Programs for Youth and Children

"The great end in religious instruction is not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own...In a word, the great end is to awaken the soul, to excite and cherish spiritual life." - - William Ellery Channing

The opportunity to participate in a Unitarian Universalist congregation is a wonderful gift that parents can give to a child.

Saltwater Church is a place where your child will be welcome, accepted, and cherished.
It's a place where your child's natural feelings of compassion, wonder, awe, and interconnectedness will be nurtured.
It is a place where your child will learn about the diversity of the world's religious traditions, will be encouraged to ask questions and think critically, and will be encouraged to develop his or her own answers to life's biggest questions.
It's a place where your child can have fun in a safe environment, make friends with other children, and experiencing what if feels like to belong to a community.
It's a place where your child will learn how he or she can make a difference in the world in which we live and be given opportunities to do so.

From Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day Weekend, we have special summer programming for children at youth at our 10 a.m. service as well as nursery care for toddlers and crawlers. Our summer children's program will be centered on understanding and caring for our environment. We will examine some of the ecological issues facing our world and ground that learning in exploring the forest and the living things on our church grounds. Water play, science experiments, the annual dedication of the animals, and field day will all be part of our exploration and celebration of our relationship with the environment. We'll even be creating a "Wildlife Wall and Ecological Expo" with displays of our favorite animal art, science fair projects, and the like. Children's program is open to all children ages 4-12. Each class will be lead by two adult volunteers from the congregation. Middle school and high school youth who wish to participate are encouraged to sign up as assistants.

During the regular church year, programming for children and youth of all ages is held at our 9:30 a.m. service every Sunday morning. Childcare for children up to six is available at our 11 a.m. service. To find out more about our programs for children, youth, and their families, please click on the links below, or if you have any questions, please contact Melinda Brooks, our Director of Family Ministries, at melinda@saltwaterchurch.org or at (253) 839-5200.

To find out more about Sunday morning classes for different age levels and the curriculum each class is using, click here.
To see a calendar of events of activities for children, youth, and their families, click here.
To find out about childcare for any church event, click here.
To find out how we make Saltwater Church a safe place for children, youth, and their families, click here.
To read the children's version of the "Seven Principles" of Unitarian Universalism, click here.
To read the latest issue of uu & me, an online magazine for Unitarian Universalist children, click here.