We are excited to announce the 2022-23 Children and Youth Faith Formation Programming for The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport. All programming, with the exception of the high school youth group, begins on Sundays at 10:00 AM.
Nursery Care: We offer dedicated space for a nursery for babies and toddlers (up to 3 years old). This space is located in the first downstairs classroom of our main sanctuary building. We will take your cell number in case there is a need to contact you.
The younger children will be split into two classrooms this year:
K-2nd grade will meet in the chapel room of the main building, located on the lower level.
3-5th grade will meet on the main level of the Meeting House building.
Beginning December 4, our 6-8th graders will pivot to a special interfaith collaborative called the Witness Stones Project. Joining forces with two Wilton churches (St. Matthew’s Episcopal and the Congregational Church), our youth will research and reflect on the enslaved people who once lived and worked locally in Connecticut. We sometimes forget that slavery was not just occurring in the south. We will explore Colonial Connecticut, Puritanism, Settler relationships with Native people, and the influence of Christianity in controlling and oppressing African and Native populations.
We will focus attention on the life of one individual: John C. Wally (or “Lazarus”) formerly of Wilton, CT. At the conclusion of our research and exploration, we, along with youth from the other churches, will lay a memorial witness stone at his former residence. As part of our exploration, the Witness Stones Project class will travel to Washington, DC February 17-20, 2023 to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and will participate in several community service projects to help the needy.
Our 9th graders resumed the Coming of Age program they began last spring. Coming of Age (COA) is the important Unitarian Universalist rite of passage for young teens, which culminated in a profoundly moving youth-led worship service (October 30, 2022) during which the youth shared their personal statements of belief to the congregation. Coming of Age 9th graders have now joined the high school youth group.
The Witness Stones Project Middle School Learning Journey to Washington DC February 2023 was fantastic! We participated in an intensive service project at a foodbank warehouse, visited the African American Museum of History and Culture, and saw several monuments along the Washington mall. Check out our the experience with these pics! Thanks to Zach Pawelek for the videography.
Hear from our Lead for Family Faith Formation, Nate Pawelek, as he explains what Witness Stones are about. Our Middle Schoolers will help to lay one in Wilton this Spring, after exploration and study.