YFM Director
Dear Youth & Family Ministry and Families,
It is with great pleasure that I formally announce that Mary Molinari will become our YFM Director starting in September. It has been a gift to have Mary's energy and expertise in many other areas this year, including Sunday Event Coordination, development of Connection Crew and a Membership funnel, and coordinating Sacred Service. This was in addition to writing beautiful, meaningful curricula aligned with the Sunday Service topics and themes. I am grateful for her time, dedication, and commitment to excellence and Unity Renaissance in all these areas.
We introduced the concept of a YFM Advisory Team to help us bridge the gap until a YFM Director was appointed. We are so grateful for this team and their input regarding the overall program.
It became clear that this Team and many within the community desired to return to having the Director position fully staffed. We all agree that our Youth and our Families are a primary focus at Unity Renaissance and we are all committed to supporting the program with the greatest focus, attention and appreciation of how much we value our families.
I know that Mary's heart call continues to be in this area. We are blessed and grateful to have her full focus upon our Youth and Families with the intention to fully support, rejuvenate and grow the program. I am reminded of the saying that "it takes a village" to raise our children and support our families. Let us remember that we are all part of this village and that Mary, while leading, will certainly want the broadest support and participation from our entire Unity Renaissance Family.
Wonderful things are happening and unfolding as Unity Renaissance and as our Youth & Family Ministry. Together, we are positive, causal agents to herald in the next new era of our thriving and growing program that transforms lives that transform the world.
With gratitude and great anticipation,
Rev. René
Sr. Minister
Overview
Our purpose is to empower our youth to explore and express their unique divinity. We have an amazing cohort of volunteer teachers who act as spiritual role models and guides that demonstrate and teach Unity’s Principles and other Spiritual Truths. Our top priorities are to create a safe, loving, and joyful environment.
We follow Unity’s Living Curriculum philosophy that believes that the curriculum is not within any one book or guide but rather lives within the children themselves. As spiritual educators, we are here to guide our children and youth on their spiritual journey and to help them to recognize their own Divine nature. In the words of our co-founder, Myrtle Fillmore, “We are here not to entertain the children, but to call them out.”
Unity's Five Principles (For Children)
- God is all good and active in everything, everywhere.
- I am naturally good because God's Divinity is in me and in everyone.
- I create my experiences by what I choose to think and what I feel and believe.
- Through affirmative prayer and meditation, I connect with God and bring out the good in my life.
- I do and give my best by living the Truth I know. I make a difference!
Sacred Safety
To ensure the safety of our youth, we require all volunteer teachers to go through a background check process. For elementary students and younger, children receive nametags with a matching security tag for their parents to ensure a safe drop-off and pick-up process. We also collect allergen information and do not serve snacks with nuts or other known classroom allergens.
Spiritual Education
The typical format for a Sunday lesson includes:
- Social Time: Activities and opportunities for children to connect with each other at the beginning of class.
- Gathering: An opening circle for community building and connecting that includes prayer, meditation, and/or breathwork.
- Story Sharing: A story, lesson, or experience is shared to unearth a spiritual lesson.
- Discussion: Through questioning and individual sharing, learners explore the meaning of the story and how it relates to them.
- Creative Experience: The children are invited to explore and express their thoughts and feelings through a creative exercise.
- Sharing: After the exercise, the children share ideas and insights.
- Closing: The children either share a closing prayer in their classroom or join the adults in the Sanctuary to share and close-out.
Age Groups
- Nursery: Ages 0 to 3.
- Unitots: Ages 3 to 6.
- Unikids: Grades K-5.
- Uniteens: Grades 6-8.
- Youth of Unity (Y.O.U.): Grades 9-12.
- About our classrooms
To Join Our Team
There are a variety of ways to be of service in our youth and family programs. If you are interested, please reach out to yfmdirector@unityren.org or speak to our YFM Director after the Sunday Service.
