First Parish Church of Groton : Religious Education

Liz Davis-Chaffin, Director of
Religious Educaion

Our Religious Education Programs

The religious education program for children and youth encourages open inquiry into the questions that life brings, respect for every individual person as well as for the

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,–

One clover, and a bee,

And revery.

The revery alone will do

If bees are few.

— Emily Dickenson

community at large, and the desire to be involved with social action projects. It strives to welcome, respect, and support the individuals in the family along with the family as a whole.

Children in the religious education program need to be registered for each church year. The registration and volunteer form for the 2012/2013 church year is available in offline format for you to print and mail or drop off at the church office.

For Children

Church school for preschool children through grade 5 convenes Sundays from 10:20 to 11:20 AM. All children begin with their families in the church sanctuary.
Nursery care is available for babies. And toddler/preschool care is available in Growing Times from 9:45 to 11:15 AM each Sunday.
For Middle School (grades 6-8): Middle Matters is a new Sunday morning program for our junior youth. It is a hands-on workshop that explores themes such as social action, neighboring faiths, and our UU principles and UU sources.
Our Whole Lives — a human sexuality program created by UUA for teens in 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th grades.

For Youth

Teen Alternatives is a Sunday morning discussion group in the Minister‘s Study 10:20–11:20 .m
Senior High Youth Group — Grades 9–12 — engages in outreach projects annually including CityReach in Boston, and local food pantry (Loaves and Fishes) support. The group meets Sundays from 6:00 – 8:00 in the Vestry.
The Coming of Age Program provides a substantive spiritual program for youth in transition from childhood to adolescence. This program runs every other year; the next edition will be in the upcoming 2011 – 2012 church yeat.

For Adults

Occasional after-service programs are held on subjects of interest to members.

Small Group Ministry groups meet in the fall and the spring. Small group ministry allows us to fulfill two of our fondest hopes — for deep friendship, where we can be truly known and accepted for who we are, and for spiritual exploration, time to share our thoughts on questions of profound significance in our lives. Small group ministry serves members and friends of the church who have the yearning people have had throughout the ages — the yearning for intimacy and ultimacy.
Workshops and other discussion groups are held throughout the year.
The FPCoG Women’s Spirituality Group meets once per month. The format is much like our informal summer services with elements from Spirit Life, such as confidentiality. [2009-09-06]