MISSION: Unity Church of Austin is committed to offering a creative and positive education program for it's children and young people which inspires, instructs and provides a solid spiritual foundation for their growth into adulthood. The church administration and board are committed to support the provision of a high quality program by offering all the resources that are feasible and available to the ministry.
Our classes and instructors create environments which provide security, friendship and fun. Materials and curriculum are age appropriate and provide opportunities for discussion, sharing, personal experience and life application. Prayer and meditation, which are important to learning to communicate with God are a vital part of the curriculum.
CLASSES: Currently we offer the following classes during our Sunday School program which are held during the adult worship service.
* Truth for Tots (infant - 3 years)
* Godly Play (3 years and up)
GODLY PLAY “ Our mission is not to entertain children, but to call them
out. To be “always entertained” is to be
dwarfed and dependent. To be “called
out” is to follow the harmonious law of the soul’s unfoldment. Who meddles with the rosebud? What fingers are deft enough to pry open that
marvel of folded beauty? We are wise
enough to leave it alone to follow the glad law of its own unfolding, but our
children! Have we dealt as wisely with
these buds of marvelous possibilities?
Have we always remembered that they too must quicken and unfold through
the innate law of their own genius?”
-
Myrtle Fillmore
Children today experience "normal" challenges that were unimaginable to many of us in our youth: the increased violence on television and our streets, the high rates of divorce and remarriage, the rapid and destabilizing pace of technological change. We ourselves are frequently bewildered and frightened by the world we live in; imagine how unsettling it must be to children.
Setting aside a regular time to be still in the presence of God and to learn the stories of faith is essential to a child who needs a sense of being surrounded and upheld by God's love. Our Sunday School programs aims to be this for our youth.
Godly Play is a Montessori based curriculum that encourages reverence and working deeply with one's personal interpretation of scripture. Among the things Godly Play offers are the stories of the Bible and the religious traditions that have sustained people's spirits for generations. These stories are means by which children can learn to cope with the anxieties generated by the world around them and they will be able to take comfort in a growing awareness of the long history of God's loving presence. Bible stories told in a traditional way to younger children lay the foundation for the metaphysical interpretations that start bubbling up with the teenage years.
The lessons that engage the children in their classes cover a wide range of learning activities. Just like adult services the classes offered to our children are based on basic Unity Truth principles.
Adjusted for children, these Five Basic Principles are:
1. The only Power in the universe is God, who is wholly good.
2. The Spirit of God we call the Christ is alive in Jesus and in me.
3. Through the power of God, my thoughts can change my life.
4. I can choose to let go of hurtful and limiting thoughts. I can choose to think loving and kind thoughts.
5. I can talk to God. I can listen to God. God listens and talks to me. I can use the truths I am learning every day.
Our staff consists of Sarah Byrd, Youth Education Director Eryn Bowman, Nursery Leader
Love-in-Action Projects are included in the curriculum. Some of these activities are homeless projects, Compassion International, church potlucks, helping during the Keep Austin Beautiful clean up days, creating Earth Day festivals, and other annual projects.
The desire of the entire congregation is to support and grow an education program that is dynamic, inclusive and challenging. In today's world we want our children to have optimum support for soul growth and development.
Click here for what's happening in the Youth & Family Ministry!