Youth Ministry

It all started with a skit and wonderful volunteers coming forward to bless our children.  We now have separated our younger and older students into 2 groups.  The younger students meet outside.  We have many lessons about our 5 Unity Principles, how to tap into our God Spirit, radiating our love energy into the world, being responsible, having an attitude of kindness and abundance, being of service and Truth in action.  We have a story, meditation, object lesson, games, crafts, sharing, self discovery and prayer.   A new skit is in the works for Easter!  The teens meet inside with the current lessons on relationships.  We are exploring our relationship with God, with ourselves, with our parents, with betrayal, with change, with loss, and with the world.

Our teens attend regularly.  The regional retreat, which includes the southeastern states, provides the teens with profound experiences with many students from other areas.  They learn independence, leadership in family groups, initiative, team building and supporting each other.

“I would like to become more involved and take on bigger challenges” quoted  Nathan in becoming a family group leader.  We are thrilled that our teens are stepping into leadership positions.

We are focused on creating the optimal learning structures as we await our new building which will most likely be here by summer 2023. Don’t let this deter you from coming and being a part of this dynamic group.

Our next Rally is March 10-12, 2023.

 

For our World Day of Prayer, the student’s colored hummingbirds, which was the theme.  Our hummingbirds are still in the sanctuary as a sign of our being still in the midst of the action.  When we stay connected to our God Self, we tap into answers which are for the best of all.

End of Summer

Ms. Brigitte Bernhardt has been coordinating the Youth Ministry program since June 1996. She has one son, Shaun. She became interested in the spiritual education of her child and wanted to be an integral part of what he was learning. “I wanted our spiritual life to be a part of our daily life”. During her many years as youth director, she has implemented many Unity curriculum including the five (5) principles, the twelve (12) powers, wisdom tales, Jesus’ teachings, the wonder years living curriculum, choices and consequences, fair play, navigating through change and the awakened classroom. We are including prayer, meditation, movement, games, creative expression, sharing and exploring questions. The goal is that we learn to connect with the God or Divine Presence of our understanding and that we are seen and heard as the spiritual beings we have come here to express.

Brigitte worked at the Safety Harbor Montessori Academy in Clearwater for 20 years. She taught ages 3-6 for most of those years and grades 1-3 for a while. Brigitte earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Recreation Therapy. She has continuously expanded her educational knowledge through Montessori conferences, Unity conferences, zoom training, and workshops addressing the development of children dealing with the stresses of our world today. Brigitte also loves yoga, hiking, camping, biking, and swimming. “ Being centered is the best way to relate and facilitate self-growth. Using yoga with children works.”Please contact Brigitte at: brigitteunitychurch@gmail.com to ask any other questions about the program.