Religious Education
Director of Religious Education: Lisa Wellens
Sunday Activities
Sunday Service:
Children begin each Sunday in fellowship with the congregation. After the story for all ages, they go to their age-appropriate classrooms. We offer children’s religious education at both services as follows:
1st Service – 9:30
Nursery through Preschool
Primary Class (K-2)
Intermediate Class (3-5)
Tweens (6-8)
2nd Service – 11:15
Nursery through Preschool
Primary Class (K-2)
Intermediate Class (3-5)
YRUU (9-12)
Class Organization
We offer a total of five classes for our fellowship's children and youth. They are as follows:
Nursery/Pre-School - For infants and children to four years old, this program begins with a candle-lighting circle time followed by free play and craft time. The children play outdoors in the pre-school play yard, supervised by adults, then have snacks while listening to a story in the classroom. The class is taught by Bob Kintz and Jasmine Maldonado.
Primary (K through 2nd grade) and Intermediate (3rd through 5th grade) age groups are exploring the multi-age curriculum called Spirit of Adventure. This is an active Unitarian Universalist Identity curriculum for children using the themes of sports, medicine, food, science, building, exploring and the web of life as ways to discover the people and values of our Unitarian Universalist faith.
Tweens (6th through 8th grade) The Tweens are exploring the curriculum Traditions with a Wink. This program offers a comprehensive UU identity course for middle school students. The lessons use diverse sources such as the Internet, the UU hymnbook Singing the Living Tradition, the Bible, UU history, and UU rituals including the Flower Communion along with opportunities for social nights and service projects for each section of the program.
Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU)
14 to 20 year old youth group
sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association. Our YRUU group meets
every Sunday in the library during the service for worship, discussion and social
action.
Religious Education Committee Meeting
The Religious Education Committee meets the second Thursday of every month at 7:00 PM in the intermediate classroom.
For additional information about our Religious Education Program, please contact Director of Religious Education Lisa Wellens: lawellens@roadrunner.com
Our Butterfly Garden
About two years ago, Sunday School teachers Maria Orozco-Newton and Laura Versaci and their classes planted a vegetable garden with help from parents. After harvesting their veggies for a fellowship luncheon, they decided to create a Butterfly Garden to attract bees, butterflies and birds to the property. Everyone has since enjoyed watching the colorful garden flourish. Bees, butterflies and birds also enjoy this 15 by 60 ft. garden on the fellowship's five-acre parcel. Parent James Newton has been very helpful, spending many hours weeding and watering while the children are in their classes.
Backyard Wildlife Habitat
A Backyard Wildlife Habitat project evolved from the creation of the Butterfly Garden. An effort began to re-landscape the fellowship's property in preparation for a future new building and additional parking space. After the five-acre site was graded, Bob Kintz, a retired educator who was then Building and Grounds Chair, planned and planted several acres with a multitude of native and drought resistant trees, shrubs and flowering plants. Native plants indigenous to the site were coaxed back to life. Eugene Mielcarek, a retired biology teacher, who served as a consultant, collected acorns from nearby California Live Oak trees. After the acorns sprouted and grew in pots, the young oak trees were transplanted in what became an Arboretum. Two feeding stations, painted and decorated by pre-school children, and a water source were added to the habitat for birds and small mammals. Birdhouses were placed within the area for Western Bluebirds and Wrens. Twelve species of birds reside throughout the year in the Arboretum and the Butterfly Garden. About twenty-five species of birds have been identified in the habitat where rabbits and squirrels also find food and shelter. The whole project, the 2 1/2 acre Arboretum and the Butterfly Garden, earned a Certificate of Achievement from the National Wildlife Federation in 2001. Representatives from San Diego County Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships are welcome to tour the Backyard Wildlife Habitat, an "island" for wildlife in the midst of urban development.