Religious Education

Welcome to First Church of Salt Lake City

If you are new to or just visiting First Unitarian Church, we want to extend an extra special welcome! Religious Education (RE), or family and children’s programming at First Church, focuses on the entire family, not just the child. We’re striving to adapt to ever-changing and ever-busy lifestyles.

First and foremost, our job is to communicate. We know you can’t attend every weekend, so we’re designing programs that fit into your family schedules as much as possible and keeping you up-to-date online.

Second, rather than divide younger families by age, we’re shifting our focus, even in age-designated classrooms, to a family orientation so that you and your children can both benefit simultaneously from First Church’s RE program. In other words, we’ll keep you up-to-date with relevant information.

Our RE season starts Sunday September 11, 2016. Consider this your invitation to join us to learn about our programs and meet our volunteer teachers. Here’s a look at who’s who in First Church RE:

Nursery Care, Room 109 & Toddlers Up to Age 4
The nursery is staffed by experienced childcare providers and is free of charge. This space is warm and welcoming, and available for both the 9am and 11am services. Note: staff will not be available from10:15 to 10:45am between services. Professional staff includes: Triniti, Olivia and Erin.

PreSchool/Kindergarten: Our program—Rainbow Children—is drawn from classic Unitarian curricula. Volunteer teachers: Kris Lander, Sonia Carnell, Skip & Briana Rynearson

Grades 1/2: Picture Book World Religions. Volunteer teachers: Brenda & Tom Goodwin

Grades 3/4: Holidays and Holy Days. Volunteer teachers: Sammy Wood, Kendra Brooks-Smith, Raleigh Smith

Grade 5: Faithful Journeys. Volunteer teachers: Britt Coble & Trixie Sieger

Grades 6/7: World Religions. Volunteer teachers: Sara Jordan, Ian Mitchell, Usha Spaulding & Jen Gibbs

Grades 8/9: OWL (Our Whole Lives). Volunteer teachers: Erin Johnson, Rob Richardson, Di Johnson, Phil Moos

High School grades 10-12: YRUU. Volunteer teachers: Jillian O’Karma, Derek Gersdorf

We look forward to reconnecting with our returning youth and welcome new family members to our congregation! For more information about specific curricula, programs and volunteering, feel free to contact our RE Team: Julie Miller, Lissa Lander & Matthew Cockrum.

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

• RE Volunteer Teacher Training is happening Sunday, August 28th 11:00 to 1:00 in room 208.
• RE Classes resume Sunday for Pre-K - 9th grade on September 11th at 11:00 am.  10th - 12th grades will meet (beginning September 11th) in the Haven from 10:45 - 12:45. Childcare is available in the nursery room (Room 109) during both services (9:00 am and 11:00 am).

Our YRUU group will be traveling to Pine Ridge, South Dakota in June to assist with art and music camps for Lakota Sioux Children. If you would like to help donate supplies, see the list below. Please leave any donated items in the box in the Little Chapel! We will be collecting supplies throughout April. Thanks you for your support!

• Watercolor paper
• Plaster wrap (dickblick.com)
• Felt
• Acrylic paints: Red, Yellow, Blue, Black and White
• Brushes
• Construction Paper
• Hot glue sticks
• Sharpies
• Yarn
• Spray paint
• Face paintNeedles and thread
• Hides for drum-making
• Wooden dowels (1/2 inch thick)
• Ribbons
• Pony beads

A service given by the high school youth at First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City on April 3, 2016

A presentation given by Alan Coombs on March 20, 2016

Sorry to say the "Just Mercy" common read book study session has been cancelled due to low registration.
Stay tuned, though, for an awesome staged reading of The Exonerated on the evening of Sunday, April 10, at First Church. The play explores the issue of wrongful imprisonment and the proceeds will go to support the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center.

A lecture given by Alan Coombs for Adult Religious Education on March 6, 2016

Please join us for an evening of live jazz and soul food to benefit the Coming of Age group’s Boston Heritage Trip. Seats are limited for this unique event, which will take place on Feb. 20 from 6-8 p.m. in Eliot Hall. Plan to purchase your tickets when they go on sale after next Sunday’s service. $25/person.
Kids are half price!

Come to our Intergenerational Holiday Party! Since both the kids RE and the adult RE studied world religions last year, this year we will be exploring the winter traditions of 6 world religions - Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Aboriginal/Earth Religions. Come experience activities, songs, cultural crafts (appropriate for kids and adults) and a delicious spread of traditional foods. Don’t miss this great event that celebrates the diversity of ages in our congregation and the diversity of ways to celebrate this festive time of year. Happy (Multicultural) Holidays! Saturday Dec. 12, 2-4 pm