Children and Youth Religious Education
Welcome to Sierra Foothills Unitarian Universalists (SFUU) children and youth Religious Education (R.E.) program. Our congregation values our young people and offers great support to the R.E. program. The goals of our program are to:
· provide a place where children and youth feel welcome.
· create a sense of belonging.
· build a safe place to explore religious ideas in an open-minded community.
· allow children and youth to ask questions, define, and redefine their beliefs.
The R.E. program is designed to encourage our children and youth to be curious, strong, fair, ethical, moral, peaceful and spiritual beings, as they continue their journey to adulthood.
We offer R.E. programming for children beginning at age one and continuing through high school graduation. The curricula for each age group are grounded in Unitarian Universalist (UU) principles and teach participants how to face their dilemmas and make good choices in their everyday lives. Classes may include personal and group reflection, sharing, stories, discussion, songs, art, field trips and media, and encourage them to make their own decisions about the people they want to become and the world they want to help create.
In addition to the regular Sunday classroom experience, we offer many special programs for our children and youth.
A message from a former CYRE chairperson
“I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be…”
- from Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston
Click on this video to hear Bill Boyce’s 3-minute testimonial about the hopes for Children and Youth Religious Education’s direction post-pandemic (originally delivered Sunday Service on Feb 14, 2021).
Getting Started
Register children and youth for our RE programs here.
The children and youth love to meet new volunteers who bring fresh ideas and perspectives to Religious Education. Find out more about volunteering by visiting this page.
Seven UU Principles and Childrens' RE
The seven Principles that UU congregations covenant to affirm are the basis of what we teach. Here is a children’s version of the seven principles:
1st Principle: We believe that each and every person is important.
2nd Principle: We believe that all people should be treated fairly and kindly.
3rd Principle: We believe that we should accept one another and keep on learning together.
4th Principle: We believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life.
5th Principle: We believe that all persons should have a vote about the things that concern them.
6th Principle: We believe in working for a peaceful, fair, and free world.
7th Principle: We believe in caring for our planet Earth, the home we share with all living things.