All children and youth from first through twelfth grade are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings in our Spiritual Exploration classroom. The classroom is a safe space for our youth to explore their beliefs and truths while being guided by our seven principles and six sources. The children begin Sunday morning with their parents in the Sanctuary and then are “sung out” to their classroom.
Our Spiritual Exploration year runs from September through June following the same monthly themes that are being observed in the sanctuary. Our in-gathering service is our Water Communion that takes place in mid-September and is a multi-generational service. There is a multi-generational service once a month that allows all of us to be together in the sanctuary as a beloved community, and it gives the children and youth an opportunity to be a part of the service in a meaningful and mindful way. The year ends in mid-June with our multi-generational Flower Communion service.
Our monthly themes for the 2024 – 2025 year are as follows …
September – Invitation
October – Deep Listening
November – Repair
December – Presence
January – Story
February – Inclusion
March – Trust
April – Joy
May – Imagination
June – Freedom
We follow our Safe Congregation Policy. The Spiritual Exploration Director and all teachers working with youth and children must have the required clearances and all children and youth in the program must be registered. Once registered, monthly emails will go out to the parent(s) and/or guardian(s) providing information on what is being taught in the classroom and about any special events that may be taking place such as seasonal festivals or field trips.
If you are interested in more information about the SE program or would like to be included in our monthly newsletter, please submit your information and we will be in touch!
Our Seven Principles:
- 1st Principle – the inherent worth and dignity of every person
- 2nd Principle – justice, equity and compassion in human relations
- 3rd Principle – acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
- 4th Principle – a free and responsible search for truth and meaning
- 5th Principle – the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large
- 6th Principle – the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
- 7th Principle – respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part
Our Six Sources:
- Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life
- Words and deeds of prophetic people which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love
- Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life
- Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves
- Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit
- Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature
