From Our Director of Religious Exploration
New Beginnings in Religious Exploration
As I write this morning, the golden glow of dawn fills the house and, as I step outside to capture it on camera, I see a blush on the sedum – still mostly green – that shows the bloom is coming soon. At work we’ve been setting calendars for worship and events, prepping session plans for Sunday morning RE, planning what stories to tell in worship. Soon the wide-ranging paths of summer will turn toward Countryside; soon we will orient and commission our teachers; soon we will each bring our waters home to our shared spiritual well. Dawn and an anticipated bloom feel like auspicious signs for what’s to come in Religious Exploration (RE) at CCUU this year.
In the coming year in Preschool through 12th grade (p-12) RE, our curricula will shift toward our Unitarian Universalist Values: Justice, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence, and Generosity, with Love at the Center. These arise from a national conversation about what matters to us in our faith movement, which led to a revision in 2024 of Article II in the UUA bylaws, which govern our inter-congregational covenant. For those of us who have loved the Principles, which arose from a similar conversation forty years ago, it’s important to understand that we can still cherish them – I certainly do and will. But the new values represent the current state of our faith movement, so it’s important that our children learn about them. As I’ve contemplated our three-year p-12 curricular rotation, it has seemed to me that emphasizing two of these values at a time each year (plus always Love) would help us to see them in useful, complementary ways. We will touch on all our shared values throughout the year, of course – but in the coming year, our curricula for all grades will be grounded in Interdependence and Transformation, and how these values help guide us toward Love. Our Picture Books in Preschool – 1st grade will offer stories that explore these values; our 2nd-5th graders will be doing some outdoor exploration that underscores these values; our junior high youth will engage in coming-of-age program activities that are all about Interdependence, Transformation, and Love. I believe our young people will find these lessons engaging, lively, and often awe-inspiring.
As members of the RE Council have discussed these coming changes, we’ve been trying on how to hold them. Exploring the new doesn’t mean the old is forgotten or dishonored. Still, not all of us have been engaged in this conversation about principles and values, or have only just begun it. It’s natural that we should have feelings about the change. I hope you’ll take the time to notice if you’re experiencing sadness, or resistance, or excitement – or whatever you’re feeling – about the shift. Know that I honor those feelings and likely share them. I also hope you’ll approach these values that our beloved UU communities have helped to shape with interest and curiosity – and that you allow yourself, in time, to come to cherish them. As we regather this year, I hope we are excited to explore these new pathways together, keeping love at the center of our journey.
Important Dates
- Sat, Sept 12: PreK-Grade 12 RE Teacher Orientation
- Sun, Sept 13: RE Open House following worship
- Sun, Sept 20: PreK-Grade 12 RE Sessions begin
Fall RE Registration is Open
Sunday Morning Religious Exploration begins September 20. Here’s a peek at what’s coming in RE this year. To learn more and to register, see the website: https://ccuu.org/religious-exploration-for-children-youth/.