It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The time when the school and church year begins, the time when the leaves will start to change and the weather starts cooling. While many people get excited about springtime, autumn is my very favorite season. It always has been. And yet, our summer programs at church were without a doubt, one of my favorite seasons of the year. This year, we hosted three interns, two from Teens in Public Service (TIPS), and one young adult who grew up in the congregation. All spent the summer working together, with the kids, and with the RE staff and volunteers. We held two weeks of summer camp and had a blast. TIPS is an excellent program to enroll in for teens to work in non-profits around the greater Seattle area. You can learn more about East Shore summer TIPS interns at teensinpublicservice.org/sofia-aguilar-ehrli and teensinpublicservice.org/akilah-kayanda
RE begins September 21, please remember to register online at esuc.org/kids
Consider becoming an RE teacher this year. I will be leading a teacher training on Sunday, September 7 from 12-3:30 in Spring Hall. As always, church programs are always a collaborative effort between staff and members. Please chose the one that most speaks to you and know that you will be instrumental in creating a dynamic RE program.
If you will not be registering a child and do not have children in the program AND are willing, ready and able to volunteer in RE this year, please contact me!
2025-26 Upcoming Events and Programs
The programs for this church year will include:
- Spirit Play and Chalice Children for PreK
- Mosaic and Flourish Congregations will be offered from K-5th grades
- Our Whole Lives for elementary and youth grades K-1, 4-6, 7-8, and 10-12
- Coming of Age teens ages 13+
- Middle School Youth Group 6th-8th grades
- High School Youth Group 9th-12th grades
2025-2026 Important Dates for Families
September 7, 2025 – Volunteer Training
September 14, 2025 – No RE (Water Communion Ingathering)
September 14, 2025 – First Day of YRUU High School Youth Group
September 21, 2025 – First Day of RE
September 28, 2025 – First Day of OWL
October 2, 2025 – First Day of Coming of Age
October 12, 2025 – Family Hike
November 7, 2025 – Kids Night In
November 30, 2025 – Winter Pageant Rehearsal
December 7, 2025 – Winter Pageant Rehearsal
December 14, 2025 – RE Worship: The Winter Pageant
December 21, 2025 – No RE (Music Sunday)
December 28, 2025 – No RE
January 4, 2026 – Children’s New Year Service
January 25, 2026 – Family Hike
February 15, 2026 – No RE (Mardi Gras)
February 27, 2026 – Kids Night In
March 7, 2026 – Community Iftar
March 21, 2026 – Church Auction
April 5, 2026 – Children’s Easter Egg Hunt
April 26, 2026 – No RE (Blessing of the Animals)
April 26, 2026 – Family Hike
May 17, 2026 – No RE (Music Sunday)
May 24, 2026 – No RE (ESUC Seabeck Family Retreat)
June 5, 2026 – Kids Night In
June 14, 2026 – RE Worship: Bridging and Blessing Celebration
June 21, 2026 – Summer RE
July 20-August 7, 2026 – ESUC Summer Camp
August 9-15, 2026 – Camp Blue Boat
August 23, 2026 – Family Hike
I hope this year, you can feel that being part of the Unitarian Universalist faith community is important to you, as the parent and caregiver, and to the children. Parents are a child’s primary religious educator. When you attend church every Sunday as a family, you reinforce the value of belonging to this faith community.