Coming of Age is an innovative, year-long expedition for eight graders to reflect on their lives. The primary purpose of this program is to help youth discern for themselves what is means to be a Unitarian Universalist--individually and as part of the larger faith community. It involves workshops, sleepovers, campouts, social justice activities and a vision quest weekend. Coming of Age begins with a parent and youth orientation brunch.
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;
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.
For more information click below for the program brochure.
YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists) is our High School youth group that meets weekly in Blake Lounge on Sunday afternoons from 4-6:30. Any youth in grades 9th-12th is welcome to attend.
The purpose of YRUU is to provide our youth with a safe place to express themselves and explore new ideas. A covenant will be prepared at the beginning of the year that youth and adults in the group agree to respect. The progam is a balance worship, leadership delvopment, social justice and just plain fun!
Wellspring Wednesdays is the main Adult Religious Education program at USSB. Save the dates for our 6-week, Wednesday evening sessions during 2013-2014:
Registration
Register for classes and workshops by calling LeeAnn Williams, Director of Lifespan Religious Education at 805-965-4585 x229, or at the Adult RE table at Sunday Coffee Hour. Each class offering is $35; dinner is included in the course fee. We welcome your children at Wellspring Wednesday. Childcare opens at 6 PM in Starr King Preschool.
Evening Schedule
5:30 pm
Dinner and Community Time
6:30 - 6:45 pm
Brief Worship
6:45 - 8:15 pm
Class Time
Course Offerings for Spring 2013
Immigration as a Moral Issue Rev. Julia Hamilton
In southern California, immigration is an issue that shapes our lives and divides our communities. What role does immigration play in your own family story? What is it like to live undocumented in Santa Barbara? What about detention centers, ICE, and the federal “Secure Communities” act? What has Sherriff Arpaio been up to in Arizona, and why should we care? Join me as we explore this issue on both a local and national scale. 6 sessions 4/17-5/22.
Artful Meditation Minette Riordan, PhD
For many of us, the thought of sitting still for any length of time seems overwhelming if not impossible. Meditation takes on a more creative, active format in this class. Each week Minette will share a different active meditation techniques for exploring your sacred self through art and journaling. You will be doodling, creating mandalas, reading and writing sacred poetry, creating a "Sacred Self" collage and other fun activities. Please bring an unlined art journal. 5 sessions, 4/24-5/22.
Beginning Choir Ken Ryals
Beginning Choir is a class that is designed around vocal production and finding your voice. We will be working with a diversity of musical styles in order to prepare the class for further participation in the USSB Music Program. USSB Choir Director Ken Ryals will lead this workshop. 6 sessions 4/17-5/22.
Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do, Part II Barbara Margerum
Michael Sandel's award winning Harvard class and TV series will be the basis for lively discussions on Justice: What's the Right thing To Do? We will view 4 of the 12 DVD episodes with frequent breaks for discussion as we address a different aspect of justice each week. This series is a provocative exercise and a challenge to us to review our own "engrained" responses to many ethical issues of life in the 21st century. 4 sessions, 4/17-5/8.
Introduction to Thai Massage Rachel Petkus
For this Wellspring Wednesday course we will explore the Ancient Art of Traditional Thai Massage. We will begin the course with a brief history of Thai Massage followed by some basic anatomy. Then the weeks to follow we will partner up and practice on each other, learning the techniques step by step. By the end of the course each person will be fluent in the gentle Art of Traditional Thai Massage and be able to give this gift to family or friends in its entire two hour length without any strain to the practitioner. 6 sessions 4/17-5/22.
Yoga MarQ Taylor
A class appropriate for those looking for a gentler style of yoga. It is meditative and rejuvenating; perfect for all ages, bodies and skill levels. You will benefit from this healing, replenishing and balancing practice. MarQ Taylor is a certified Yoga instructor. MarQ infuses his radiant energy, health & abundance of life into his teaching practice. Note: this class meets Wed. mornings at 9 AM in Jefferson Hall. 6 sessions 4/17-5/22.
The Spirituality of Ageing Rev. Sylvia Casberg
The purpose of this workshop is to awaking a vision of ageing as a spiritual process and to deepen our understanding of elderhood. Soulwork between classes include journaling, spiritual sharing, and meditation. This class will guide you becoming a witness to your own transformation from older to elder. Attendance commitment required. Required text: Age-ing to Sage-ing by Schachter-Shalomi and Miller. 6 sessions 4/17-5/22.
Our Whole Lives Offered this Winter This winter the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara is offering a very important opportunity and class for youth who are 14–17 years of age and in the 9th to 11th grades—Our Whole Lives: Sexuality and Our Faith program. Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a values-based, comprehensive sexuality education curriculum developed by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ. There will be a mandatory parent orientation offered in January. If you are interested in your youth participating in this program, contact LeeAnn in the Religious Education office.
Our Whole Lives is a series of sexuality education that 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.
Welcome to the Children’s Religious Education program at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara. Here we believe that our children are the future of our congregation, our faith, and our world.
We want to support our children and youth and encourage them to be the unique and special individuals that they are.
Our Educational Approach:
·Recognizes the individuality of each child or young person
·Provides an opportunity to interact and learn from peers and others
·Uses age-appropriate curriculum, stories, and activities
·Creates a nurturing, safe, and fun environment
Our Religious Education program exists to:
·Provide our children with a religious identity and a sense of meaning and worth
·Promote religious and spiritual exploration, and growth
·Create a sense of belonging and community for parents and children
We expose our children to many different religious traditions and provide a safe place for them to ask questions. We do not force our beliefs on our children but rather encourage them to explore ideas and come to thoughtful conclusions.
It is often said that it takes a whole village to raise one child. USSB intends to be that village for the children in our midst. Come join us and help us create a village that meets your needs and supports all parents in raising their children.
For detailed information about your child’s religious education class, please contact Tracey Goforth at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
