Whole Church Religious Exploration
Connect. Engage. Build a Better World. And Do It Together Through Family Ministry.
Faith is a journey best taken together. In this complex, chaotic world, we long for connection. Those connections — relationships between family and community — are at the heart of our religious exploration offerings. After all, for most, families are the ultimate builders of values.
Whole Church Religious Exploration means that our entire congregation shares a responsibility for faith formation. Spiritual growth doesn’t just happen in classrooms — it happens in worship, in gatherings, in social justice work, and in relationships across generations. Children, youth and adults learn together, strengthening our values and deepening our sense of community.
We are a welcoming and inclusive congregation, where children and youth of all ages and dispositions are encouraged to grow together.
Our fellowship offers childcare programming for children from infants to sixth grade during our Sunday morning services from the 2nd Sunday in September to the 3rd Sunday in June. When we offer summer services, we provide childcare.
Please arrive by 10:15 a.m. and bring your child directly to the basement children’s space. (The service begins at 10:30 a.m. and ends at 11:30 a.m.) Please note that while we strive to keep our space as accessible to everyone as possible, our basement is currently only reachable via stairs. We are actively exploring solutions to this problem.
We are fortunate to have an experienced team of childcare educators to run this program. All of our team either worked professionally with children or had careers in healthcare. In accordance with UU safe church practices, we will always have at least two caregivers in attendance. In addition, we will be bringing in other caregivers to join our core team. Everyone who works with children in any capacity in our congregation will have successfully undergone a background check.
Our Foundations

Unitarian Universalism is a living tradition that has changed in many ways from the original Christian roots of its Universalist and Unitarian heritages, and it continues to evolve today. Most recently, this evolution has taken the form of adopting new language to describe who we are as UUs. At General Assembly in June 2024, UUs voted to replace existing Seven Principles and Six Sources language in our bylaws with language describing Unitarian Universalism through these shared values, all centered around LOVE:
- Interdependence: We honor the interdependent web of all existence and acknowledge our place in it.
- Pluralism: We are all sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology.
- Justice: We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all feel welcome and can thrive.
- Transformation: We adapt to the changing world.
- Generosity: We cultivate a spirit of gratitude and hope.
- Equity: We declare that every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion.
The fellowship’s religious exploration program, always accepting registration, affirms the inherent worth and dignity of all. It teaches that we are capable of changing the world for the better and draws from many resources, exploring and acting upon a variety of themes including anti-racism, environmental justice and spiritual growth.
Meet Our Core Team
Staff member and Religious Educator, Kris Lutters, has been a member of the fellowship for 40+ years. For most of that time she has been involved with the religious exploration program. She is a retired elementary school counselor and throughout her life has enjoyed interacting with children of all ages.
Kelly Predojevic is a retired RN with a long history of caregiving. Kelly has two dogs, two grown children, two grandchildren and three grandcats. She looks forward to playing and connecting with adults and young people alike.
Elise Hathaway and Grace Suarez serve as program assistants with the children.
Our adult religious exploration team is expanding and frequently partners with our other Congregational Life Group teams, such as Black Lives Matter and our other social justice teams, Engagement & Belonging, Worship, and more.
Contact Religious Exploration volunteers for more information at re@uuplattsburgh.org.
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Fun. Joy. Connection.
Family Movies!
Join us to watch films for the whole family (PG)! Always FREE and open to the public. Join us for a family potluck immediately afterwards . . . or starting when the kids get hungry! For details or more information: Contact us at love@uuplattsburgh.org
More free-wheeling family times are announced in our weekly e-News. Interested in staying on top of what’s happening at our fellowship? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Questions? Contact re@uuplattsburgh.org.
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Film Series with Discussion & Community
Our Black Lives Matter team frequently hosts film screenings for adults and adolescents. Our next event is Friday, June 12, from 6-8 p.m. at the UU Fellowship.

