The Religious Education Program at All Souls Church is based on the conviction that human nature is bound to the universe and all that sustains it. The natural curiosities and urges of young people are the very resources upon which our program is built. Our approach is founded on the understanding that a young person's religion grows out of everyday experience.

Religion, in our view, is not something to be given to a young person, but something to be nurtured and encouraged as his or her life unfolds. Thus, our goals and objectives support a natural development of religious faith based primarily on direct experience. While avoiding the imposition of religious creeds, our primary goals are to provide planned, yet flexible, religious education classes which uphold and promote our Unitarian Universalist Principles and Purposes, and to create a nurturing and supportive community environment which stimulates, encourages, considers, and respects all religious questions. Curriculum choices are made from materials published by the Unitarian Universalist Association, with modifications where appropriate.

In addition, we expose young people to the beliefs and thoughts of the World's Religions. It is our hope that participants in our program will gain an appreciation for the value and wisdom of religious traditions from the past and that this wisdom will help to inform and shape their emerging ideas and beliefs. In particular, we want our young people to understand the Jewish and Christian heritage from which our own movement developed. To this end, We attempt to provide an enlightened biblical literacy based on rational and critical thinking. In a time when religious fundamentalism is being used as a tool for dissent, we seek to prepare Unitarian Universalist youth with a strong sense of religious and spiritual self.

Recognizing the importance of celebration and ritual, carefully planned, weekly children's chapel and youth worship services are provided prior to Sunday classes. In addition, all young people attend the regular Family Worship Service once a month. Celebrations of holidays and holy days are also an important part of our Religious Education experience.

As outcomes of our program, we want our participants to treat themselves and others as people of inherent worth and dignity; to negotiate the crises and the paradoxes of with a social consciousness that demands responsible choices and actions; to recognize, protect, and enjoy our interdependence with nature; and to develop an appreciation of the rich diversity of our planet, thereby helping to create a loving and supportive local world community.

We do not expect to do all of this in a few weeks or even in a single year; nor do the Senior Minister, the Associate Minister and RE Director, the volunteer teachers or the RE Committee members expect to do it alone. We understand that the process of developing a religion of one's own is a lifelong, seven-day-a-week affair. The direction and depth of our young members'faith and development depend largely upon how seriously parents and guardians assume their role as religious educators. We stress parent and guardian participation in our religious education program and support their role as resident theologians.

The program of religious education at All Souls Church is designed to appeal to those parents, guardians, and other adults who desire to enter with young people upon a lifelong adventure of religious growth and learning.

May our journey together be a creative and enriching one!