Dear families of a 4th grader- middle school youth,
This last church year OUUC saw a real attendance trend in the 4th-5th grade classes: one service would be well-attended and the other would have very low attendance. It became such a trend that we canceled first service classes toward the end of the year, as it wasn’t fair to volunteer teachers to prep a lesson that no one showed up for. Talking with the kids and families, it became clear to me and to the Family Ministry Team that a big part of this was the desire of the kids to come to the class where their friends and everyone else will be. They want to be a group, with a group identity, much like the Middle School group and the High School group have. But they can’t have a group identity if they are attending separate services and classes.
Because of the need for group cohesion and the attendance patterns we have seen, we are intending on only offering one 4th-5th grade class during Second Service ONLY. We intend to also offer the Middle School during second service. While I realize that second service will not work for everyone – and I apologize to any family that sees this as a hardship – I have heard from more people who prefer second service.
I welcome feedback about this decision. Please email me with any comments, questions, or complaints.
in peace,
Sara Lewis
Director of Religious Education
Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation