Children’s Religious Exploration

At KUUF you’ll see these themes woven through our worship services, chalice circles, Creativity Matters, Soulful Home, and children’s religious exploration.

Children's Religious Exploration: January 2026

Focusing on exploring how we can resist some of the traps that pull us away from our spiritual selves and instead lean into choices that reflect our values, even when it’s challenging, this month’s theme is Practicing Resistance.

January 4: Resisting ”Monkey Mind” This week we are exploring the challenge of resisting distraction, overwhelm, anger and worries and honoring our UU practice of finding wisdom in the world's religions.

January 11: Resisting the Unhealthy Parts of Screen Time and Social Media This week, we are exploring the challenge of resisting the unhealthy parts of social media.

January 18: Resisting Racism This week, we are exploring the challenge of resisting racism, lifting up our UU value of justice.

January 25: Resisting the Pressure to Fit In This week, we are exploring the challenge of resisting the pressure to fit in, lifting up our UU value of love, and choosing compassion and inclusion over division and status.

Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education for Grades 5 & 6: January to March 2026

Honest, accurate information about sexuality changes lives. It dismantles stereotypes and assumptions, builds self-acceptance and self-esteem, fosters healthy relationships, improves decision making, and has the potential to save lives.

Our Whole Lives: Sexuality Education for Grades 4-6 is designed to help fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders (ages 9-12) gain the knowledge, life principles, and skills they need to express their sexuality in life-enhancing ways. This curriculum is an expression of the belief that educating institutions, including religious communities, can form meaningful partnerships with parents and caregivers to provide positive and responsible sexuality education.

Young people in grades 4-6 are typically exposed to images of sexuality tainted by sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, and irresponsibility. The information they receive on such topics as sexually transmitted infections, birth control and abortion is often inaccurate. They need a framework within which to understand these issues and to develop sexuality-related values. The Our Whole Lives curriculum helps parents/caregivers address this need. Based on specific values related to human sexuality, Our Whole Lives nurtures the worth and dignity of every participant. It also helps to foster loving, equitable, and healthy relationships and to counter injustices, including homophobia, stereotyping, and sexism. Our Whole Lives engages young people in activities that help them clarify their values, and it teaches communication and decision-making skills. It encourages participants to value themselves and to act on their values throughout their lives.

Our Whole Lives provides developmentally appropriate information about a range of topics. Although the curriculum is designed for 4th-6th grades, because of the wide differences in age, experience, and maturity among children at these ages, Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will be offering the program to 5th-6th graders.

Contact Melinda Hughes, Director of Lifespan Faith Formation with any questions and to RSVP.

Soulful Home: 3rd Sunday at 11:45 am

Soulful Home is an ongoing parent group meeting that usually meets the third Sunday of each month. Parents are invited to bring a sack lunch for themselves and for their child(ren). Children will remain up in the Matan Building for childcare while parents meet to build community and explore the Soulful Home resources. Soulful Home is a program through Soul Matters that supports families as they explore the sacred in everyday spaces by providing materials to help parents integrate Unitarian Universalism into everyday home life. 

Creativity Matters

Are you interested in spiritual exploration through creativity? Looking for a group to participate in at the Fellowship? Creativity Matters may be for you. Like a Chalice Circle, participants will gather monthly. Participants receive project-based packets built around the monthly theme. Each packet contains creative exercises for group members to work on prior to the meeting. Packets also contain inspirational material and reflection questions to get your creative juices flowing.  Unlike an artists group that explores technique and provides critiques, this group will gather together, similar to a Chalice Circle, for spiritual discernment. While artists are welcome, no experience or artistic skill is required.  Project options include such things as: collage, storytelling, scrapbooking, sketching, photography, creative writing, watercolor painting, fabric arts, sculpture, movement, music, and more. All projects are designed for everyone. At the monthly gathering group members will share their projects and insights that emerged from the exercise/project they picked.  If you are interested in participating please contact Melinda.

Family Friendly Fellowship Film Night: 4th Friday at 6pm, January 23, 2026

This is an all ages movie night. Pack a picnic dinner, blanket and pillows and join members of the Soulful Home parenting group for an indoor picnic, pajama wearing, film viewing event. This is an all ages event and because of this we will be starting early. You are invited to socialize and eat from 5:30 to 6:00. At 6:00 movie will begin 

Note: We are trying to limit clean up following the event, that is where the picnic idea came from. Because of this we will not be setting up tables and the kitchen will be closed.

Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities

Sunday Morning Program

Our children’s program is growing and we need you. If you have been involved in the Fellowship for at least a year and are interested and willing to work with our children, we need you. 

Childcare: We need helpers in childcare for those mornings when one of our childcare providers is out. Childcare is for crawlers-pre K. 

Elementary Aged Children: We have so many children attending regularly that we need a second adult in the room with our teacher. The teacher will prepare all materials and lead the activity. We just need someone to help them. If you are interested please see Melinda. We also have a need for helpers in childcare. All who work with our children are required to have a background check. 

Middle School: We have a very small group of middle schoolers but are hoping that we can soon have enough to have a middle school group that meets regularly. For this to happen, we need not only middle schoolers, but a team of adults that would be willing to work with this amazing group. 

If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please talk to Melinda Hughes, Director of Religious Exploration.

Family Friendly Service

KUUF services are family friendly! Children are welcome to stay for the entire service. Most 5-12 year olds choose to go to Children's Religious Exploration (CRE) after Time for All Ages.

Time for All Ages

KUUF is a member of the Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a group of over 145 UU congregations who follow the same monthly worship themes. This year's overarching frame is The Gifts of Our Faith, focusing on ten beloved UU values and exploring their potential to shape us and in turn shape the world. This allows us to share in a Time for All Ages, often a story, that connects the theme to the sermon and to the activities the children will be doing. Following Time for All Ages most children go to Children's Religious Exploration.