Our programming for children and youth is based on the 7 Unitarian Universalist principles and aims to:

• Transform the lives of our children and youth as well as the adult in the community.
• Promote deeper intergenerational relationships in classes, within the congregation, and in the larger world.
• Provide a safe and welcoming place for our children and youth to explore their own values, share their ideas, and learn about themselves and the world we share.
• Embolden our children and youth with tenets true to our guiding principles and support them in actively taking part in justice making. 

Our activities, which are led by devoted lay teachers and leaders, are age-appropriate and designed to encourage a feeling of connection, fellowship, and shared values amongst all ages of children and youth. We offer healthy snacks, and include kinesthetic, emotional, and other modes of learning. For complete information on our program this year, check out our RE Handbook for 2011-2012 here.

We want to know all about your family, so please fill out the Kid's Church Registration Form here, or get one from your child(ren)'s teacher on Sunday morning. 

Our kids experience a range of faith-community activities on Sunday mornings. They begin by participating in the first 15 minutes of our regular services upstairs, (from 10:30-10:45am) then are ‘sung out’ of the sanctuary to the classrooms downstairs. Once there, from 10:45am-11:45am, the kids engage in either :

• Regular classes with the appropriate age group (PreK/K/1st grade, 2nd-4th grade, or Middle School Youth 5th-8th grade)
• Children’s Chapels: about once every other month, we all gather to do our own kid-oriented worship and ritual, this year with themes tied to the holidays of various world religions we are studying
• Service in the Community: this year, we will be exploring new ways to have the kids involved in serving opportunities within our church community and the community at large. Middle Schoolers will be selecting specific service/justice themes that they want to work on. 

About once every 5 weeks, we offer a worship service upstairs that is Intergenerational. This means it is geared to participants of all ages, and kids and youth stay upstairs rather than leaving after the beginning of the service. 

The Committee for Family Ministry works with the Director of Religious Education to formulate the programs and activities for the children and youth of the congregation, support parents and promote intergenerational community. See the

• Charge to the Committee on Family Ministry,
• The Covenant for Religious Education between the Committee on Family Ministry and the members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Monterey Peninsula,
• and Covenant between the Minister of Religious Education and Programming and the Committee on Family Ministry of UU Church of the Monterey Peninsula.

E-mail familyministry@uucmp.org

We have a number of additional exciting and engaging programs as part of our comprehensive ministry to families. This year, we are offering:

• Coming Of Age - a rites of passage and spiritual exploration program for youth in grades 8-10.
• Parenting discussion, about every 3rd Sunday after worship.
• Family camp out on Halloween.
• A special music-based services that the kids and youth will lead (December 11th).
• Mystery Buddies: a program that pairs children with ‘secret’ adult buddies to learn about each other and make inter-generational friendships (in the Spring).
• Special holiday events, including an inter-generational Hanging of the Greens Holiday Party (Dec. 11), and an inter-generational Easter Egg Hunt on Easter.
• Seasonal Earth-Based Spirituality Celebrations designed to be especially friendly to children and youth (kinesthetic and engaging for all ages) .

For more information, please see our Calendar page.

We welcome you the this community! Please contact our Asst. Minister of Religious Education, Rev. Carol Bodeau, to introduce yourself and ask any questions you may have.