitarian Universalist Association site.

Please also follow our NSUU RE Facebook page to see what our classes have been up to recently!