Welcome to our Religious Education Co-Op

At the First Unitarian Society of Schenectady, Religious Education for our children and youth is a cooperative venture involving you, your children and the greater FUSS community. Together, we strive to create an atmosphere of respect and compassion for ourselves and others, creating a warm, welcoming and enriching spiritual learning environment for all.

Our classes encourage creativity in the individual, positive interactions among the children, and connections to each other, our community, and the world. The curricula we use draw upon the core set of liberal principals and long historical tradition of Unitarian     Universalism and are developmentally appropriate to the age of our participants. We gather source material from the  wisdom teachings of the world, including our Jewish and Christian heritages and other religious traditions, as well as from art and science.

The religious education program at FUSS runs from September until June. We hold regular classes during fall and spring sessions, plus a  six-week winter session that covers a different topic each year. In addition, we have a monthly children's worship service called Gathered Time, special events around the traditional holidays of the major world religions, and church-wide intergenerational services.

The FUSS congregation recognizes religious education as a lifelong process of exploration and we embrace the Lifespan concept of religious education. Our co-operative religious education program and these classes are part of a continuum of lifespan education that involves every member of our FUSS community, from the youngest child in our Nursery to our most   senior membership.

We offer this prospectus to you as an entryway for developing a deeper understanding of our programs for the children and youth of FUSS.  We look forward to getting to know your family better and welcome any questions you may have and service you can lend in helping our wonderful Religious Education program grow even stronger.

Religious Education Council

Melissa MacKinnon, Coordinator of Religious Education