Our religious education program encourages open inquiry into life’s questions, respect for individuals, our community and our world, and the desire to be involved with social action projects.  Our Co-Interim Directors of Religious Education are Carol Greve & Barbara Kean, who can be reached at RE@fpc-stow-acton.org. We are currently searching for a full time DRE and you can learn more by reading the DRE Job Description, 2008  Sunday mornings begin with everyone gathering for Family Worship in the Sanctuary at 10:00 am.

We light this chalice... To celebrate     Unitarian Universalism. This is the church     of the open mind. This is the church     of the helping hands. This is the church     of the loving heart. - UU curriculum “Treasure Hunting”

 The Nursery is open during the Family Worship time and children ages 3 and under may be dropped off prior to the service.  “A Story for All Ages” or an anthem by the Children’s or Youth Choir is included before children and youth proceed to their classrooms with their Religious Education leaders.  Snack is served in the classrooms.  Parents must pick up their children by 11:30 am.  Children in pre-K and the nursery are picked up immediately after service.

Several times throughout the year we have Multigenerational Services, where families are invited to attend the entire service together and Religious Education classes are not offered.  The Nursery is available during these services for young children as well as infants.  Periodically we offer Group or Community RE, a Sunday morning program in which children of all ages participate together in a thematic group activity. We also host a variety of special events aimed at the children.

Our classes follow a Pillar Approach.  Each year classes for all grade levels cover the same set of themes (pillars) at the same time throughout the year.  The Pillars change from year to year.  The theme in church worship is often reflected in our RE classes, which provides families one way to share religious conversation.  Over the past several years, our Pillars have included: 

• (2007-2008) Social Justice, UU History and Identity, UU Principles
• (2006-2007) World Religions, Science and Nature
• (2005-2006) Diversity, Living with Loss, Judeo-Christian Roots

All children who attend our program must be registered, but we encourage new families to visit a few times before registering.  We also ask that a photo permission form be filled out for all children in our program.  Please visit our registration page for the required forms.

Ours is a cooperative program run almost entirely by volunteers.  Please visit our volunteer page to find out more about our many volunteer opportunities.

For Children

• Church school for preschool children through grade 8 is held Sundays from about 10:15, after a short time in the Sanctuary with their families, until 11:30.  Pre-K children are to be picked up immediately following the service.  Pre-K classes are located to the rear of the vestry on the lower level of the main church building, next to the nursery.  All other classes meet downstairs in Fellowship Hall, across the parking lot.  Please speak with our Director of Religious Education or any teacher for assistance in locating an appropriate classroom.
• Nursery care is available for children up to age 3 from 10:00 to 11:15 AM each Sunday.  It is located to the rear of the vestry on the lower level of the main church building.  The Nursery is supervised by our Child Care Coordinator with assistance of volunteer parents.
• Several children’s choirs are offered as well.  Please visit our music page to learn more about our music programs.

For Youth

Please visit our youth programs page for more details on our youth programming.

• Youth in grades 7-8 attend classes on Sundays from 10:15, after a short time in the Sanctuary with their families, until 11:30.  In addition, we offer a Junior Youth group.
• High School age youth attend services with their families in the Sanctuary.  We also have a Senior Youth group.
• Our Coming of Age program provides a spiritual program for youth in transition from adolescence to young adulthood.
• We offer an OWL (Our Whole Lives, Sexuality and Our Faith) program to our 8th graders in conjunction with other UU churches in the area.