Yet Another Unitarian Universalist Curriculum Site contains materials useful in designing and implementing programs for children and teens in Unitarian Universalist congregations.
Curriculum = spiritual journey with caring guides
I’m using the word “curriculum” to mean a guided path or journey that young people set out on, accompanied by caring adults as guides and mentors.
Religious education scholar Maria Harris has argued that “curriculum” in the congregation has (at least) five distinct elements. As a Roman Catholic, Harris named these five distinct elements as kerygma, didache, koinonia, diaknoia, and leiturgia. As Unitarian Universalists, we might have somewhat different names for these five elements:
- Speaking truth — articulating our progressive spiritual tradition
- Teaching and learning — spiritual education in structured settings
- Community — being part of a spiritual community
- Serving others — helping family, congregation, local community and nation, world
- Practicing spirituality together — at home, in small groups, in larger worship services
The programs on this website encompass all these elements of curriculum, and probably others that I haven’t yet figured out how to articulate.
About these curricula
Calendar and schedule: These curriculums were written for use in congregations with a typical school year calendar and Sunday morning schedule. (Obviously, they can be adapted for other settings.)
- The session plans typically cover 50 minutes, giving time for the young people to attend part of the weekly service or have play time
- A core goal of these curricula is for kids to have fun and build community, so session plans generally allow significant time for check-in
- Most of the curricula include 8 or 9 session plans, for congregations looking for a longer-term learning experience (but most session plans can also work as stand-alone sessions)
Cultural setting: The curriculums are designed to be used with children and youth from diverse cultural traditions and ethnicities. Many of the field tests took place in the San Francisco Bay area in a majority minority county, with diverse children of diverse parents ( European, African, South Asian, East Asian, South American, etc.). Since parents are the primary cultural, spiritual, and religious educators, the curriculums are designed to reinforce what young people may learn at home, while also introducing them to traditions they might not otherwise be familiar with.
Ecological setting: Most of these curricula were originally designed for the climate and seasons of the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of them can easily be adapted for other bioregions.
Read more about the philosophy behind these programs.
About me
I’m Dan Harper, principal author of material on this site. I’ve served in Unitarian Universalist congregations ranging in size from 25 members to 550 members (3,000 members if you count Church of the Larger Fellowship, an online congregation). I’ve worked as director of religious education, minister of religious education, interim minister, and I’m currently working as a parish minister.
My credentials: B.A. in philosophy from Haverford College. A year of graduate study in creative nonfiction at Emerson College. M.Div. from Meadville/ Lombard Theological School, with a focus in religious education. Fellowshipped as a Unitarian Universalist minister with a religious education speciality. More than 25 years direct experience working with children and teens.
Credits
The curriculums and session plans have been developed in partnership with volunteer teachers, children and youth, lay leaders, and other staff. Volunteer teachers have taught, given feedback, and contributed to the development of these curricula. Children and youth have participated in these programs, and they have also provided feedback (in fact, one curriculum was co-written with a young person). Credit to specific people is given in each curriculum.
The curriculums on this site have grown out of actual classes and workshops with real live children and teens at the following Unitarian Universalist congregations: First Parish in Cohasset (Coming of Age, Ecojustice Camp); First Parish in Lexington, Mass. (Judean Village); First Parish in Watertown, Mass. (Peace Experiments); Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto (Beginnings, Coming of Age, Ecojustice Camp, Ecojustice Class, From Long Ago, Greek Myths, Judean Village, Neighboring Religious Communities, Peace Experiments). Some of the session plans have been field tested at Ferry Beach Conference Center, Saco, Maine.
Copyright
Copyright (c) 2014-2026 Dan Harper
You are welcome to use any of these curricula in your congregation. Teachers can access lessons from their tablet or smart phone, and/or they may make a printed copy of any page on this site for their own personal use. UU and other liberal congregations may print as many copies of curricula as they need for their Sunday schools. Some curricula are available as print copies or ebooks; purchase of a print copy will grant you permission to make unlimited copies for your congregation.
Regardless of any permission to copy, each and every curriculum is protected by copyright. There are unscrupulous people out there who will take material from the Web that is not copyright-protected, turn around and slap their own copyright on it, and then bar the original author from publishing (yes, Virginia, it has happened).
I retain copyright to all material on this site (except where explicitly noted otherwise). If you have any questions about permissions, you can contact me at:
dharper dot
fpcohasset at
gmail dot com