Welcome Back from your RE Director!

Welcome to another year at First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City. Fall is just around the corner and change is in the air. Our Ingathering Sunday September 11th at 11am marks the official start of our Religious Education program. On this date we will return to our regular schedule of 9am and 11am services.

On Sunday September 11, children ages 3 - 11 will join their teachers in the Little Chapel at 10:50am before we proceed into the sanctuary to join the full congregation for an inspirational intergenerational service. After the opening segment, we will exit and head to classes in our assigned rooms.

Throughout the year, infants and toddlers will gather in their space, Room 109. Our professional staff, Trinity Taylor and Erin Cowley, return for the 2016-2017 church year to provide excellent childcare. Childcare will be provided free of charge at both the 9am and 11am services. We do ask that parents provide all necessary items for diaper changes.

This year our RE theme is World Religions / Building Communities. Children ages 3 - 11 will be taught by volunteer teachers in their assigned classrooms. We are inviting guest speakers who represent other religious faiths to join us during the year to share their traditions. Complementing our program, we are also inviting several artists who will contribute to the theme of World Religions.

Here’s a preview of other RE features:

• We welcome Lissa Lander to our RE team as she replaces Nancy Moos. We are beyond grateful to Nancy for her years of dedicated service, and we are excited to have Lissa join the RE team with her energy, enthusiasm and dedication to our program.
• Childcare only will be provided at 10am services on August 28 and September 4th until Ingathering on September 11th, when we return to our 9am and 11am services. No RE classes are scheduled until September 11.
• Children ages 3 - 11 will meet each Sunday beginning with Ingathering in the Little Chapel at 11am for our own Chalice Lighting and Welcoming Words. After community sharing, we will adjourn to our classrooms until parent pick-up, between 12 noon and 12:15pm.
• The First Sunday of each month, children ages 3 - 11 will meet in the Little Chapel and then join the congregation in the Sanctuary for the opening of the service. This year, we will ask for children to be joined by their parents or guardians as they light the Chalice in the Sanctuary on the first Sunday of each month. We will refer to this as Sanctuary Sunday.
• OWL—Our Whole Lives—curriculum will be taught in the Spring 2017. This session is for 1st and 2nd grades. OWL is a comprehensive sexuality education program run by trained volunteer teachers. At the lower age level, parents or guardians who register their child(ren) will be asked to attend each class (7 - 8 weeks). Registration for this class will open in early February 2017. 1st/2nd grade OWL classes will be scheduled on Sundays, from April 2nd through May 28th.
• Sixth graders are moving up! Yes, this year we are going to have our 6th grade students join with 7th graders in the middle school classroom at the 11am service. Questions? See Matthew, Lissa or Julie.
  Family Fun Nights will continue on the first Monday of each month (6 - 7:30pm in Eliot Hall, childcare provided free of charge) except during the months of December and January. This year promises to be a busy one, with lots of exciting plans in the works. It will be a pleasure to reconnect with you and your RE team—Matthew, Lissa and Jillian. I Look forward to working with all of you again this year.

Peace and Blessings,
Julie Miller
Director of Religious Education