by Dawn Star Sarahs-Borchelt, CRE, Director of Learning & Family Ministries
This year’s Learning and Family Ministries programming touched every age group, from nursery care through adult faith development, with a full slate of offerings that kept pace with a growing congregation.
For children and youth, the year included Creativity and Movement workshops for kindergarten through 5th grade (with activities connected to Sunday worship themes), Crossing Paths for 6th and 7th graders exploring Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Paganism, and Youth Group for 8th through 12th grades. This was also an OWL year—Our Whole Lives, MLUC’s comprehensive sexuality education curriculum—with components offered for K/1st, 4th/5th, and 8th/9th grades, bringing in a number of families who came specifically for OWL. Stepping Stones, the UU Identity curriculum, ran for 2nd and 3rd graders.
Mid-leap during the “Leap of Courage” activity, which challenged kids to navigate stepping stones before making the big jump over a foam obstacle. New members join the MLUC community after completing Starting Point, an introduction to Unitarian Universalism led by Senior Minister Rev. John Morehouse and Dawn Star.
For adults, two Starting Point classes welcomed newcomers into congregational life, alongside about 16 small group ministries and numerous book groups, lay-led interest groups, and classes.
A significant transition this year: Henry Zink concluded his role as Youth Ministry Coordinator in August as he entered the final year of his doctoral program and a full-time school counseling internship. In January, Anaiah Cupe joined as Faith Development Program Assistant, bringing a background in education and caregiving and a current master’s program in art therapy. A major task of the year was building better systems and redundancy among faith development volunteers—in both the children and youth and adult programs—in preparation for Dawn Star’s sabbatical leave from April 1 through June 30. Of special note is the Adult Faith Development team’s work really learning about the place of faith development in the congregation and digging into what their role is and could be.
The team is proud of several things this year. The small group ministry for parents of younger children has really launched itself and become a genuine force for connection—meeting regularly, taking field trips, throwing a New Year’s Eve party for the congregation, and organizing baby showers for families expecting this spring. Participation in programs for children and youth has been steady: 41 registered families and 75 registered children and youth, with an average attendance of 29 overall and 34 on regular classroom Sundays during the program year. Programs were right-sized to meet the needs and be sustainable with the volunteers and resources available.
Looking ahead, having a program assistant focused on weekly planning and preparation will free Dawn Star to focus on the bigger picture and broader projects. The Children and Youth Faith Development team is exploring curriculum options to replicate OWL’s success in non-OWL years—possible units on mental health and addiction, anti-racism, or other topics yet to be determined. There are plans for a broader spectrum of adult classes in the fall and winter, and the whole team is excited to work with the new Social Justice Director to integrate social justice even further into programming with more direction and scope.