Your child’s first Sunday at UFWC

 

Thinking about visiting us? We look forward to meeting you!

 

Here are a some things you can do to help your child feel comfortable:

 

  1. Arrive early (around 8:45 a.m.)
  2. Look for the special RE Greeter in the lobby. This is a member of the Religious Education Committee who arrives early on Sundays to welcome parents and their children.
  3. In addition to signing the Guest Book at the greeters’ table, please fill out a Visiting Child Registration form. This gives you the opportunity to list any information that will help us help your child have the best possible experience.
  4. Go on a tour of the RE classrooms. If possible (depending on the number of visitors on a Sunday) the RE Greeter or another member of the Religious Education Committee will invite you to go downstairs so that you and your child can see where he/she will be during the service. Let your child spend a few moments in his/her classroom.
  5. Meet the teachers. Your child’s teacher may already be in class, in which case the Greeter will introduce the teacher to your child.
  6. Relax and enjoy the adult service. We have found that most children, even shy ones, quickly feel at home with the other children and settle happily into the morning’s activities. However, if your child should express continued distress, someone will come up to the sanctuary to get you.
  7. Feel free to spend the morning in class with your child. Parents are always welcome in class, and some spend all or part of the first Sunday with their child. We know you’ll enjoy it!
  8. If your child is either unable to go or to stay downstairs, he or she is welcome to stay with you in the sanctuary for the service, or in the lobby if he/she gets too restless. (There are speakers in the lobby so that you can hear the service.)
  9. After the service is over, we ask that parents of children from infant to fifth grade retrieve their children immediately following the service, but not before 10:00. (Sometimes a service lets out before we have finished our activities downstairs.)
  10. During the week, expect a call from our Director of Religious Education. She likes to follow up with parents to find out how a child’s day in class went, and to answer any questions you might have.
  11. Feel free to contact the Director of Religious Education with questions you may have either before or after your visit. (email: DRE)
  12. Read through the RE Brochure available on this website. Go over the basics with your child before Sunday.
  13. Please note the following basic logistics:
    1. On most Sundays the children go downstairs at 9:00. Older children go directly to their classes. Children from Pre-K through fifth grade gather before class for a brief Children’s Worship. We light the chalice, say our chalice lighting words*, and light candles to mark happy or sad events.

                                              i.     Following Children’s Worship, the children either go to classes or stay together as a group for a Social Action or other activity.

                                             ii.     About 10 minutes before the end of class, a snack is served.

    1. About once each month, we all gather upstairs for worship. These “intergenerational” or family services are offered at both the 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. meeting times and are clearly identified in our newsletter and on our website.

 

 

If you should have any questions before your visit, please contact Pam Baxter, our Director of Religious Education, at email: DRE.

 

We look forward to meeting and welcoming you and your children!

 

 

 

*Our Chalice Lighting Words:

 

We light this chalice,

The symbol of Unitarian Universalism.

This is the church of the open mind,

The loving heart,

And the helping hands.