Emerson’s Religious Education program has 40 children and youth enrolled this year, infants through teens, in five different classroom groupings: nursery, preschool, elementary, junior high, and high school. Approximately 30 volunteers are involved in some aspect of the program every year; many are not currently parents of a child at church, but view RE as a vital ministry of the entire congregation.

On Sunday mornings at Emerson all ages begin in worship together, and children have an important role in the service by lighting the chalice, collecting and bringing forward the donations congregants bring for the West Valley Food Pantry. After the Food Pantry collection, they stay to hear a story told by Emerson’s half-time Director of Religious Education, Emmalinda MacLean.

Emmalinda, a lifelong UU who has served Emerson for five years, brings her background in theater and arts education to creating lively and dramatic “Stories for All Ages” enjoyed by children and adults alike. Then, our congregation recites the children’s affirmation together and sing children and youth off to their classes.

Nursery (0-2 yrs): is supervised by our staff caregiver and a volunteer assistant, and provides a safe, fun, supervised environment for infants and toddlers to explore and play.

Preschool (3-5 yrs): uses the Unitarian Universalist preschool program “Chalice Children” which combines games, art, and stories to promote kindness towards others, a sense of awe and wonder at the natural world, and respect for the earth.

Elementary (1st -5th grade): is using the “Faithful Journeys” curriculum to consider what it means to be a UU, focusing on one of our seven principles. It offers participants the chance to share something they did in the previous week to live our values. They also hear stories, play games, or create art projects on that week’s theme.

Junior High Youth Group (6th -8th grade): is exploring the “Building Bridges” program, which studies a variety of world religions with the goal of considering and deepening their own beliefs. This class will also visit other religious houses of worship throughout the year.

Senior High Youth Group (9th -12th grade): participates in UU camps at DeBenneville Pines and youth conferences around the district and meets weekly during the Sunday service to check in with each other about the highs and lows of their lives, discuss current events, plan get-togethers with other church youth groups, and organize service projects.

Service Projects
Last year, Emerson’s children and youth raised $600 for the UUSC/UUA Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund through a ceramic-crafts auction coupled with a “Stone Soup” lunch after service.

Other RE projects from recent years have included a towel/blanket/toy drive for our local animal shelter culminating in a visit to the shelter; a fundraiser and donation-drive to fill backpacks with new school supplies for children at a domestic violence shelter; and preparing sack-lunches for children visiting incarcerated parents (with the “Get On The Bus” program, by the Center for Restorative Justice Works).

Emerson families also hold 1-2 smaller fundraisers a year to maintain our Youth Empowerment Scholarship Fund, which allows all our children and youth to have access to UU camps, cons, and other faith-deepening experiences regardless of their family’s ability to pay.

Coming of Age
We teamed up with the Studio City church the last time we offered Coming of Age, in 2013; Emerson youth met twice-monthly from January to June, and we planned four special events with the UUCSC Coming-of-Age group, who held their own meetings with their adult mentors (which Emerson’s program did not include).  Our sessions were built around the “Coming of Age Handbook for Congregations”, and youth also took on independent projects chosen from a list (or created based on their own interests).

The four special events we offered to youth of both congregations were a circus-arts workshop, with training in tumbling, trapeeze, and aerial silks; a visit to a homeless shelter where we delivered meals; a sing-along and story-sharing visit at a nursing home; and a camping trip which included six hours of solitude in nature.  (UUCSC youth did not ultimately join us on the camping trip, due to a last-minute location change, because our originally scheduled campground was on fire.  True story.)  The six Emerson participants finally created a youth-led worship in which they presented their credo statements and received the blessings of the congregation.  Prior to this, CoA was offered in 2011, organized and led by volunteers, with a smaller scope.  Our goal is to offer a program similar to the 2013 class in 2017.

Our Whole Lives
Emerson typically offers OWL in collaboration with our neighboring UU church in Studio City, so that our congregations can cross-promote and share resources and trained facilitators.  Here are the classes we’ve presented in recent years:

• Fall 2015: 10-12 grade OWL, at UUCSC
• Spring 2015: Adult OWL, at Emerson
• Spring 2014: 10-12 grade OWL, at Emerson
• Spring 2013: 4-6 grade OWL, at Emerson
• Fall 2013: 7-9 grade OWL, at UUCSC
• Spring 2011: 4-6 grade OWL, at Emerson (with Sepulveda UU Society)
• Fall 2011: 7-9 grade OWL, at Emerson/UUCSC

Multigenerational Celebrations
A few times a year, children and youth join adults for the full hour of worship and we have a less traditional, more participatory service. These have often, though not consistently, included Dia De Los Muertos, the winter holiday pageant, Earth Day, and a youth-led service.

Adult Religious Education
We usually have at least one minister-led Adult R.E class each semester. The classes are offered weekly for 8-10 weeks. They are offered one session in the evening (generally Sunday evenings at 7pm) and repeated in the morning (typically Monday mornings at 10am); so that people with differing time availability can participate. Every other month or so we also have a Saturday or Sunday afternoon workshop, sometimes under Cluster auspices.

In addition, there are a number of programs and activities from a monthly after service video and discussion on environmental issues to involvement with the California UU Justice Ministry and Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), a faith based community organizing group. There is a morning current events discussion group and, of course, a full compliment of Small Group Ministry groups.