You may have noticed that the large number of kids attending Children’s Chapel on Sundays. Are you wondering how you can help our growing RE program? Here are four ways you can help: Volunteer in Children’s Chapel Donate a snack Tell a story Buy a book If you can do one or more of these things, keep reading! Volunteer on Sunday ...

Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. You are invited to an Our Whole Lives Information Night on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. After an optional dinner at 6:00 p.m., learn about the OWL programs that provide comprehensive sexuality education from kindergarten through older adult. The presentation will conclude at 7:30 p.m., leaving a half hour for ...

Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. in the Cummings Room at UUCS Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a comprehensive sexuality education program that has long been an important part of our church’s Religious Education offerings. We are in the process of planning a Fall 2023 workshop for children and/or youth, but in the meantime, we ...

My most recent blog posts have been about the joys of free play and the progress of our playground project — but winter temperatures have descended quickly, and most of us are turning to indoor activities, cozying up with books and blankets and cups of tea. I personally love the Danish concept of hygge which ...

Optional (but encouraged) Rehearsal: Sunday, November 20, 2022 from 2:00–3:00 p.m. at St. John’s CathedralCall Time: Saturday, November 26, 2022 at 3:30 p.m. at The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC)Singing: Saturday, November 26, 2022 at 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. at The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture We will be joining the youth choirs ...

Back to school means back to Children’s Chapel — but we need volunteers to make that happen! This program supports our RE mission to give our children and youth the tools to move through this world with compassion, integrity, and the ability to think critically. Supporting one another’s spiritual growth is vital to our Unitarian Universalist ...

Time for a Sunday Play Club update, especially now that the new playground is fully funded and ready to be ordered!  In last month’s blog, I mentioned the necessity of stepping back to let children fail. Today we’ll dig a little deeper into why that is so hard to do in a society where “Be careful!” ...

Now that summer vacation has officially begun, I thought I would discuss in a little more detail some of the benefits of unstructured play without adult intervention. (There are still spots available for volunteer supervisors: sign up here!) Two things are very typical in most children’s experiences: 1) formal sports and 2) formal schooling. But what ...

May 12, 2022 Radical in its simplicity, Let Grow’s Play Club allows kids to learn through multi-age, unstructured play with minimal interference from adults. This approach to learning is implemented in schools and community groups across the United Stated – and it’s coming to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane June 26. Let’s break down what ...

Saturday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m. at People’s Park Calling all UUCS members, friends and families for another service opportunity! We will meet at People’s Park on Saturday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m. to participate in the Spokane Riverkeeper’s public clean-up. What to Bring Comfortable, weather appropriate work clothes Work shoes with good tread for scrambling on river bank ...

Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a comprehensive sexuality education program that was co-created by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 1999. Curricula for a variety of age groups have been continuously updated since then, and both the UUA and UCC have worked hard throughout the pandemic to create ...

For most of my career in education, I was lucky to work in schools that were part of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB). The first part of IB’s mission reads as follows: “The International Baccalaureate® aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural ...

Notice how I’ve titled this blog post: I didn’t ask, How do we help children think for themselves? I certainly didn’t ask, How do we make children think for themselves? Children can think for themselves, and they like thinking for themselves! Oftentimes, the adults just need to get out of the way. That being said, ...

“We light this candle to celebrate Unitarian Universalism.” At the beginning of our Sunday morning Children’s Chapel, we “light” a battery-powered tea light and say these words to signify that we are starting a special time together, a time to experience the values of our faith tradition. Using hand gestures, we continue to say the full chalice ...

In short, it is how we will be doing Religious Education starting in August 2021. In May, we welcomed our children to the activity tables at the back of the sanctuary. In June, we moved those tables to the Thoreau Room, where we could be a little messier and a little louder — and eat ...

Youths ages 13 and up are invited to help with a service project on Saturday, April 17, from 4:00–5:00 p.m. As a follow-up to Transitions’ Mardi Bras fundraiser, we will be sorting bras that were collected. Transitions is a local nonprofit that “works to end poverty and homelessness for women and children in Spokane.” This ...

Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. on the UUCS Grounds Update Families of all ages and configurations are invited to a Children and Family Ministry event on Saturday, April 17, any time between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Through a self-paced scavenger hunt, you will explore the church grounds and learn about our seven UU principles. ...

Join us for a virtual children’s chapel on Sunday, March 21. We will meet at 10:00 a.m. on Zoom — look for the link in the weekly church email! The event is geared towards children between the ages of 4 and 12 and their parents/caregivers, though all are welcome. We will be reflecting on our “future ...

Join us on Sunday, February 21, at 10:00 a.m. for another virtual children’s chapel! We will build community and do some hands-on activities to explore the power of positive mindset. The service is geared toward children 4–12 and their caregivers, but all are welcome. Questions? Please contact Stephanie Gronholz at re@uuspokane.org.

Stephanie Getman Gronholz is delighted to begin her work as the Religious Education Specialist at UUCS. She has worked at a variety of schools for the past 15 years — at large high schools and middle schools in Denver, a small parent partnership school in Spokane Valley, a charter school in downtown Spokane, a dance ...

It is a great pleasure to formally welcome Stephanie Gronholz as our new Religious Education Specialist beginning in January. Stephanie and her husband Shane and their son Max have been members of our congregation since 2018. She’s a professional educator with plenty of passion for teaching and working with kids. Here’s a little from Stephanie ...