Religious Exploration at LOUUC

Growth and Learning Program

• Kid Sunday. On the first Sunday of the month, families meet after the service for a shared activity. These are often service activities like making truffles to sell at coffee hour to raise money for local charities. Other times, we learn about world religions by participating in celebrations like throwing paint for the Hindu holiday Holi.
  
• Pizza Church. That is currently on the third Friday of every month at 6 pm. However, we sometimes change the day and time if it doesn't work for the majority of our families who come to kid events consistently.  At Pizza Church, we all have dinner together and then do a short lesson on one of our UU values through a story and a craft.  
• AKorner. An inclusive sanctuary space, where parents can choose either to sit in the sanctuary while their kids play in the toy and craft area at the front or watch the service from a semi-soundproof room in the back, with even more toys and activities. Additionally, our worship includes a kid-oriented storybook that complements a story-centered sermon.  This gives families a shared starting point for further discussion. 
   
• Family Meet-Ups at congregational events like our weekly summer BBQs and monthly board game nights. 

Coming of Age is an innovative, year-long program for grades eight through High School, dependent on a critical mass of active Live Oak youth in that age bracket (minimum of three). The program engages them in reflection on their lives as they move closer adulthood. The primary purpose of this program is to help youth discern for themselves what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist – individually and as part of the larger faith community. This is a bridge program with reflection activities, social justice projects, experiences with a variety of spiritual practices, and lessons that help with values clarification. All of the activities aim to assist youth in moving from childhood to young adulthood. The Coming of Age ceremony usually features the youth reading their statements of personal belief (credo statements) to the congregation.

Purpose:

• To encourage youth to explore what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist:
• To help youth move into the adult role of identifying and acting on personal beliefs and values;
• To recognize and publicly honor the movement of a youth from childhood to adolescence within the Unitarian Universalist tradition;
• To integrate our youth into Unitarian Universalism for the continuation of our heritage and development of personal values;
• To provide parents with support and opportunity to help in their children’s faith development;
• To provide adults in our congregation the opportunity to explore their own values and put them into practice by being instrumental in the development of our youth. 

Our Whole Lives

Our Whole Lives is a sexuality education curriculum that helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. To offer the program, there must be at least six willing participants within a particular age group (see below). For the youth courses, parental permission is required. OWL equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives (OWL) not only provides facts about anatomy and human development, but also helps participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, personal, and social aspects of sexuality.

OWL curriculum is offered for 4 grade levels; K-First; Fourth-Sixth grades, 7-9, and 10-12. The 7-9 curriculum is a companion program for Coming of Age. There is also curriculum for older adults. 

For more information see the UUA website.

Adult Religious Exploration takes many forms, from Small-Group Ministries, like Covenant Groups, who meet monthly to listen and share deeply about a theme or question; Book Group; Women's Circle; Men's Connection, Movie Nights, Coffee with the Minister, or programs on contemplative, spiritual, philosophical and social issues. Using a shared ministry approach congregants and minister work together to design courses, workshops, and experiences that edge us forward on our lifelong journey for truth and meaning. We encourage involvement and suggestions from Live Oak members and friends.