Religious Education for Children

What do Unitarian Universalists teach their children?

"The great end in religious instruction is not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own..."

-William Ellery Channing

We believe that from birth, children's lives are filled with naturally religious and spiritual experiences, their sense of wonder and exploration, their play, their experience of family and friendship, and their endless questions about the world around them.

Our goal as religious educators is therefore to help children develop their own spiritual and religious life within a loving, accepting and inspiring community.

Our aim is to help them become compassionate, caring and thoughtful adults who are able to think and feel deeply about the world, and to act from their beliefs.

We encourage children to discuss and question as they learn, forming their own ides and beliefs while learning to respect the religious traditions of others.

We use award-winning Unitarian Universalist curricula, but our real learning arises out of many different sources, including the child's own experience. We use stories, songs, worship, activities and games from different cultures and religions, as well as from our liberal religious heritage.

As a liberal religious community, we do our best to live our values of love and acceptance into life in the world. By example and education, we encourage our children to do the same.

It should be noted that at this time we are hoping to re-establish our religious education programme for children. We are seeking young families to join our caring and friendly congregation, so that we can re-instate the active children's programme which has been successful over our 30 years as a Unitarian Fellowship, until very recently.

We look forward to seeing you and your family at Northwest, learning and growing together.

To Question is the Answer!

Adult Education

Unitarians believe that religious education is a lifelong endeavour  that the human heart is always asking questions and seeking new answers to life's mysteries. Out of this desire comes a wide variety of life-span religious education programs for adults as well as children.

Our adult program varies according to the interests, desires and needs of our community. Past, present and future programs include: creativity and worship, Unitarian Universalist history, writing a spiritual autobiography, planning rites of passage, the new UU, our chosen faith and many others. Newcomer orientations, dinners for 8, potlucks, games nights, music appreciation, community breakfasts, and other gatherings build fellowship and community spirit at Northwest, helping each of us to feel a part of a vital and caring community.