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Religious Education Reflections

by Sue Graffius, June & July, 2009

Our Summer Program will be starting on June 14th! The focus is Peace, and we are looking for people to teach and co-lead/assist these classes. We can provide you with a lesson plan, or you can fashion your own lesson based on our theme. Please sign up for a Summer Sunday or two—the Poster/Sign Up sheet is on the hallway bulletin board!

Did you know that we have the best volunteers in the Religious Education program? The RE Committee is enthusiastic in supporting the DRE, and ensuring wonderful programs for all ages. These members include: Leslie O’Connor and Pearl Weiss (co-chairs), Jo Cline, Jennifer Grob, Kristine Hancock, Cindy Kienitz, Robert Kienitz, Debbie Marmorstein and Laura Beth Payne.

The youth RE teachers continue to amaze me with their dedication, innovation and love for their students. The teachers often learn along with their students, so you don’t need to be an expert in any area to participate! (Please see me if you are interested in teaching in the future!)
Our preschool teachers are Thea Hagepanos, Zilpha Larsen, Amy Poe and Beverly Cree, and they have been assisted by Jim Poe, Kristine Hancock, Asa Beamer and several more parents. They used the curriculum We Are Many, We Are One to teach about how we are alike and we are different, the wonders of nature and how we must care for Earth, how we live our Principles and learn from those of other faiths, and how we celebrate life and each other. They used stories, crafts, individual and group activities and chalice lightings to expand the children’s minds and to draw ideas from their students.

Teachers in the Kindergarten and First Grade classroom are Eden Avery and Jennifer Holibaugh, and they have been assisted by Jim Poe, Leslie O’Connor and several other parents. They led lessons from Around the Church, Around the Year, and taught the children how to work cooperatively together as they learned about our Fellowship, its history, its governance and our UU Principles. Their classroom is decorated with photos and samples of their cooperative works!

Second and Third grade are led by Tiffany Erichsen, Cindy Kienitz and John Larsen. They have been learning along with their students as they explore Bible Stories. They have had wonderful discussions covering stories from Genesis through Easter, and all have been amazed at learning how much violence, corruption and decadence is in the Books. The children participate actively in the discussions, and have been creating a timeline to display on their walls.

Fourth through Seventh graders have learned about God Images, which has been led by Allison Klein, Jeryl Peebles and more recently, Gillian O’Reilly. The class has been learning about many different ways that God is represented, from different faiths and different eras. Each time I go into the Annex to get supplies, I can hear their discussion, and it thrills me to hear the children being so perceptive and thoughtful as they sort through the ideas.

Seventh through Ninth graders are experiencing Our Whole Lives, the incredible and comprehensive Human Sexuality program created jointly by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ. This is an abstinence based, but reality-grounded program that starts with team-building exercises, then addresses anatomy, moves on to creating and maintaining appropriate relationships, openly discusses sexuality and STIs, and reinforces our Seven Principles as they apply to relationships. This program is very intense, and is taught by instructors who have gone through the UUA’s O.W.L. training program. This year’s special O.W.L. teachers are Debbie Marmorstein, Jimmy Reeves, Keith Shea and Stephanie Shea. The classes are set up to have two instructors for each Sunday, but all four of the teachers decided to attend every Sunday that they were in town!
Our High School teachers, Suzanne Geoffroy, Robert Kienitz and John Rinka, used the curriculum Create A Country! where the students were to imagine they seceded from the USA and created their own country based on our Seven UU Principles. This program is actually meant for middle schoolers, but the teachers eagerly took it up to the high schoolers’ level. They will be presenting the teen service on June 7th, at 10:00. Don’t miss it!

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