The members of our congregation have had some time during this pandemic to think about Faith Development for children and youth and have been in discernment about what we want our program to look like.  While the pandemic has been very hard on everyone, we progress each day into the next feeling a little safer.  Vaccinations are being administered at a faster rate and we will soon be together again once it is safe to open our doors.  

Parents and Babies
We are happy to say that we have a ‘wiggle room’ for parents and their babies.  Here you can see and hear the service while providing some attention to the little ones.

Child Care - Toddlers through Kindergarten
A Child Care Room for young children will be available for toddlers through Kindergarten when we meet again in person.  Our dream is that this room will grow in numbers with children filling the room, having fun and learning about our principles and values. We vision a full Faith Exploration Program for children and youth in years to come.

Future Program for Elementary School Children
The purpose of Faith Development is to empower and enable our children as they set out to discover their own truth and understanding of the world. What we think we manifest, and what we want to manifest in our congregation is a growing Faith Exploration Program for elementary school children. As we grow we will expand our programming.

Future Program for Middle and High School Youth
We know what a good program is for youth. And we fully expect that we will grow into a place for young people to feel safe and wanted.  In the meantime, youth are welcome in our worship service.  Many young people love to attend the services and they are invited wholeheartedly.

Parents and guardians are the most important guides of religious education and faith development for their children.  Our programs will support parents in this endeavor.  We want our children and youth to grow up to become the best people they can be.  While we don’t have specific doctrines, we do have 8 principles which in children’s language are:

1. Each person is important
2. Be kind in all you do
3. We’re free to learn together
4. We search for what is true
5. All people need a voice
6. Build a fair and peaceful world
7. Respect the Earth, our home
8. Fill our community with love and
9. break down racism and oppressions

Our children learn about our faith traditions from our Unitarian and Universalist heritage and our 6 sources in children’s language.

1. The sense of wonder we all share
2. The wise people of long ago and today whose lives remind us to be kind and fair
3. The ethical and spiritual wisdom of the world’s religions
4. Jewish and Christian teachings which tell us to love all others as we love ourselves
5. The use of reason and the discoveries of science
6. The harmony of nature and the sacred circle of life

Our mission is to love, to grow and to serve.  We are dedicated to this mission as a beloved community for all ages.  We have just adopted an 8th principle and we intend to put more focus on this 8th principle as long as oppressions and racism exist.

We, the members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fort Myers, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.

We do not have a Director of Religious Education at this time, but we do have a retired Religious Educator who would love to answer any of your questions about Faith Development.  Karen J. Brown can be reached at 862-432-0173 or email.  She welcomes your calls or emails.