Job Opening: Child Care Coordinator
The First Unitarian Universalist Church, Rochester, Minnesota, a Welcoming Congregation, is actively seeking qualified candidates for the position of Child Care Coordinator. The position is part-time, approximately 4-6 hours per week, beginning immediately.
The First Unitarian Universalist Church in Rochester, Minnesota has roots in the community going back to 1860 and has a congregation of 385 members, with an average Sunday morning Nursery attendance of about 5 children per service. The Child Care Coordinator oversees the operation of the Sunday morning Nursery Care at the Church and coordinates Child Care during other church activities as needed. Key responsibilities include:
Requirements for the position include:
Additional details and a full job description are available upon request.
For an employment application, please contact Ryan Shriver, Director of Religious Education, First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1727 Walden Lane, Rochester, MN 55902, telephone: (507) 282-5209 or send an email to dre@uurochmn.org.
Posted: July 9, 2010
Post Sermon Discussion: Discussions of the Sunday Service Topics
Tuesday Evenings June-August at 7:00 p.m. in the Hearth (on the first Tuesdays of each month we will meet in the Chapel). Join us for a weekly discussion of the previous Sunday's sermon. When possible, we will be joined by the presenter of the service.
The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Wednesday Evenings, Murray Room from 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Come join us to find a path to higher creativity. This book by Julia Cameron is a book that will help you discover and recover your creativity. It can help those who see themselves as an artist and those who wish to be an artist. By making small changes in the daily and weekly life we can change how we look upon life spiritually, emotionally and physically. Meetings are Wednesday Nights from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. starting May 26 for 13 sessions skipping the Wednesday before and after the 4th of July. Sign up in the Commons.
A Course in Miracles (ACIM)
The study group will initially meet on the second and fourth Mondays each month, at 10:00 a.m. in the Clara Barton Room on the second floor in the Religious Education Wing.
ACIM offers a system of metaphysical thought based on the unconditional love of God and forgiveness, and the desire only to be truly helpful. The Course is challenging in many ways, including intellectual, psychological, spiritual, and emotional. Study groups for this usually involve taking turns reading the text aloud, and stopping to discuss ideas that invite questioning or commentary. While it is helpful to have some participants who have studied the Course, active, thoughtful participation is what enriches the study. More information about A Course in Miracles is available on the web at http://www.acim.org/ It is not necessary to have a copy of the book to participate in the group. All are welcome.
A Chosen Faith Book Study
7:00 p.m. Hearth, meetings are the second Monday of each month
The Chosen Faith Book Study will continue to meet throughout the year. Books focusing on Unitarian Universalist writings will be discussed. Meetings are the second Monday of each month. All are welcome to join the discussion.
Buddhist Interest Group
7:00 p.m. Clara Barton
If you are interested in exploring Buddhism from a UU perspective, please join us. There is a short meditation period followed by a discussion. We meet the fourth Thursday of each month. Please join us.
Preschool - 1st Grade
Offered at both services: 9 a.m. & 11 am
The Chalice Children curriculum introduces our young ones to the basics of our Unitarian Universalist faith. They will learn about the chalice, what it means and how we use it in our faith practice - from our classrooms to the sanctuary. They will learn about their religious community, engage in a sharing process with others, and explore a sense of belonging.
Chalice Children will be offered for our preschool-1st grade class for the 2009-2010 year. During this year, we will continue to offer trainings for RE teachers in the Spirit Play curriculum and prepare to offer it the following year. Spirit Play and Chalice Children alternate every other year, allowing children to have both the valuable curricula of Chalice Children with the creativity and freedom of Spirit Play.
Spirit Play offers children opportunities...
2nd and 3rd Grades - 11 a.m. service only
Our second and third grade class will embark on Faithful Journeys - a new Tapestry of Faith curriculum. As Pathfinders, our children explore faith as a pilgrimage and discuss, through shared inquiry, how Unitarian Universalism translates into life choices and everyday actions. In each session, they listen to stories of historic or contemporary examples of Unitarian Universalist faith in action and have opportunities to share and affirm their own stories of faithful action. This curriculum emphasizes that our principles are not dogma, but a credo that they can affirm with many kinds of action.
4th and 5th grades - 11 a.m. service only
In 2008-2009 our 4th and 5th graders completed the Toolbox of Faith curriculum. This fall, we return to the In our Hands curriculum which focuses on peace and social justice. This curriculum will prepare them for leadership with our monthly social justice work in the community and leave time for the 8 session OWL curriculum in the spring. As Keepers of the Flame, our 4th and 5th graders will explore how our UU principles guide us internally and compel us to take action in the world.
6th grade - 11 a.m. service only
Our 6th grade class will be the first in our church to explore Amazing Grace, a UUA Tapestry of Faith curriculum that is in the beta test phase. Amazing Grace is designed to equip 6th graders with the spiritual and analytical means to move safely and productively through the middle- and high school years, when they will be continually tugged toward both ends of the ethics continuum. It is also a deeper exploration of what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist which provides a sound preparation for OWL and Coming of Age.
Youth are an important part of who we are and we value their presence and participation!
We encourage and support youth in their quest for faith development, fun, and fellowship. Relationships that grow during adolescence have lifelong significance.
Sunday morning classes are offered for Middle and High School ages youth from 10:45 to noon each week during the academic school year. Classes begin again on September 13th, 2009. Registration for our religious education classes for youth is required and opportunities to register will begin in August and continue through October. Guests and visitors are welcome to most youth classes. Occasionally, a class becomes a "closed group" in order to provide a safe and nurturing environment for participants.
Coming of Age (Grades 8-9)
Offered: 2009-2010
Our 8th - 9th graders will be offered Coming of Age this year, so many volunteers are needed! As is tradition on our church, Coming of Age will be combined with a condensed version of Neighboring Faiths. The Coming of Age program consists of four main parts: pairing youth with adult mentors; discussions and retreats that emphasize self-awareness and confidence-building; service to the church and community; and a culminating affirmation ceremony. Neighboring Faiths involves actively learning about other faith practices in our community - and field trips to various places of worship.
OWL - Human Sexuality Curriculum (Grades 8-9)
Offered: 2010-2011
Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It 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 provides not only facts about anatomy and human development, but helps participants to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.
Our Whole Lives uses approaches that work. The curricula are based on the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education produced by the National Guidelines Task Force, a group of leading health, education, and sexuality professionals assembled by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). See the UUA OWL site for more information.
Dare to Know - By Jeff Liebmann
Dare To Know: “Isms” Linking Humanism and Unitarian Universalism for High School Youth
This year-long curriculum for high school youth introduces participants to Humanism and to other contemporary “isms.” Rather than provide definitive answers to questions about the nature of existence or the purpose of life, this program uses a discussion format to give participants tools for finding their own answers.
The curriculum is divided into five modules: “Origins of Humanist Thought,” “The Tools of the Humanist,” “Humanism and Social Relations,” “Humanism, Politics, and Economics,” and “Humanism and the World.”
Goals for Participants:
D.A.R.E.
D.A.R.E. is a cooperative program in which law enforcement and the school district join together to educate students about the personal and social consequences of substance abuse. The D.A.R.E. lessons and follow-up activities also focus on strategies for anger management and violence prevention. The concepts and skills emphasized in the D.A.R.E. program are sequentially developed to extend from kindergarten through junior and senior high school.
The aim of the senior high school D.A.R.E. project is to extend the information and reinforce the skills students need to enable them (1) to act in their own best interest when facing high-risk, low-gain choices and (2) to resist peer pressure and other influences in making their personal choices. Equal emphasis is placed on helping students to recognize and cope with feelings of anger without causing harm to themselves or others and without resorting to violence or the use of alcohol and drugs.
Thinking the Web - Unitarian Universalism and Controversial Moral Issues for High School by Jeff Liebmann
Web site www.pitt.edu/~jdl1/ uucurric.htm
This year-long curriculum for high-school youth investigates political, constitutional, and legal issues facing the United States. After instruction in the techniques of "systematic thinking dispositions," it moves on to discussions such as issues abortion, death with dignity, the legalization of drugs, censorship and pornography in the media, capital punishment, gun control, weapons of mass destruction, and peacemaking versus just war. Goals for Participants:
Source: UUA website