We are looking forward to welcoming you and your children to our Religious Exploration program for the upcoming 2024-25 year! I love this time of year, where the air becomes drier and cooler, and the shorter days create a sense of urgency for us to do what we have to do without delay. Our bodies are full of all the nourishment of summer gifts from the earth, and our whole beings are permeated with the restoration and sweetness of the season of sun we’ve just had.

This fall we are offering the following opportunities for children and youth:

EARLY MORNING CARE 9:00 am – 10:00 am

We offer early morning child care for children ages 1 – 12 years to enable parent/caregiver participation in choir, our parenting group or other adult offerings. Please arrange for pickup at 10:00 am so teachers may prep their classes for the morning, as they start to receive students at 10:20.

SUNDAY MORNING PROGRAMMING 10:30 am – 11:40 am

• Nursery Care for children ages 0 – 5 years
• Religious Exploration class for children ages 6 – 12 years
• Teen Programming once per month (September 15, October 13, November 10, December 15)

Sunday morning classes will begin in our classrooms at 10:30 am rather than in the worship service. We are making this change to be able to have full-length classes and develop our themes more deeply. We also understand the significance of including children in the services, thus the occasional Time for All Ages, as well as multi-generational services, which will be designed for a deepening experience for children. Parents/caregivers will be notified in advance of schedule changes.

OWL for 8-9^th Graders on Monday evenings beginning October 21

We are proud to offer Our Whole Lives (OWL), a comprehensive sexuality education class for 8th and 9th graders. The program equips teens of all genders with accurate, age-appropriate information and skills to help them lead sexually healthy, positive, and responsible lives. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, OWL addresses a wide range of topics including body image, relationships, social media/internet, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexually transmitted infections, contraceptives, pornography, and cultural influences on sexuality. Through engaging activities and discussions, OWL helps teens to clarify their own values and to build their interpersonal skills. Our Whole Lives is used nationwide in a variety of community settings including schools, youth serving agencies, and faith-based communities. Although developed by two progressive, faith-based organizations (UU and UCC denominations), OWL is secular in content and contains no religious doctrine.

RE REGISTRATION

Every child needs to be registered before participating in our program.  Here is the link: https://firstparishcambridge.breezechms.com/form/7ec5d555922854 .

Please see our OWL page for registration for that program.

PARENT/CAREGIVER PARTICIPATION

Although we are fortunate to have some part time RE staff, our program relies on volunteers for much of its functioning. We are currently very short on volunteers, and we need families to participate at least an hour and a half per month, the duration of our RE classes. There are opportunities to assist in the classrooms or to do organizational projects, depending on your abilities and interest. The registration form has a place to select the type of volunteering you would like to do or reach out at Jennifer@FirstParishCambridge.org.

For more information about our program or to offer to volunteer or share ideas, please contact Director of Ministries for Children and Families, Jennifer Goodman at Jennifer@firstparishcambridge.org