OUR LEARNING COMMUNITY

In our religious community, we are learning together and teaching each other all the time.  Religious education is a lifelong process of learning how to relate to the mysteries of life, to each other, and to the larger community.  Our lifespan religious education program includes aspects of religious study, spiritual practice, and ethical development.

We challenge and support each other in our individual spiritual journeys and in our collective religious journey.  We offer our children nurturance and guidance as they develop and learn to live out their beliefs and values—even as we, as adults, are developing and learning to live out our beliefs and values. 

We honor many sources of truth, and we are open to new ways of understanding.  We take responsibility for our own actions in the world, and we ask lots of questions.   We learn from the wisdom of science and nature, of the world’s religions, and of prophetic women and men.  We trust our own experiences and listen to the stories of others.

We learn and teach in classrooms and in the sanctuary; engaged in facilitated discussion or in casual conversation; through working together to host a soup kitchen or while playing a game together.

Planned learning opportunities for adults may include classes, workshops, and presentations on a wide variety of topics such as world religions, Unitarian Universalist history or theology, spiritual autobiography, or ethical decision-making.

As framed by the Religious Education Board, the mission of the Religious Education program for children and youth at the Unitarian Church of Evanston is to prepare them for lifelong faith development by creating a feeling of community where they feel safe to be themselves and explore ideas; fostering a way of thinking about and experiencing faith, grounded in our principles; and teaching content on Unitarian Universalism and other faiths.  The program encourages children to think independently, develop strong moral fiber and respect for all people, and to reflect these beliefs in their actions towards others.  The program is not fee-based and depends on volunteer support.  

Dozens of volunteers teach children, advise our youth, care for our infants and toddlers, assist in Family Worship and Parents’ Café, and lead intergenerational social action programs.  We foster intergenerational relationships in our community through participation in worship services, family friendship dinners, potlucks and board game nights.

Opportunities for learning and teaching are many.  The journey promises to be an exciting one.

The Rev. Connie Grant, Minister for Lifespan Religious Education

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION BOARD

Nine members elected for 3-year terms by the congregation work with the Minister for Lifespan Religious Education to plan and implement a Religious Education Program for Children and Youth that fulfills our mission. Each Religious Education Board member is actively engaged in supporting the program, serving as liaisons to individual classes and planning special activities for the program and for the congregation at large. Religious Education Board members in 2009-2010 are as follows:

TERMS ENDING JUNE 2010: Rachelle Brooks, Janet Hartmann, Linda LaPlante; TERMS ENDING JUNE 2011: Joe Berghammer, Kat Falls, Sandy McNabb (Chair) TERMS ENDING JUNE 2012: Lee Bannor, Andrew Bernstein, Dana Deane