Children & Youth Religious Education

Caregivers come to UU Wausau for a community that helps raise children to become kind, respectful, fair-minded, caring, and strong enough to side with love and fight for justice. We nurture truth-seeking, spirituality, and progressive moral values that will continue to shape and support our children as they grow.

Children K—5th Youth 6—12th

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Your Family Is Welcome Here

Welcome to our Children and Youth Religious Education program (RE)! Sometimes referred to as Sunday School in other denominations, the RE programs we hold each week are more than just a place where kids go to keep busy while their families and other adults take part in the serious business of church.

RE is about creating a community where children, youth, and families feel they belong. It is about exploring who we are and what we believe with openness to the religiously diverse world we live in, and it is about supporting each other as we learn, grow, and live our values in the world.

Download a printable copy of our 2024/2025 Family Programming Guide (PDF). Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions about the information on our RE program below or UU Wausau, in general.

I am looking forward to getting to know your family better and hearing more about how we can support your goals for your family’s spiritual journey.

Warmly,
Jessica Zimmer
Director of Religious Education

  • A child working on a rainbow craft project.
A young girl clutching her hands together in anticipation of visiting UU Wausau for the first time.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY SUNDAYS

Children & Youth Religious Education

Sunday Morning Religious Education (RE) Meets on Sunday mornings from September through May. Children and youth start with their families in worship and then may choose to attend RE or remain in worship with their family.

Children’s RE
Our Children’s RE group explores themes like belonging, love, and creativity through activities of their choice, including stories, games, art, and play! Children’s RE is open to children in K-5th grade.

Family & Children’s Programming

Youth RE
Our Youth RE group focuses on building relationships and helping each youth feel supported in their spiritual journey. They explore themes like belonging, courage, and resistance through hands-on activities and deep conversation.

Youth group is also an opportunity for youth to develop leadership skills and to engage in our and the wider community through service and social action projects.

The Youth Group is open to youth in 6th-12th grade, and they also schedule one-off meetups for social events and service projects.

Youth RE Programming

UU WAUSAU

Family Programming

We’d love to have you join us for worship or one of our upcoming small groups, special events, or community offerings between Sundays.

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All Age Worship

There are also several Sundays throughout the year, we worship as a community of all ages, and on those Sundays, our RE groups will not meet. We provide supplies (coloring & activity sheets and fidgets) and worship-related materials to help children follow along with worship. The balcony and family room are also open for families who would like more space to move.

These Sundays mark important days in our congregation and holidays. They are times for celebrating and sharing and often include interactive elements.

Upcoming Services

Family Winter Retreat

Join us at the beautiful Schwartz at Camp Manitowish for a January weekend full of sledding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, indoor rock wall climbing, great company, and tons of fun!

Save The Date

Family Events

We offer events and programs for families to connect several times throughout the year. This might look like a movie night, service project, or shared meal. This year, we are focusing on creating intergenerational programming and opportunities for folks of all ages to connect. Subscribe to our weekly emails and newsletter for upcoming family ministry programming and events.

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K—5TH GRADE

Children’s Religious Education

The following opportunities are open to children K to 5th grade:

Children’s RE

Meets during worship on Sunday mornings September-May, except during all-ages services. Open to children up to 5th grade

Our Children’s RE group blends blending our play-based model with Holy Troublemakers & Unconventional Saints, an illustrated collection by Daneen Akers that highlights people from diverse faiths who have stood up for justice and love, even when it meant challenging the status quo.

Each Sunday, elementary school-aged participants will discover one of these holy troublemakers and then explore the week’s themes in our open play spaces, including an art room, contemplation room, make-believe room, game area, nature space, music space, and makerspace.

7TH—12TH GRADE

Youth Religious Education

The following opportunities are open to tweens and teens in 7th to 12th grade:

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C2: Connections Cafe

C2 is an open space during weekly worship on the first Sunday of each month for youth to connect, collaborate, create, and rest.

Youth can choose to play a game, make some art, sit in the quiet, enjoy a snack, and/or do something else or nothing at all.

C2 is a chance for youth to disconnect from the busyness of life and focus on those things that rest and renew their spirit.

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Creative Matters

Creativity Matters is a monthly small group for Senior High Youth (9th to 12th grade) and adults to explore spiritual growth through creative expression.

It’s all about allowing creativity and imagination to guide us, not just our logic and reflective minds.

No experience or artistic skill is required. Just bring a playful and adventurous spirit.

Group Meet-Up Dates

Our Whole Lives

Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a comprehensive, lifespan sexuality education program. It provides accurate, developmentally appropriate information about a range of topics, including values, body image, gender and sexual identity, and healthy relationships with sensitivity and inclusiveness.

The program is designed to help children and youth gain the knowledge, life principles, and skills they need to understand and express their sexuality in holistic, life-enhancing ways. We offer OWL for 7th to 9th graders every other year and other levels in the off years. To find out more about our current OWL offering, contact the Director of Religious Education.

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CURRENT PROGRAMMING

Belonging. Becoming. Being.

The Religious Education (RE) programs are more than just a place where kids go to keep busy during church. It is more than glue sticks, glitter, and crafts.

  • It is about creating spaces of belonging, listening carefully, laughing wholeheartedly, caring deeply, and nurturing connections.
  • It is about becoming a community and supporting each other as we learn and grow together.
  • And it is about being — living our values in the world.

To learn more about our programming for children, youth, and families, don’t hesitate to contact our Director of Religious Education.

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CONNECT

Grow In Mind & Spirit​

At First Universalist Unitarian of Wausau, our families explore alongside one another on the journey of faith. If you have any questions about our religious education program or our public community-oriented offerings, don’t hesitate to reach out.

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THE 7 PRINCIPLES

What We Believe & Teach

Unitarian Universalists have many ways of articulating our guiding seven Principles in simpler language for children. Here’s the way the Tapestry of Faith children’s programs describe them:

1st Principle: We believe that each and every person is important.

2nd Principle: We believe that all people should be treated fairly and kindly.

3rd Principle: We believe that we should accept one another and keep on learning together.

4th Principle: We believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life.

5th Principle: We believe that all persons should have a vote about the things that concern them.

6th Principle: We believe in working for a peaceful, fair, and free world.

7th Principle: We believe in caring for our planet Earth, the home we share with all living things.

What We Believe

Family FAQs

Finding the right religious education program for your child involves asking many questions. This FAQ section is intended to help you learn if our Unitarian Universalist Religious Education program is the right fit for your family.

The notable nineteenth-century Unitarian minister William Ellery Channing wrote, “The great end of religious instruction IS not to stamp our minds irresistibly upon the young but to stir up their own . .. to touch inward springs.” We have a strong faith in the inherent spirituality of children and see it as our task to nurture, not to indoctrinate. Our respect for the children teaches them respect for themselves, for others, and for this fragile interdependent web of which we are all a part.

Parents seeking a religious education program are often looking for a community of shared values in which to raise their children. These values are the most important things we teach, but we also give children building blocks with which to form their own beliefs. Our congregation offers a balanced program including Unitarian Universalist identity, Jewish and Christian heritage, other world religions, and social action/justice.

We begin with the understanding that children learn in different ways. That means that we must offer multiple approaches that engage the child’s body, spirit, imagination, and sense of curiosity. Stories, discussions, games, art projects, drama, and music are just some of the means we use to help children explore their world and gain new knowledge and insights.

Children learn values from their parents. You can help your own child learn the importance of religious education by facilitating regular attendance, showing an interest in what happens each week, and volunteering your own time to the program. Additionally, just as the entire congregation supports religious education, so your support — in terms of both service and financial assistance — is needed by the whole congregation. You, in fact, become a part of that congregation (even if not a “member” in the formal sense) when you register your child in the religious education program.

In our diverse congregations, you can expect to find that you are far from alone! We are often the “right fit” for interfaith families. Our congregation honors many major religious holidays, resources, and scriptures. We know there is value in all of them.

They will learn that all big questions have many answers, and that it is their duty to search responsibly for their own answers. But we also give children a foundation on which to build their own values. You can expect your child to learn that…

  • there are as many ideas about God as there are people;
  • we hold Jesus in the tradition of the great prophets and teachers, and we learn from the example of his life;
  • death is a mystery that is inseparable from life, and the only immortality we can know for sure is that which lives on in the hearts and minds of those whose lives we touch; therefore, how we lead our lives each day is of the utmost importance.

We hope to help children understand the importance of taking time for dedication, introspection, thanksgiving, and celebration. Our congregation has mornings when children attend part or all of the service with their caregivers.

While some children enjoy wearing their “Sunday best,” most come prepared to play outside, sit on the floor, and participate in potentially messy activities. Comfortable, washable school clothing is appropriate.

This is probably the most unasked question that families quietly worry about when considering a new church. We hope you will find the answer to be yes. The UU Wausau congregation is deliberate in welcoming all kinds of families; we feel that diversity is a treasure that enriches us all. And many of our curricula for children encourage them to see that differences in factors like race, ethnicity, abilities, gender identity, and sexual orientation are part of the fullness of our world.

Our Director of Religious Education will be glad to meet you and your family and answer specific questions. Email or call the church office at 715-842-3697 to schedule an appointment. We welcome your inquiries as you search for a religious home for your family!

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COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES

Stay Connected Between Sundays

We’d love to have you join us for worship or one of our upcoming workshops, small groups, special events, or community offerings between Sundays. Connect with us below for updates!

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