SCHENECTADY — As denominations go, Melissa MacKinnon likes what the Unitarian Universalists have to offer, and when it comes to her particular church, the First Unitarian Society of Schenectady, it’s the people that matter most.

“I feel totally at home here because it’s such a loving and accepting community,” said MacKinnon, who was recently named director of religious education at the Wendell Avenue congregation. “Ultimately, it’s the people that keep me here. I like the liberal religious tradition, the emphasis on the inherent worth and dignity of all individuals and the work for social justice. But while that may have drew me here, it’s the community of people I found that really won me over.”

The feeling is mutual. Following a yearlong search for its first full-time director of religious education, the congregation selected MacKinnon, its own part-time employee, to continue heading up its Sunday morning programs for children.

“She knows the congregation and the children very well, and she has a gift and the skills to really develop our program in the direction we want it to go,” said Priscilla Richter, senior minister at FUSS. “We provide a well-rounded education, and Melissa is enthusiastic and passionate about her work. She is beloved by all the generations in our community.”

MacKinnon began working as the group’s part-time coordinator of education during summer 2007.

“I am very pleased and excited that we selected Melissa after a thorough, exhaustive and enlightening selection process,” said Scott Horgen, a member of the search committee. “We are confident that this exceptional program is in exceptionally good hands.”

MacKinnon grew up in Niskayuna in a Presbyterian household and got a degree in American Studies at Eckerd College in Florida. She began pursuing a graduate degree but instead decided to become a yoga instructor and did that for 15 years.

“I was very involved with church as a kid and it was an important part of my life,” said MacKinnon. “I grew up Presbyterian, the more liberal branch, and I have members of my family who are still quite involved in that church. When I moved back to this area my one son was 2 and I noticed that the Unitarian Society had a group for parents with young children. That’s how I got started. I went to that group, met the people, and I liked them so much that I started going to the services.”

Now, with a 12-year-old and a 7-year-old, MacKinnon and her husband are regulars at the Sunday services.

“Well, I was the first one through the door, and then I convinced my husband to give it a try,” she said. “It was kind of the same for him as it was for me. He was quickly able to relate to the other people in the congregation.”

While Unitarians typically don’t adhere to any strict doctrines, there are a few universal elements to the denomination.

“People say there are no rules. Well, there are certain things that we affirm and promote,” said MacKinnon. “The truth is still being revealed to us, one day at a time, and we have to continue to promote it and study it. There is plenty of wisdom from our Judeo-Christian tradition that we learn from but we also embrace scientific reason, and what’s really important is the dignity of every single human. It’s about working toward justice and peace and liberty for the entire world. It’s about working for a heaven here on earth.”

According to MacKinnon, the group dynamics evident at FUSS each Sunday make it an exciting place to be.

“We have our beliefs and we may think we know them but there’s this wonderful creative tension in our congregation because we have people of different faiths and different beliefs,” she said. “Some of us have a concept of God, and we have people who are more agnostic and more humanist. The ultimate idea that we all agree on is that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and compassion. We’re all on this path searching for meaning.”

Things aren’t quite so complicated for the children, but the curriculum is complex. MacKinnon oversees 26 teachers, all volunteers, who instruct children ranging in age from kindergarten to 12th grade.

“We look at children as naturally wanting to learn, so we let them experience the learning materials in different ways,” said MacKinnon, who at times uses Montessori-type teaching methods. “We allow children, with adult supervision, to be self-directed and give them the opportunity to explore and examine things, either on their own or in small groups.

This Sunday at 9:30 a.m., FUSS will host an open house to provide the public with a precise picture of just what the Unitarians have to offer in the way of a children’s education program.

For Richter, the two vital components are MacKinnon and parental involvement.

“Melissa is great at getting parents into the program, and she’s very focused on what needs to be done now while remembering what the bigger picture is down the road,” said Richter. “She keeps me apprised of what’s going on, and with her in charge I don’t have to be so hands on. I know what she’s teaching is appropriate for our children.”

The involvement of parents in the curriculum means that there will be few surprises at home with what the children are learning on Sundays.

“Parents are required to participate in the orientation, so children aren’t allowed to just drop in,” said MacKinnon. “They have to sign up, and the parents are fully involved so they know what the curriculum is. They also learn how to handle questions on sex or other children’s issues when they’re asked them at home. We make sure the parents know exactly what is being taught and we give them the resources to continue teaching at home.”