Who: Everyone! We will all begin together in Worship and children and youth will be sung out after the Wisdom Story. Parents and caregivers are welcome to come downstairs with their kids to meet the teachers and find out where to pick up your kiddo if they are in 4th grade or under.
What: We’ll spend this first Sunday together getting to know each other, creating a group covenant, and playing some ice breaker games.
When: This Sunday morning, September 15th at 11:15 am. Child care for kiddos 4 and under is available beginning at 10:45 in room 2 downstairs. Youth in grades 5 and up will be dismissed at the end of class (between 12:15-12:30 pm) to find their families upstairs. Please make sure that your kids know where to find you and that they need to come straight to you. Kids in grades 4 and under should be picked up from their classroom or the playground by 12:30 pm at the latest. Please be conscientious about picking up your kiddos, this is important to honor the time that our collaborators are dedicating to our children and youth every week. You can find out what’s happening every week in Sunday Morning Faith Formation here!
Where: At UU AVL of course! Here are the classroom assignments for this year:
K-2nd Grade – The Commons
3rd-4th Grade – RE 5
5th-6th Grade – RE 6
7th-9th Grade Crossing Paths – RE 3
9th-12th Grade YRUU – 23 Edwin Place (just down the street from the main building)
A few more reminders:
- Please remember that outside of FF group time, parents and caregivers are responsible for supervising their children and making sure that they are always within your eyesight, or that of another designated adult.
- We are a multigenerational community with folks of all ages and abilities. Please remind your children and youth to use courtesy when on campus. This means no running inside (only okay on the playground) and that we need to be aware of our surroundings (this goes for adults too) in order to make sure we are not blocking access to anything or impeding someone else moving around.
- We are a neurodiverse community! Some of our members may have some sensory issues and need to use adaptive tools like headphones or fidgets, or engage in stimming. That’s okay here and we welcome everyone to come as they are. It’s important to get consent before touching someone, especially if they are not looking at you – this can be really uncomfortable and triggering for some people. Please talk to your kiddos about this before Sunday morning.
- We want you to feel comfortable doing what you need to do for your family while you are with us. You have choices on Sunday: your kids are welcome to stay in Worship with you for the whole time and you are welcome to attend Faith Formation groups with your kids. Sandburg Hall is available for anyone who needs to move around more, stim, or just prefers not to be so close to others. The Worship service will always be streaming there.
- Our expectation is that everyone will attend the beginning of Worship together for the opening and the Wisdom Story. This is time for our whole community to be together every week and it’s really important! Our kids learn how to be in Worship by being in Worship! As I said above, if you need to be in Sandburg Hall instead of the Sanctuary, that’s totally fine.
A note about our Wee Worship area at the front of the Sanctuary. We introduced this special space in early 2022 as a way to be more inclusive of families and young children in our Worship space. We know that children need to be included and involved in Worship in order to become adults who are involved with Worship and seeking out faith communities. We chose to place this area at the front of our Sanctuary so that children can see and hear everything that is happening in Worship. This is key for our kiddos to learn about our faith and engage with our rituals. Our Wee Worship space is stocked with quiet activities for little hands to use while still engaging with the service. There are coloring supplies, soft blocks, play food, and lacing cards – all things that are intended for children to engage with individually so that they can still tune in to Worship. Parents and caregivers are responsible for supervising their kiddos during Worship. This means that our expectation is that you will sit nearby (we know that the first pew gets crowded!) and pay attention to your children so that you can redirect if needed. We are not striving for silence, which would be impossible with that many people in one room, but we are hoping to keep voices low and keep talking to a minimum. This is all part of the process of learning how to be together in worship – our community is a work in progress! I want to be clear that children and youth belong in Worship and should be seen and heard in all parts of congregational life – please let me know if you’d like to get your family involved in Worship by signing up to be chalice lights or help out with greeting on Sunday mornings! We also need readers and we would welcome some youth Worship Associates as well.
Do you need to meet with me and/or other Faith Formation staff? Let us know! We are typically all available on Sundays and Tuesday-Thursday during the week and we’d be happy to set up a time to discuss whatever is on your mind about Faith Formation.
In faith, Kim Collins, Lifespan Religious Educator