Summer is here! And, we’re looking ahead for our kids and youth.

Dear First Universalist Church,

The days are warmer, the evenings are lighter, and school is out (or soon-to-be) – it must be summer! 

For many of us, summer brings opportunities to slow down, get outside, and spend time with folks we love. At the same time, we often take time in these lighter weeks to look ahead to the Fall and coming year. 

With that in mind, I’m happy to announce that our Children, Youth, and Family Ministries 2026-2027 registration form is now live! You can register your family here.

As a reminder (and for new-ish folks), this form is how you register your family for Sunday morning Religious Education, as well as our other ministries for kids and families. Families must register for each new church year, regardless of whether they’ve registered in prior years.

I want to highlight a few updates to our programs for families in the coming year. 

• We will offer one section of Religious Education on Sunday mornings for all ages of kids and youth on Sunday mornings. The Children, Youth, and Family Ministries Advisory Team has made the decision to shift from two sections of Religious Education (RE) to one section based on RE attendance data over the past 3-5 years. That data reveals that we can now accommodate all of our participating children and youth in one section of RE on Sunday mornings. This shift brings our need for volunteers into alignment with our current volunteer capacity. It also ensures that we have the critical mass needed in every classroom for kids and youth to have a positive experience at church. 
• We are adding OWL programming on Wednesday evenings. Our popular Our Whole Lives program will be offered in one section on Sunday mornings and one section on Wednesday evenings for both our 6th grade and 8th/9th grade cohorts. 
• Join us for Family Nights! On the fourth Wednesday of every month, bring your whole family to church. We’ll have a potluck dinner at 6 p.m. followed by groups for kids and youth from 7-8:15 p.m.: middle and high school youth groups for older kids, and whole-family programming for families with younger kids. This compliments our Community Dinners and breakout groups on the second Wednesday of every month. 

In addition to these new opportunities for kids and families, church leadership is launching a congregation-wide conversation about worship times for the coming program year. This conversation includes the possibility of moving to one worship service each Sunday. Rev. Jen will share more about these conversations at the Annual Meeting this Sunday. In the coming weeks, you will have opportunities to share your perspective on our worship schedule with church leaders and staff. Stay tuned for more information. 

As always, I am deeply grateful for ALL the ways each of you show up and make our church a connective, supportive community for people of all ages. If you’re looking to find your place here, please reach out to me at allison@firstuniv.org – I’d love to get you connected.

In the meantime, put on some sunscreen, hug your pals, and we’ll see you at church.

With care,

Allison