Religious Exploration for Youth – Beacon At Home
Beacon has wrapped up our Spring RE programming for Children “Horton Hears a UU” and will be taking the next couple weeks off before we start our Summer programming. Thanks to all of the families that participated and provided on feedback on what resources were the most engaging during this time of distance learning at home.
Beacon’s programming for Middle-Schoolers “Building Bridges” also wrapped up last week. Participants and teachers wanted to share what they thought of the program, which you can find below.
From the Youth:
“I learned a lot more about religion. Beacon members should try Building Bridges. It teaches you to be respectful of others and what they believe. That way you will not accidentally offend someone who is of a different faith.”
“Building Bridges tells us more about religion and how religions help us in society. Except Scientology.”
“Building Bridges helps you keep an open mind so you can hear people out about what they believe. It helps you realize there is no one right faith.”
From the Teachers:
“I so enjoyed working with our youth in the Building Bridges program this year. It was such a wonderful way to explore other religions in a warm and welcoming environment. Our youth had such thoughtful questions, and we had engaging discussions as we each processed our experiences visiting other faith communities. In an all-too-often divisive world, exposure to diverse worldviews is vital to promoting tolerance, understanding, and an ability to collaborate with others.”
“Teaching Building Bridges was the most rewarding RE teaching experience I have ever had at Beacon! I got to see the religions we were studying and visiting from the fresh eyes of youth. The commonalities and the differences between religious beliefs was fascinating as well. I was pleasantly surprised by how welcoming all the Flagstaff faith communities we visited were to us: Judaism, Buddhism, Catholic, LDS, and Islam. What a treasure and a privilege it was to visit these churches. I feel like my mind and heart is more open to all religions as a result.”