Sunday morning, September 22, 2024

Text of the ritual:

Good morning. I am the Coordinator of Religious Education at UUSS. Today we mark the start of a new program year in RE. Here is what our volunteers and staff will be offering.

• Children from grades 1 through 5 will participate in Soul Kids during the service every Sunday. Among other things, we have a series focused on the new UU principles using Legos.
• Our Youth Groups will begin on the first Sunday of October, both for senior high youth and middle-school aged youth. They will meet during the service on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month for community building through conversation, support, service projects, and other fun activities.
• Also starting next month, we will offer Our Whole Lives, or OWL. OWL is a Unitarian Universalist sexuality-education program which is values based and age-appropriate. It’s led by trained volunteer teachers. [OWL is a special program requiring a separate registration and adult attendance at a parent/guardian orientation before the program starts.]
• And of course, we continue to have professional childcare every Sunday morning, and we appreciate the parents and other volunteers who step in to help when there’s a need in the nursery.

REV. ROGER: As we start this year, let us remember that Unitarian Universalism is a faith that has the power to save lives, to shape lives, to sweeten and soften the lives of children and teenagers who are living in a world that can sometimes be harsh, lonely, unjust, and unkind.

May our programs be a source of belonging for our children and youth, a place that holds them in love. May it give them strength as they navigate their complex and rich lives and grow into the people who they are meant to be.

REV. LUCY: Now we offer a moment of blessing. If you are a child or youth, if you’re willing, please take the hand of a parent or another trusted grownup as you receive this blessing. Adults, all you adults here and online, please place a hand over your heart.

ROGER: If you are a current, past or upcoming volunteer in RE or you are thinking about it, I want you to know that our young people will remember you in the years to come. They will remember you because you will make a difference in their lives. Now I have some questions for you. As you serve our youth and children, will you invite their questions and ideas, listen to their joys and sorrows, and give them the gift of your authentic and steady presence? If so, answer, “We will.” In this important ministry, do you promise to work together as a team, supporting one another with your creativity and reliability? If so, answer, “We will.” In serving together, we wish/ you: patience and strength and wisdom. We wish you grace and good humor.

LUCY: If you are a parent, grandparent, or other responsible adult for a child or youth in our congregation, I have a question for you. Will you help your children and youth as they build community here? Will you get to know the volunteers and staff who serve them, and learn about the program, ask questions, and offer to help out in the program? If so, answer “We will.”

COORDINATOR: And now, we ask all the adults of this congregation, will you recognize, affirm and protect the light in the heart of each child and youth? If so, answer, “We will.”

ROGER: Will you support their religious upbringing by making this a place of joyful welcome, a place where they feel known, and know they are loved? If so, answer, “We will.”

LUCY: And as you are called, will you support this ministry with our children with your time, your treasure, your talent? If so, answer, “We will.”

ROGER: Now, everybody here in person and online please repeat after me:

We dedicate ourselves to learning and growing together.
We appreciate our ministries of Religious Education.
We celebrate our community! Amen and blessed be!

Source: Lauren Wyeth, adapted by Susan Frederick-Gray and Roger Jones.