We invite you to join us at Unity Center of Peace on Sundays at 11:00am with your younger family members. While you enjoy our Celebration Service in the sanctuary, they will benefit from participating in our robust, loving, nurturing curriculum for children and youth. All programs are age-appropriate and are led by our carefully selected, and fully background checked, Spiritual Education staff members.
Our YFM rooms are in the upstairs part of the building and Sunday School resides from 11am-12:10pm. Please be sure to sign your child in using the clipboard on the door. Near the end of service, the children will be brought downstairs by the Youth Ed teacher to give a brief announcement about what they did and what they learned and to receive a special UCP blessing by the minister and congretation. We currently do not have a program for teens (Y.O.U). Teens are encouraged to sit in the Sunday Service with their parents at this time.
We envision young people growing up with a clear grasp of their spiritual nature and power, living from their ability to make a difference in the world, to express love, to choose kindness, to relate authentically, and to model spiritual values.
For more about our Youth Education Director (YED), Shannon Preto, see the page: Minister, Board Members, and Staff
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Contact Email: shannon.p@unitychapelhill.org
On Sunday, September 27
We closed out September's exciting theme on the Power of Order, in Spaaaaace. It was an exciting month as we learned how the space between two people, the spacing we can organize in our rooms, the space that is organized around us in our sacred spaces, and the Divine space inside our central channels can be Ordered to bring us into a sacredness, an intentionality, and a communal celebration of all that is Holy and meaningful in our lives. The distance between people gives sanctity to the Love and Joy in a relationship. How we organize our bedrooms increases the feng shui flow bringing increased positivity into our daily lives. The architecture of a church or sacred space creates opportunities for deep self-reflection and exuberant celebration of the Christ within and without. And we can order the pouring of nectar so very sweet into our central channels that it feels what might feel like empty space. This is the work we did in September. Which leads to October's theme, the Power of Zeal.
As we step out into that space, into Divine nature, into our communal sacred spaces, and explore more intentionally our internal wholeness, we can find and express the Power of Zeal. Zeal is expressed as abundant joy, as excitement for sacredness, and as calm warming Love in community. We'll explore how our Power of Zeal can be expressed throughout the month of October both in the YFM classroom on Sunday as well as in our community offerings on Oct. 16 and Oct. 25. The Unity Center of Peace is a locus of positive, abundant, Loving sacredness and we invite you every Sunday into the YFM space to learn more about the Joy centered within you and to experience the excitement of your presence within our community.
Join us and share in the joyful excitement of commUnity!
On Sunday, September 13
We continued looking at the Power of Order and how we can Order space. The space around us and within has an order to it, and by becoming aware of it, we bring a sacredness and intentionality to it. Today's main lesson focused on feng shui and how we can order rooms to increase positive energy flows. The position of the bed, any plants, the desk, or other items support an increase in positive Qi which increases our joy, comfort, and confidence. Adhering to feng shui principles in the more social rooms, e.g. living, TV, or dining room, helps to increase positive flow during social gatherings. Ordering our rooms brings opportunities to engage with positive, life thriving energy, which is a reflection of the Christ within and the Divinity outside.
On Sunday, Sept 6th, we started our exploration on the Power of Order by focusing on how we can Order space. If you think about the space around you, it is not empty, but filled with stuff. Underneath and within that stuff is more space and smaller things that make up that stuff. Underneath or within those things are even smaller bits that both take up space and have space within them. Science now theorizes that there are strings that are the most basic structures that provide an Order to our universe.
Within our bodies, we can imagine that we have space, particularly if we envision the "central channel" resting just in front of the vertebral column and behind the organs, e.g., heart, intestines, etc. To give a tangible concept of this central channel we use an empty wrapping paper roll. On this tube, we drew the colors of the chakras as both a reference to our month of focusing on the Power of (Embodied) Strength, and to provide Order to our opening meditation. As the tongue drum's vibrations expanded outward into space, the children were introduced to meditating on the location and spaciousness of this central tube. Within this spaciousness within, we can Order our way through the space, or unknown, using the chakral system, or remembering the endocrine system's work, or thinking about Unity's 5 Principles to guide our minds into alignment with God, Divinity, and the Christ Within.
We then started learning about Proxemics and the "intimate", "personal", "social" and "public" spaces as a lens by which to understand relationships. How is it different for two people to stand 12 feet apart (public space) and say "I am Powerful" versus standing three feet away (personal) and saying the same thing. Additionally, how it is perceived to stand 6 feet away (social space) and say "You are loving" versus when you say those words in the "intimate space". Movie and theater directors use this understanding of proxemics to create scenes between characters. Last, as you experience the differences of space, how does it Order your relationship with another person as well as Order your intimate or personal spaciousness with God.
Next week, we'll learn about feng shui for our living spaces so that we can Order it such that it creates a sacred space for rest and communion.
Join us every week and help us shape our Spiritual space within our YFM classroom.
September's theme: Power of Order
This month's theme is the Power of Order, and we'll be looking at the Order of space; which is one of my favorite topics. The intentional use of space is important, particularly in relationships between two or more items.
The first week, we'll learn about Proxemics, which is the study of space in our external environment. We'll specifically look at how space between two people affects the experience of the relationship. For example, if you watch movies or theater scenes, you can witness how the use of space in the conversation conveys the relationship between the characters. How you create intimacy or indicate your level of comfort in a conversation can help to recognize the relationship you have with another.
The second week, we'll introduce the children to feng shui so we can help the children understand how to organize their bedrooms... and organize them in a way to optimize their sense of well-being. We hope for y'all's sake that this organization of the bedroom becomes super exciting for your children and that they will organize their bedrooms.
The third week we will look at how buildings and churches Order space to enhance the experience of the Divine, God, and the communal Religious experience. For example, we'll look at the architecture of St. Denis cathedral which is an example of the first gothic style cathedral, which also happens to be Duke's Chapel's architectural style. And we'll have an introduction to the spirituality of digging our hands into the UCP garden to create a sacred space for all beings.
Throughout each week, but particularly the fourth week, we'll explore the Divine Spaciousness within our body/mind/spirit 'Trinity.' How do we Order our spaciousness within our time of prayer and contemplation that brings us further into a relationship with our God. Within this last week, we'll circle back to our Power of Strength lesson when we learned about chakra and recognize the central channel available to us. The central channel has spaciousness within its most inner location and can be aligned with the 'line up' of the endocrine system.
Each week, Kai, myself, Rev. Victoria, and all of UCP strive to create a welcoming, safe, and spiritually enlightening space that supports the processing and Ordering of your children's lives, their interactions, and, ultimately, their wholistic spiritual development. If you haven't been to UCP in a while, we invite "all y'all" with open, exuberant arms to join us. If you have been coming every week, we are excited to see, hear, and "feel you" about your week...
August YFM News
Week of August 2
This past Sunday , we had four wonderful students start their lesson on the Power of Will. We talked about the components that make up the Power—Choice, Commitment, Willingness—and how we can use these ideas in our everyday lives.
We then started a new project where the students will be making flowers “grow” from their will, each week adding Powers and affirmations (in the form of “petals”) that connect to their Power of Will. This week they added the Powers of Release, Understanding, and Love. We had a short discussion about the impact each of these has within the scope of ‘willingness’.
Join us next week as we continue our discussion about the Power of Will and how we can enact these ideas using the Powers of Life and Faith. We will be continuing our flower project as well.
Come and share what you know, so that together, as a commUnity, we can continue to strengthen our Powers! A wonderful week ahead, for all of us :)
YFM Assitant, Kai Kaizen
Week of July 19
On Sunday, we continued exploring the Power of Understanding through a number of thought-provoking conversations.
We introduced the children to Dr. Marshall Rosenberg’s use of the Jackal and Giraffe metaphors to describe different ways of responding to misunderstanding. Dr. Rosenberg wrote Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, which the adults studied together in the spring of 2024.
The Jackal represents responses that attack, blame, or rely on right-versus-wrong thinking—speaking from a judgmental mind. The Giraffe, with its large heart, represents responses grounded in empathy: making clear observations, identifying feelings, recognizing underlying needs, and making actionable requests.
We explored this distinction through a real-life example. If a friend who had asked to eat pancakes with us didn't show up for Sunday lessons, would sending them a picture of us eating pancakes be a “Jackal response”? Or could we send a picture expressing that we wished they were with us—something that felt authentically loving, or came from the Giraffe heart?
There was no single “right” answer. Instead, we explored how we might look toward God, the Divine, or the Christ within to help us know how to respond to and support our absent friend.
Our other happenstance conversation arose from the question: Is there a Power within misunderstanding? What power or potential might emerge from a misunderstanding? Again, there was no one specific answer—but there was certainly an invitation to sit in Divine curiosity and embrace the “unknowing.”
Next week, we will conclude our monthly exploration of the Power of Understanding by continuing our collage. This ongoing project invites us to spiral inward, finding greater understanding of ourselves so that we can come to a more intentional and Christ-like understanding of those around us—and, perhaps most importantly, the world around us.
How can we seek to understand those with whom we disagree socially or politically? How might curiosity open the door to greater compassion?
Join us and share what you know, so that together, as a commUnity, we can continue to strengthen our Powers.
Week of July 12
This past Sunday, we continued our study of the Power of Understanding, which is to learn, to perceive, and (ultimately) to connect with another through curiosity. We also continued working on our spiral collage by looking through magazines and other material for images that remind us of Unity' 5 Principles. AND we talked about the Divine Spaciousness between Affect and Emotion. This topic was a heady and hearty one.
"Affect" can be defined as the bodily sensations of an experience. "Emotion" is the culturally specific word or phrase describing that sensation. "Affect" is the individual's nervous system - as well as the "energetic" co-regulation between two or more people - responding to the environment. "Emotion" is the phrase or word attributed to the sensation by that individual's culture. For example, we looked up the english word for the feeling of "nostalgia" in arabic (حنين للماضي / "hanin lilmadi") and koren (노스탤지어 / "noseutaeljieo"). We shared that in Brazilian Portuguese, there is the word saudade, or "an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent someone or something."
From this thesis of affect <=> emotion, it was posited that the distance between the sensation and the logical word are connected by a spaciousness of Understanding. The other ways we have talked about this are "resonance", "attunement", or "co-regulation". But today, specifically in the YFM's lesson, we called it "Divine Understanding." For if we can sit "in between" the sensation and the word, or in the distance between the Affect and the Emotion, we can invite God in; and we can witness the Christ within; AND we can honor the communal experience of our Diving Understanding.
[ I will admit this language you've read above wasn't spoken aloud to the children. But there was a palpable feeling in the room, which resonated with Understanding. ]
Join us every Sunday in the YFM program to experience the Power (and joy) of Understanding.
Week of July 5
We started the exploration of the Power of Understanding for our third year. Our YFM program is based upon a yearly schedule of studying the 12 Powers for each of the months. It is an interesting challenge to continually study the same topic repeatedly. Yet it is also a methodology for developing the Understanding of each Power. Sometimes we dive a bit deeper on the Power and something we step sideways to look at it differently. Which is all a process of Understanding. This year, we again are using the symbol and practice of a spiral. Because by following the spiralic path inward we can gain more Understanding of ourselves and our relationship with God and the Divine. Then we can walk that same pathway outward towards connecting with others through Love, Curiosity, Playfulness, and Gratitude (LCPG). We can use this same cyclical process of LCPG to work through a misUnderstanding of another.
This year we are completing a collage all month long by seeking and finding images or words that help us dive deeper into Understanding while also considering the 5 Principles of Unity Church. It's a complex set of parameters to think and feel through in order to collage a spiral. Join us to dive deeper into Understanding ourselves in the context of Unity with each other and with God/Divinity.
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