How do you do religious education in a pandemic? It is a question we have never had to answer before, so we don’t have an easy answer to turn to. We all have different needs and capabilities in this time, and so the R.E. Team has tried to put together a variety of different programming with a variety of ways to continue to engage our children and continue their spiritual development in this year. One thing is certain: we will not be meeting in person for a while yet. All programming is designed to be engaged with from home. Below are our list of programs:

Home Spirituality Kits: Receive a kit every two weeks with a new spiritual practice for your family to try out at home, from guided meditations to creative practices to nature connection and much more, these practices are designed to be accessible for children of all ages (and adults!). These boxes will circulate between houses, but if requested, can be quarantined at the church for four days before arriving at your house. To participate in this program, please contact Jamila, as there are a limited number of kits.

Service Sundays: Service projects are an important part of our R.E. program. Each month (usually on the first Sunday) we will plan a Service Sunday Project that families can register for. If you register, we will drop off supplies at your house in the week before the Service Sunday. Families can join us on Zoom on Sunday at noon to get directions, and can stick around to socialize while working on their projects. 

Crafting Sundays: Once a month, we will do a craft project together, just for fun! If you register, we will drop off supplies at your house in the week before the Crafting Sunday. Families can join us on Zoom on Sunday at noon to learn how to do the craft project. If you have a craft project you would like to lead, we would love to hear from you! Please contact Jamila.

UU Treasure Hunt: Once a month, a new treasure box (with a story of an inspiring UU inside) will be hidden along a trail or in a park somewhere in Columbia, and directions will be posted on where to find it. If you would like to hide a box, let Jamila know!

Sunday Morning Tea Party: Is your child eager to see some familiar faces? We will be meeting Sunday morning at 10 am via Zoom to say hello each other, and share a story. And no tea party is complete without dressing up and treats! We will send out a muffin recipe and a dress-up suggestion in the week before for those who want to get fancy. This program is open to everyone, but particularly targeted to our youngest UUs.

Family Movie Night: On the first and third Friday of the month, we will be screening a Pixar short film for families over Zoom. Each film comes with discussion questions, which you can stick around to discuss together as a group, or can go offline to discuss together as a family. There are also crafting ideas to go along with each film. This program is targeted at kids from Kindergarten through 4th grade.

Twilight Zone Class: On two Sundays a month (usually the 2nd and 4th), our 5th and 6th graders will be meeting at noon to watch an episode of the Twilight Zone, and then to discuss the big ideas and interesting questions that the episode raises. 

Junior High Collaborative Journal: If there is one age that doesn’t need another Zoom class, it is our junior high kids. So instead, we will be creating a collective journal that they can add to over the year, with silly and serious prompts to respond to.  We will be using the Padlet platform for our journal. Stay tuned for more information for how to get started with this.

Junior Youth Group: What junior high kids do need is more fun in their life! And more time to connect with their peers. So we are expanding our usual Junior Youth program to two Friday night meetings per month (2nd and 4th Fridays from 6:30-8 pm), where we will play games, watch crafts, do crafts, karaoke, or whatever other goofy ideas the youth come up with. We will be sharing ideas at our first meeting on Sept. 11. All 6th-8th graders welcome.

YRUU High School Youth Group: Our high schoolers will be meeting from 4-6 pm on Sundays. We will most meet via Zoom, though if case counts are low enough, we may occasionally do socially distanced outdoor gatherings. Our youth will determine the content ofour programming in our first meeting (via Zoom) on Sept. 13

Do you want more resources to use at home? If so, please contact Jamila. There are many online resources, as well as UUCC resources that can be loaned out. And join us for Library Days at UUCC, where we will have an outdoor lending library for you to borrow church books and materials.