Welcome to Lifespan Religious Education at the First Church in Salem, Unitarian Universalist!

Whether you are brand new to Unitarian Universalism or you grew up in this faith, whether you are 8 or 80, First Church has Religious Education Programming for you.

What is Lifespan Religious Education?

When people think of Religious Education (RE), they often think of children’s Sunday School. While this is a large part of our RE program, the need for religious education and exploration does not come to an end at 18. At First Church, we are a community of lifelong learners. We offer a wide variety of programming—some for children and youth, some for adults, and some that is intergenerational.

 

Children and Youth

At First Church, we provide engaging and nurturing religious education opportunities for our children and youth on Sunday mornings and beyond.

On Sunday mornings, all children start out in the service with their families at 10:30 (although little ones are welcome to go to the nursery with a grown-up if that’s more comfortable for them). We gather together at the front of the Meeting House for the Time For All Ages, and then head off to Sunday School together. These programs end at 11:45 (ten to fifteen minutes after the end of the service). Feel free to go straight to Coffee Hour—we will bring the kids in when we’re all set and make sure that they connect with you. We currently have three groups running:

  • Explorers (grades K-4): An active class with games and crafts

  • Navigators (grades 5-8): A more reflective class with projects and discussions

  • High School Youth (grades 9-12): A class for older youth to deeply explore their UU Faith and personal beliefs. This class will build on last year’s Coming of Age program, but is also open to newcomers.

If you have a child who is under 5, we also have a nursery space upstairs. One parent must stay with children in the nursery.

This year, we are also offering OWL for 7th and 8th graders, in conjunction with the UU Church of Greater Lynn. OWL begins on October 1, and includes a parent orientation. Contact Theo Burbank at fcreligioused@gmail.com if you are interested.

For more information, visit our Children and Youth Programming page.

If you are interested in you child or children attending our RE program, please fill out a registration form. This helps us plan ahead and ensures we have important safety information.

Adult Programming

First Church offers many different types of adult programming, based around different ways that we can engage with our faith:

  • The Head: cerebral activities, such as lectures, discussion groups, book clubs, and writing workshops

  • The Hands: hands-on activities, such as crafting, yoga, recycling and re-use workshops, and more

  • The Heart: social justice-focused activities, such as advocacy programs and working with local charitable organizations

  • Community: activities that might not seem spiritual on the surface, but help us engage in the spiritual work of getting to know each other better and forming community, such as story slams, game nights, and group field trips

For more information, visit our Adult Programming page.

Lifespan RE Calendar

Take a look at all of the events coming up at First Church. You can find a brief description of each event here, and a more in-depth description on the Children and Youth Programming and Adult Programming pages.