All Things RE! September ’22

Welcome to the first issue of the monthly UCN Religious Education newsletter – All Things RE! that will be published the third Wednesday of each month. After the RE Barn Banter this past June, there was overwhelming affirmation that the congregation of UCN values RE for children and youth. With the goal of starting up RE activities/classes while continuing the search for a Director of Religious Instruction, the newly formed RE Committee is committed to insuring there be clear communication with families about programming and consistency in the class offerings. That said, as we get ready to begin the new RE year in September, below are some key bits of information for you regarding scheduling, programming, and teachers:

• We are planning for RE on 1^st and 3^rd Sundays of each month beginning 9/18/22. 5^th Sunday services will always be intergenerational. There will be no RE classes when there is an intergenerational service such as Water Communion service on September 4^th, a first Sunday.
• Registering students will begin soon.
• The nursery will be staffed each Sunday.
• We will be using the UUA curriculum “Tapestry of Faith” which offers diverse learning opportunities for all ages. The 4K-4^th grade program theme will be Love and how it effects our relationships with one another and the world at large. The curriculum will be grounded in our UU Principles and Sources. Participants will engage in activities that emphasize the love they feel in community; explore our relationship with the earth and its creatures; address how can we respond with love, even in bad situations; and strive to be active in peace-making and other efforts to improve our world.
• 5^th – 8^th grade students will be invited to participate in learning about world religions, another UUA Tapestry of Faith curriculum. This will include travel to area churches.
• High School students will have the opportunity to participate in Coming of Age. Peggy Creer will be leading the classes. Coming of Age is a year-long program of learning and exploration about the UU faith culminating in a Coming of Age service in June.
• Several UCN member adults have volunteered to teach different level classes. Background checks will be conducted on all of them to promote safety.
• We are unable to offer OWL this year and are reaching out to local UU churches for collaboration and to work on sending select member volunteers for OWL certification.
• Fellowship opportunities will be offered quarterly for families, members, and friends to attend. Ideas include organized bike rides, roller-skating party, sledding, and a lock-in.

We are excited about the energy in the RE program and hope that you can participate! Please feel free to reach out to any of the committee members for more information or if you would like to volunteer to help in any capacity.

UCN RE Committee

Julie Zumach, Katie Egan-Bruhy, Mark Bruhy, Rosa Gomez, Brian Bunzel, Joy Schroeder, Jane Cartwright, Leigh Hoftiezer, Deborah Fugenschuh, Emily Orser, Kas Blain, Janet Jensen, and Betsy Muellenbach