Sunday Club
Children are a welcome and vibrant part of our church community. For those who would like to avail of it, the Dublin Unitarian Church offers a Sunday Club during services. Sunday Club takes place in the church vestry and begins after the children’s story.
Sunday Club includes discussion on the theme of the service, art, crafts, games and other child-led activities. Children gather in the church vestry for part of the Sunday Service. The session is led by two volunteers who are members of the church community. Parents of children with special needs are invited to attend.
Sunday Club is open to children over the age of 4 without parental supervision, once the child can use the toilet independently. For children with special needs, a parent or guardian is invited to attend. Children under the age of 4 are always welcome to use the Vestry during a service and play with some of our toys. The Vestry has an audio link to the Church so accompanying adults can listen in to the service as it takes place.
All the volunteers who are involved in Sunday Club have undergone Garda vetting. You can see our child safeguarding statement here.
Junior Coming of Age
Children aged approximately 8 years old (second class of primary school) are invited to join our Junior Coming of Age programme. This is an opportunity to learn more about the Unitarian congregation and reflect on what this means to our younger attendees. It takes place approximately one Sunday per month for 8 months during the usual Church service and ends in a service led by the children. The programme is co-ordinated by parent volunteers.
“I really enjoy Sunday Club. We do fun activities and learn about being good to each other.” (Michael, age 8)
“Sunday Club is a nice way to meet other children who come to our church. I’ve made friends with some kids who come regularly. I really enjoyed the Junior Coming of Age programme and learning more about famous people who were Unitarians.” (Lena, age 10)
Senior Coming of Age
The Coming of Age is aimed at young people as they move into secondary school. It’s a year-long programme where children learn about other faiths and are given the opportunity to attend services in other religious communities. The children are also encouraged to think about their own beliefs. We organise a weekend retreat in a Unitarian centre in the UK which is informative and a bonding experience with other Unitarians and the programme finishes with a special service of celebration organised and delivered by the young people.
The artwork above was designed by young people as part of the programme.