The Learning Landing Page

This top-level Learning page highlights how the congregation partners with members in lifelong spiritual, ethical, emotional growth. It presents the overall philosophy of congregation’s faith development programs for all ages. Include photos of children, youth, and adults in the congregation.

Here's sample text:

Learning: What We Offer through the Lifespan

We provide children, youth, young adults, and adults an opportunity to explore, reflect, and learn in a nurturing spiritual community. Unitarian Universalist religious education programs offer all ages, inspiring:

• Ethical growth – internalizing enduring values like justice, equity, and compassion, and gaining tools to act on them in everyday life.
• Social growth – connecting with peers and people of all ages on a deeper level. Finding acceptance among people who see beyond the superficial.
• Spiritual growth – feeling a connection with the sacred within, among, and beyond us.

Religious education programs include more than classes. On a Sunday you might find the preschoolers singing songs about kindness, the 2nd graders engaging with a story about loss and bereavement, the 5th graders talking with a Muslim couple about Islam, the 7th graders learning about responsibility in a lesson from our progressive sexuality education program, and the high-school youth raising money for the local homeless shelter. Many programs incorporate social justice activities, worship opportunities, service trips, fellowship and fun.

Our religious educator and minister lead many of our congregations’ lifespan programs. Parents and other members of the congregation often lead them, too. Teaching can be a very fulfilling way to deepen one’s own faith.

Children’s religious education programs are typically offered on Sunday mornings, and high school youth and adult programs are usually offered on afternoons or evenings.

We invite you to learn more and get connected!

Learning Subpages

Create sub-pages about learning programs for the various age groups in your congregation. Divide this in a way that makes sense for your programs and makes sense to people who are not familiar with your congregation. (For example, a subsection called “Our Whole Lives” is very confusing to someone who doesn't know that it is a sexuality education program.) Or if your preschool program is called “Tadpoles,” make sure you specify the ages in the title, e.g. “Tadpoles (age 3-5).” We recommend using ages or grades: that is the most straightforward and universally understood way of organizing your learning subpages.

Remember to include information about your nursery. Many congregations do not put this on their websites, but it is one of the key things that newcomers with infants and toddlers want to know about.

Include information about program seasons. For example, if you provide religious education programs only from August through May, indicate that, and indicate what is available for kids on Sundays in the summer.

Some potential subsections:

• Nursery
• Preschool
• Elementary School
• Middle School
• High School
• Younger Adults
• Adults
• Older Adults
• Multigenerational
• Families