Religious Education

Welcome to the Prairie Lakes UU Fellowship Religious Education (RE) Program!

"The foundation of our religion does not rest upon miracles nor do we believe in Truth as something revealed in its fullness to anyone in times past. To us, Life and the universe in which life flourishes are miracles enough. Growing insights are the only revelations on which we count. We glory in our children's curiosities and in their open-minded inquiries." -Sophia Fahs

Unitarian Universalist Principles
Children’s Wording
We believe that each and every person is important.
We believe that all people should be treated fairly and kindly.
We believe that we should encourage one another and learn together.
We believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life
We believe that all persons should have a say about the things that concern them.
We believe in working for a peaceful, fair and free world.
We believe in caring for our planet earth, the home we share with all living things.

Goals of the RE Program
Based on these Unitarian Universalist principles, we seek to help our children develop:
• A sense of connection and community, from family and church and local environments to the greater world around us;
• An independence of thought, plus a familiarity, respect and tolerance for the beliefs of others;
• An ethical consciousness and a system of values with a global perspective.

On Sundays
Children typically participate in the opening of each service: singing, sharing candles of joy and concern, and listening to a “story for all ages.” After the story, children and their teachers leave for classes. Special intergenerational services are held throughout the year; on these Sundays the children stay in the sanctuary with the adults.

RE classes are held in the Fellowship’s multipurpose room and on the first floor of the adjacent Fellowship House. (Teachers escort children back from the Fellowship House classrooms after the service.)

To enroll in the Religious Education program, each family completes a Registration Form with contact names and numbers, ages and grades of the children participating, and related information.

Staff & Volunteers
Director of Religious Education (DRE): Nicole Roost
Religious Education Committee: Barbara Lukas, Julia Salomon. New committee members are always welcome!
Classroom teachers: Parents and other volunteers serve as classroom teachers, with support from the DRE and a paid
nursery care provider.

2008-09 CURRICULA

Nursery/Infant - Preschool (ages 3/4)		A staffed nursery is provided for wee ones through age three to four.
Pre-K (ages 4/5) - Grade 2	We are Many, We are One	Children explore the grounding of a religious community and tradition, with the freedom to discover and express their uniqueness.
Grades 3 - 5	We Believe: Learning and Living Our Unitarian Universalist Principles	This program builds on the seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism. Activities encourage participants to incorporate the Principles into their lives.
Middle School Grades 6 - 8	Neighboring Faiths	Youth learn about Unitarian Universalist and other faith traditions through discussion, field trips and interviews.
Upper Middle School and High School	Our Whole Lives	Our Whole Lives curriculum or “OWL” as it is familiarly known, is a sexuality education curriculum which helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality. Instructors must have specific training to qualify as OWL teachers; our Director of Religious Education and the current Chairperson of the RE Committee have completed this training.
High School Grades 9 - 12	Coming of Age	The Coming of Age program is an eight-month spiritual journey designed for 8th - 12th grade youth. This program seeks to acknowledge and honor the fact that youth reach pivotal points as they move from childhood toward adult status and responsibility. It encourages and supports their efforts to find meaning in their lives and to develop a religious or philosophical identity which will help them through life's journey. The Coming of Age program matches adult mentors one-to-one with the youth. These mentors participate along with the youth in their retreats, service projects, and other activities. The Coming of Age Program is offered approximately every three years, and is open to youth from the Open Circle UU Fellowship (Fond du Lac) as well.