Parents and Families - Saltwater Unitarian Universalist Church

Looking for resources to further your religious education and spiritual growth? Check out the selection of online resources for parents and families on a variety of Growth and Learning topics below.

beliefs and values

We Discover Faith Together, in Our Families: Unitarian Universalists support one another to discover and rediscover a seeking, active faith in the context of our family lives. We help parents talk with children about difficult things and connect with the soul of parenting.

UU@Home: Your source for “Faith Development Month By Month” and support from other UUs who are embarking on the very same journey. Our Unitarian Universalist faith tradition calls us to live our Principles and values the very best we can every day of the week; and let’s face it, this is not an easy task!

spiritual growth

Songs and hymns: Simple Unitarian Universalist songs for families, and MP3s to help you learn them (click on “music” tab, scroll down to bottom for MP3s).

Family Discovery of Spiritual Practices: If your family is interested in experiencing spiritual practices together other than prayer there are many resources available for this purpose. There are many ways in which people can seek spiritual deepening, name what is in their hearts, and engage in deep listening.

Light a Chalice: Lighting a family chalice at meal times, as part of family celebrations, or as part of a practice of family prayer or meditation can be a regular reminder of your family’s Unitarian Universalist faith. Don’t have a chalice? UU@home has ideas for making or buying a chalice for your family.

life issues

Relationships and Parenting: Here are some resources to help you bring intention to two important kinds of relationships: committed partnership or marriage and being a parent.

Let’s Talk About Families and Loss: This guide prepares family members to explore the topic of loss with one another. It offers information about how children understand loss. This booklet also provides Activities and Resources to help families and congregations examine their own histories of, and reactions to, loss over their lifetimes.

When Tragedy Strikes: Our job is not to help our children become immune to the sadness of tragedy. Instead, let us help them feel secure with them knowledge that they are loved and cherished; let us model for them a reverence for life, and open their eyes wide to injustice, and also remind them to look for the heroes who bring us hope.

Divorce and Remarriage: This booklet offers a UU perspective on divorce and broken relationships–how UU Principles inform our understanding about these events, how the ending of committed relationships affects individuals and families, and how UU congregations can offer support to people experiencing this major life change.

social responsibility

Doing Good Together: Looking for family social justice activities? In addition to opportunities at Saltwater Church, check out Doing Good Together. Whether you have five minutes or five hours to give, whether you have an infant or a teen, whether you are doing well or working hard to get by, your family has a contribution to make. In the process, you will teach your children that giving back is a natural part of growing up.

Beyond the Golden Rule: published by Teaching Tolerance, is a parent’s guide to preventing and responding to prejudice, from preschool through high school. It is a useful resource for families of all racial identities. The book is available in a PDF format that can be downloaded and printed.

Unitarian Universalism

Recommended booklist for UU parents: Parents and caregivers are our children’s primary religious educators, and not only because we give explanations and advice. Every day, we model attitudes toward faith, meaning, and purpose that children will notice and copy. Here are some helpful books related to parenting as a UU.

Welcome: A Unitarian Universalist Primer by Patricia Frevert: a good basic introduction to Unitarian Universalism. This is a good resource for families who wish to understand our Principles and Purposes better. This book is available in our church library, and is also available as an e-book from google or kindle.

Sunday and Every Day: My Little Book of Unitarian Universalism by Patricia Frevert is a basic introduction to our faith. Good for ages 3-12. Available in our church library. Also available as an ebook from google or kindle.

#parentingblog: A weekly discussion about parenting and liberal religion, with Michelle Richards, author of Tending the Flame: The Art of Unitarian Universalist Parenting.

UU Family Pages: Family Pages are included in each issue of UU World, a quarterly magazine for Unitarian Universalists. These provide a variety of stories and topics for conversation.

We welcome your suggestions for resource content for this page. What have you found that is exceptional?