As we wait for the spring weather to finally break the winter chills, the Children’s Faith Formation Team is thinking about Fall. On Sunday, April 5th, members of the team, teachers, volunteers, and parents met for a Planning Retreat. We discussed their goals for the programs, debriefed what has and has not worked, and made plans for the coming year.
To begin, we asked what folks are hoping children get out of RE. Some responses were “Community,” “Being Seen and Safe,” and “Learning about our faith and values.”
We also identified some growing edges in our programs, which included “clearer explanation of the long-term plan,” “creating more multi-age connections,” and “teacher spiritual care,” among others. This list gave some solid building blocks to great goals for next year.
We also evaluated what each age group needed. As we discussed their developmental needs and milestones, our goals for each age group began to take shape. In the next couple of months, we will be working to refine and expand each goal.
- Pre-K – To help children become familiar with their environment, community, and classroom structure, while reinforcing positive values and behaviors.
- Lower Elementary – To foster a sense of belonging and purpose, engage with rituals, connect with the spiritual life of the congregation, and actively contribute to the broader community.
- Upper Elementary – To develop students into role models who actively inquire, think critically, act responsibly, apply values, take ownership, and expand their knowledge of history to contribute to the congregation.
- Middle School – To guide students through self-discovery and identity formation, offering a safe space for exploration. Help them understand external influences, encourage self-reflection, and equip them to make informed choices and build healthy relationships. Foster a positive self-identity for their future well-being.
After a short break to check in on the little ones, we got to the business of forming a plan. The details of this plan are still being hammered out, but we laid a great foundation. The first part was to review a survey that went out to all the families and teachers on our lists. This included active families, former participants, visitors, teachers, and volunteers. We offered up seven religious education schedule options. These included current and past schedules, alternative ones like having RE every other week during the full service, and shortening the RE hour. After tabulating the scores of each option (The report of the survey can be found here) and looking at all of the write-in responses, the folks in attendance had a clear favorite. Though there was no perfect schedule, the one that made the most sense was our current schedule with the Service at 10:00 am, Social (half) Hour at 11:00 am, and Religious Education Hour at 11:30.
We then explored different options for class offerings within that schedule. We sought to address the growing edges we have identified. We took aim at all of our goals. We decided that we could not do all of that work within the time frame of that day. So we formed task forces, created to-do lists, and set deadlines. It is our hope to get back to you with more concrete information within the next few weeks.
I want to take some time to thank everyone in attendance for offering their honest feedback, fresh ideas, and incredible teamwork. I particularly want to thank Sheila Battaglia, who hung out with our children while we had this discussion. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without her. And we want to thank all of you for your support as we continue to navigate these changing times so that we can foster another generation of kind, thoughtful, and justice-minded UUs.