As a community founded on Christian faith, Little River United Church of Christ places great emphasis on God’s presence in the world. Our Faith Formation programs encourage us to discover the impact and relevance of "living in God’s realm" in our everyday lives.
From Sunday morning church school for children and youth, to dynamic adult programming throughout the week, Little River offers engaging, thought-provoking faith formation opportunities for all ages.
The United Church of Christ has a long tradition of calling educated clergy and believing in the power of education to transform persons and societies. Little River has a history of educated clergy, and is now served by the Rev. Dr. Shelli Poe who has a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and who was a full-time Religious Studies professor for nearly a decade. She is a nationally and internationally known scholar in the study of Friedrich Schleiermacher, and teaches adult education quarterly. In addition to adult education, we have a vibrant Church School program for children and youth, from the nursery to 12th grade. We are also proud to have a historic connection to Arise Campus Ministry at George Mason, and we continue to support their efforts at GMU and at NOVA Community College in Annandale (right across the street from Little River).
2023-24 Church school classes
Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Class (Ages 3-5) Nursery
Children in Kindergarten and younger are invited to our K/Pre-K class. We use the Godly Play curriculum, which combines a short lesson with Montessori-style exploration of materials each week. John Mingus provides the Godly Play lesson in the Nursery and is supported by our child care provider Yris Saenz.
Elementary School Class (Grades 1-4) Room 5/6
Children who are in first through fourth grades are welcome to join this class. We use Seasons of the Spirit, a lectionary-based curriculum that follows a pattern of Focus, Prepare, Gather, Engage, Respond, Bless, and Reflect. The curriculum is provided so that teachers can focus on connecting to our children as they walk through the lessons together. Two teams of two committed teachers each rotate on a two-week basis, so that each team teaches for two weeks and is in the church service for the other two weeks each month. This year the class will be taught by Jane Wallace, Karen Kleiber, Carolyn Yocom, and Heather Shackley.
Middle and High School Class (Grades 5-12) Room 7
Those youth in fifth through twelfth grades are invited to join this class. Natalie Stapert teaches the class according to the needs and interests of students, designed and developed over her many years of teaching at Little River. Amy Mireku and Gail Perry support this class on a rotating basis.
Confirmation Class (Grades 8-12)
Those in eighth through twelfth grade are welcome to join a confirmation class after the worship service, led by Pastor Shelli and Natalie Stapert. The curriculum used is Affirming Faith, a resource provided by the UCC for this purpose, which allows young people to consider the major themes of the Christian faith, to ask questions and express concerns, and to decide whether they would like to confirm the faith of those who brought them into the church to be baptized. (Those who have not been baptized could be baptized and confirmed on the same day.) At the end of this year-long class, those who decide affirmatively are confirmed and become members of the church. Please email the office@lrucc.org if you would like to sign-up!
Learn more about the confirmation journey at Little River »
Youth Group (Grades 7-12)
The youth group is for seventh through twelfth graders and meets once a month on a Sunday after the service from 11: 30 am - 1:00 pm when there is no confirmation class scheduled. This fall we will meet on September 10, October 22, and November 19. We will have community-building events, which sometimes include service projects. The youth group is led by two volunteers who commit to growing and learning with our young people for the year.
Learning with Infants & Children
Infants and Toddlers
Infants and toddlers are welcome in the Infant Care Room staffed by our professional care provider and members of our church. The room is equipped with appropriate toys and equipment. This care is available for infants and children through age 2 during Sunday worship. Parents must complete a sign-in sheet and should make themselves familiar with our Nursery Handbook.
Care is provided for young children (infant through age 9) during weekday evening classes, choir rehearsals upon request, and other church activities. Call the church office in advance to ensure availability.
Preschool and Pre-reader Children
Preschool and pre-reader children are introduced to Bible stories through Godly Play. Godly Play is a Montessori-style learning environment, focused on the needs of children at this place on life’s journey. The program teaches classical Christian language in a way that enhances the child’s authentic experience of God so it can contribute to the creative life of the child and the world. Learn more at the Godly Play Foundation.
Kindergarten through 5th Grade
Children in kindergarten through fifth grade are invited to attend our elementary church school class on Sunday mornings during worship. Our volunteer teachers use Deep Blue Kids, a multimedia curriculum, to guide children through encountering God in the world around them.
Sharing God’s Word
In recognition of our commitment to nurture children and families in their faith formation, Bibles are offered at four specific places on a child’s faith journey. When a child is born, a pastor gives a children's Bible story book. When a child begins attending Godly Play (three years of age), they are presented with the SPARK Story Bible. When a child enters third grade (eight years of age), they are presented a Children’s Bible-New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). Upon completion of the Confirmation Class, each youth is presented with The Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
Learning with Youth
Middle and High School Youth
On Sunday mornings youth in Middle School (grades 6-8) and Senior High (grades 9-12) are invited to attend active learning classes shaped for the life experiences of teenagers today. Teens are invited to explore meaning and mystery in the Bible through lessons designed by our teachers. Youth begin in the worship service and then are dismissed to their classes after the Time for Children.
Human Sexuality and Faith
We believe that our sexuality is part of God’s gifts in creation. To help our youth grow into adulthood, we offer 7-9th graders the optional program Our Whole Lives (OWL) approximately every other year. OWL is a multi-age curriculum developed in partnership by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ to provide comprehensive sexuality education. Understanding human sexuality in the context of faith is critically important. OWL gives our youth the tools that increase knowledge, communication, safety, and health.
OWL leaders are selected from the congregation because of their maturity and ability to share the sensitive nature of the material. They are specially trained and certified by a national association of OWL trainers. Learn more here about OWL in the United Church of Christ.
More Than Sunday Mornings
Youth Ministry
To learn about Pilgrim Youth Fellowship and the Summer Mission Experience for youth, visit our Fellowship for Children and Youth page.
Confirmation Class
Confirmation is the historic act of youth taking on the promises their parents made at the time of Baptism and entering the church as full members of the community. Classes are offered for youth Grade 9 and older to investigate the history of the Christian church, the depth and breadth of the Bible, the reason for being part of a faith community, and the call for mission and outreach. The class is organized in October and meets regularly through May.
Confirmation class is led by the pastors, with the help of members of the Boards of Deacons and Christian Education. Adults from the congregation also take part as mentors.
Adult Education Programs
Little River Book Group
Six times a year, the Little River Book Group gathers to discuss books chosen by the group. All are welcome to attend the discussions, which are led by a church member. Hybrid attendance via Zoom is available.
Adult Discussion Group with pastor shelli
Theology is not a dead, mechanistic transmission of information from one generation to the next, unchanged from the early church to today. Rather, theology is a practice that is alive, vibrant, and changing with each time, place, and context. There are specific schools of thought that are moving and shaking the theological landscape today, and over the coming year, Pastor Shelli would like to introduce you to some of them.
Small Groups
A variety of classes and groups are offered throughout the year to meet the varied needs and interests of members and friends. These include theological and biblical studies, book groups, and classes that cover topics such as social issues, environmental concerns, problems in the U.S. and around the world, preparation for church trips, and other topics that merit our attention. A connection with our faith, though not always explicitly stated, is always implied.
Monday Morning Religious Studies Class: The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity
The Monday Religious Studies Class features a weekly video followed by discussion of the Bible and related biblical studies topics. The varied backgrounds of the class members contribute significantly to the discussion. The class meets from September through May. All are welcome to join the group on Mondays from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. in Room 8 and on Zoom via this link.
In the late winter/early spring 2024, the Monday Morning Religious Studies Class is viewing and discussing the 24-lecture video series Thinking about Religion and Violence. Each week they view a 30-minute lecture, have a discussion, a brief break, and a second lecture and conversation.
The course lecturer, Professor Jason C. Bivins of North Carolina State University, describes the course this way: “This course explores … the history of religious violence, its multiple manifestations, its scriptural justifications, and how its perpetrators perceive the world. Only by understanding the roots, causes, and circumstances of religious violence can we grapple with it intellectually and practically.” Case studies include “slavery and the persecutions of religious traditions like Native American religions, Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ... and violence in modern nation-states like India and Israel.”
For more information and to receive the PDF course materials, please email the church office at office@lrucc.org.
All are welcome!
Meditation Group Meeting
The Little River Meditation Group meets every Sunday at 9 a.m. All are welcome as the group explores meditation as a contemplative practice that helps quiet the mind. Meetings end at 9:45 a.m. so participants can make it to worship. Click here to join in.
If you’d like to learn more about Little River’s Labyrinth, click here.
Chat & Craft
All are welcome to come chat and craft if you want on the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month. If you would like to attend on Zoom, please email chatcraft@lrucc.org ahead of time. If we’re able to offer Zoom that week, we will send you the link.