Everyone is welcome to engage with our community in spiritual growth and education. The Unitarian Church of Harrisburg offers religious exploration programming for all ages in addition to lay-led opportunities for growth and learning.
VISION STATEMENT
“To awaken the soul, excite and cherish spiritual life”* in guiding and supporting individuals, families, and children on their journey as lifelong Unitarian Universalists.
*Excerpt from The Great End in Religious Instruction by William Ellery Channing, 18th Century Unitarian Minister
MISSION STATEMENT
We realize our Vision by:
- Embracing religious exploration to awaken the soul;
- Building and celebrating beloved community with shared Unitarian Universalist values;
- Supporting growth through ritual and worship to excite and cherish spiritual life; and
- Ministering to all individuals, families, and children
Faith Development Goals
- to Nurture unapologetic U.U.s;
- to Increase children, youth and family participation on Sundays and beyond through support and opportunities;
- to Provide inclusivity at all ages (educate and challenge -isms & biases)
- to Recruit, support and sustain FD volunteers (leaders, helpers and behind-the-scenes)
Adult Faith Development
The next Banned Books Discussion group will meet in January! Contact Cory to sign up.
Covenant Groups (CG)
Enrollment is closed. If you missed registration and would like to join, please contact Bart or Cory.
The Covenant Groups meet monthly September to June. Sessions are 60-90 minutes long, with discussion on a different theme each month. This is a wonderful way to get to know other like-minded folks outside Sunday morning coffee hour.
This year’s overarching frame is The Practices of Our Faith. We’re using this frame to focus on how Unitarian Universalism is a lived faith that inspires us to act, live, and love our values out in the world.
Or to put it another way, we’re diving into our long-loved commitment to “deeds not creeds.” Our overarching frame is also a way for us to connect to our new UU core value of Liberating Love, with each of our monthly themes framed as a practice that help us embody liberating love in our daily lives.
Stitchers Group- Contact Cory to be added to the group
Join us every 2nd Friday of the month at 10 a.m. for our Stitchers Group, needle arts group for knitters/crocheter’s/quilters/cross stitchers/weavers and more, where we can all gather with our projects to stitch & chat.
No agenda – just building connections.
Children and Youth Faith Development
Includes children 6 months through 12th grade.
The Unitarian Church of Harrisburg offers children and youth faith development (FD) programming most Sunday mornings.
Please try to arrive about 15 minutes before the service. Greeters in the lobby will welcome you, get name-tags for your family, and ask you to fill out a visitor registration form. Arriving a bit early allows you time to look around; to meet other families, the FD Leaders, and/or the Director of Lifespan Faith Development to ask questions. Please include any special needs or allergies on the visitor registration form to best provide a positive experience for your child.
Members and guests should sit where they are most comfortable and move around as needed. Joyful noises and movements are the signs of a living, thriving church. We welcome them!
All ages start together in the sanctuary. Some Sundays, families remain together in the service. Other Sundays, children, youth, and FD Leaders will recess to their FD session downstairs during a song (about 15 minutes into the service.) We encourage you to go with your children to help them find their way and settle in. If you do not arrive early, just go with the rest of the children and leaders, let them know you are new, and they will accompany you to the FD room. Please stay in the session or activity with your child if you would like.
After their third visit, families should complete the UCH FD registration form. This helps our Director of Lifespan Faith Development monitor attendance, communicate with families, and tailor activities for their children & youth.
We are offering three classes this year:
- Nursery (6 mo. – K)
- Elementary (1st – 5th)
- Youth Group (6th – 12th)
Children and youth information is confidential and only shared with staff and class leaders.
Questions/Concerns: Contact our Director of Lifespan Faith Development, Cory Ness.
Registration for 2024-2025 Faith Development class is open now. Click the button to register today!
Soul Matters for Everyone of ALL AGES! Our Children & Youth will be engaged in our Soul Matters themes just like our Adults in Worship and our Covenant Groups. SOUL MATTERS is a Theme-based ministry, that helps create multigenerational connections as people of all ages explore common themes in age-appropriate ways. Theme-based ministry extends faith development beyond Sunday morning. Families can continue the conversation in the car ride home or over the dinner table; small groups (covenant groups, Creativity Matters) that meet during the week can go deeper with the theme.
Here is the list of our 2024-25 themes: The Practice of…
- September: Invitation
- October: Deep Listening
- November: Repair
- December: Presence
- January: Story
- February: Inclusion
- March: Trust
- April: Joy
- May: Imagination
- June: Freedom
