RE News Archive
From Our DRE
Spring is always the busiest time of year in ReligiousEducation (RE), when we're simultaneously wrappingup the year in our classrooms, putting togetherour Coming of Age and RE Sunday services, recognizinggraduating high school seniors in a special Bridging Ceremony,planning and recruiting for our summer RE programs,all the while creating the structure and vision forour next year's program to be kicked off in September.Whew! That's a lot to have going on all at once, especiallyon top of all of the larger transitions happening in ourchurch community this year, but I love being part of achurch community that is so vibrant, so very active.
We have an RE program to be proud of here atUUCCSM, and its high quality is very much dependenton the generous gifts of time and energy given by churchmembers who have volunteered to teach in RE classes,or coordinate special events, or serve on the RE Council,or help out in any number of ways large and small. Youmade this program what it is.
The flip side is that it is also you who will determinewhat our program will be next year. By now RE familieshave already been asked to participate in a survey thatwill generate feedback about your vision for the religiouseducation of your children and youth. And we'vegot a lot of great stuff in store for the RE program nextyear. We're in the market for volunteers; recruiting forour 2008
From Our DRE
I've been thinking a lot abouttransitions lately. Many changesare on the horizon within my family- my own upcoming wedding,cousins' new babies, my grandmother'sfailing health. And this isa time of great change within ourchurch community, too - moving into the cottage,heading into the next phase of our building program,Judith's upcoming retirement. And we know thatchanges come, whether we will them or not. We're allfamiliar with the old adage - the only thing constantis change (except from vending machines). Butchange isn't easy, even when we choose it, even whenthe change is a good one. And especially when, as happensmore often, the picture is not so black and white,and the change is a more complex mix of positive andnegative, exciting and painful. Sometimes, I know, theground feels shaky. Sometimes we fear we're not up tothe challenges.
But it also requires no great leap, I'm sure, for us torecognize that with change also comes great opport unityfor growth and rebirth. It feels entirely appropriateto me that we find ourselves at this crossroads in ourjourney as a community in the springtime, just as weare celebrating Easter, Passover, and the greening ofthe earth. In March, on Easter Sunday, our ReligiousExploration program celebrated the spring holidays inthe cottage, which is itself a powerful symbol ofrenewal. We were mindful of this as we gatheredtogether in worship in a place that others once calledhome, its beautiful new walls built upon the bones ofits former life.
The future is open, friends. And our church is astrong and caring place, made sacred by the gifts oflove and service that you bring to it. Let us spend thecoming months celebrating the richness of the pastyears, and looking with eagerness toward our future.
Announcement
Please join us in welcoming a brandnew member of our staff, Liz Greenfield.Liz will be working with theyoungest members of our communityin our nursery program, andwill also be providing childcare forchurch meetings and events. Liz, aUU herself, has a great deal of experienceworking with young children, including havingworked at a nursery school that specialized in servingchildren with autism and other special needs. Lizrecently moved to California and returned last Septemberfrom two years in West Africa with the PeaceCorps. We are very impressed with Liz's warmth andskill and are delighted to have her with us.
- Catherine Farmer
RE Shining Star -- Cindee Hallinan
When I think of Cindee, I think of her beauty (bothinner and outer) and her lovely welcoming smile.Cindee's kind ways have made her a great teacher inour RE program. She has worked with lucky children inprograms spanning Preschool to Coming of Age, andcurrently she is a YRUU advisor. Cindee has demonstratedher wide range of teaching skills working withour preschoolers for several years, being part of theComing of Age team for a year (and is serving as amentor to a current Coming of Ager), and now supportingour high school youth in YRUU. She has donea fabulous job at each level, giving her all to the task athand, being committed to both the children and theother teachers.
Cindee and her family - husband, Dave ("the greatman standing behind her, without whom she couldaccomplish nothing"), daughter, Chloe, who is now in5th grade, and son, Owen, 2nd grade - joined ourchurch community in 2002 (Dave thinks). Cindeejumped right into helping in RE and has been a givingparticipant ever since.
Cindee has an active home life. She enjoys playingthe piano, is a talented seamstress, and has a new passionfor skiing. She and Dave recently skied in Taos. Inher work life Cindee is a substitute teacher at UES(what is UES?) and she works as a costumer on TVcommercials.We are all so grateful that Cindee findstime to give her talents to our youth in YRUU and thatshe has contributed to our kids in so many ways overthe years. Thank you, Cindee - you are a shining star.
- Margot Page
Our Whole Lives (OWL) Sexuality Education for K-1st Grades
This spring we will be offering the Kindergarten-1stgrade level of our church's comprehensive human sexualityeducation program, Our Whole Lives. OWL is apositive, age-appropriate curriculum whose four primarygoals are: to provide accurate, developmentallyappropriate information; to increase self-esteem andunderstand relationships with and responsibilitiestoward others; to develop interpersonal skills includingcommunication, decision making, and problem solving,and to teach responsibility for personal health andsafety. The OWL Grades K
From Our Director of Religious Education
Stories are powerful. We in the RE (Religious Education)program know that sharing stories with ourchildren is a wonderful way to share our historyand our values, our dreams, and our challenges as UnitarianUniversalists. We know that telling stories to peopleof all ages engages their creativity and encouragesthem to draw their own conclusions about life's bigquestions. And we know that developing a pool ofshared stories brings communities closer together.
We are embarking on a new adventure in our elementaryRE classes this spring with two curricula thatwe're very excited about: "Spirit Play" for kindergartenthrough 2nd grades, and "Toolbox of Faith" for upperelementary grades. Spirit Play is grounded in the sharingof sacred stories from many faith traditions as wellas from our own history. Each week we'll explore a newstory in a format that includes tactile materials andsmall props that provide visual cues along with thetelling. These materials will help anchor the children inthe story so that they can continue to explore its meaningas they work with the propsthemselves or choose art materialsto use in responding to the story.The Toolbox of Faith curriculumwas developed with our active 3rdthrough 5th graders in mind, anduses a physical "tool" each week,along with an accompanyingstory, to help us reflect on qualitiesof our Unitarian Universalistfaith, such as integrity, courage,and love, as tools they can use inliving their own lives and in buildingtheir own UU faith. Each of the sessions uses anactual tool as a metaphor for a quality of our faith. Forexample, these tools include a hammer for justice, ducttape for flexibility, and a mirror for reflection.
It won't be long until it's time for us to start our curriculumplanning for the 2008
From Our DRE
January: new beginning, newhope, new year - a time forlooking forward, a time for makingplans. How many of us havemade New Year's resolutions?And how many have made resolutionsthat we really expect to be able to keep?A substitute ritual that tickles my fancy is borrowedfrom Robert Fulghum - he wrote thatone year, rather than making resolutions for theyear to come, he instead backdated a list ofthings he had accomplished during the year asresolutions from the previous January.
I've found that this practice, which at firstglance seems entirely silly, can be somethingquite lovely instead. No more lists of resolutionsdestined only to make one feel vaguelyguilty at the end of the year for having failedto fully realize them. Now we can celebrateour successes in a way that encourages us toexpect to accomplish great things in the yearto come. And that's the way to begin a year -why not tinker with tradition?
UUCCSM's New Year's RE solutions, 2007:
1. Staff the RE program with more than 50amazing volunteers.
2. Minister to our children and youth by providingmeaningful classroom, social justice, worship,and social experiences.
3. Put on three intergenerational Sunday servicesin our new and improved story-based format(Lessons of Loss, RE Sunday, Day of theDead) in order to worship together as one UUcommunity of all ages.
4. Complete construction on the cottage andbegin officially moving into our new RE space.
5. Put on a big celebratory Holiday Pageant inDecember, with more music than ever before,honoring both the Winter Solstice and Christmas,replete with our beloved Friendly Beastsand itty bitty Wise People on their Camels.
6. Spend the year laughing and learning andgrowing together.
(Add more of your own!)
That's a 100% success ratio - Congratulations,UUCCSM! As 2008 begins, let's look forwardto the many wonderful things that areahead of us, and start the new year with eagernessand resolve.
- Catherine Farmer
From Our DRE
As the holidays approach eachyear, I think more and moreabout what makes a placehome. California has been my home for a dozen yearsnow, but still I "go home" to Georgia to visit my familyfor the holidays. My home at the church has been thelittle office upstairs for the past four years, but now I'mmoving out, into the new space in our newly finishedcottage. How long will it be before it feels like home?
This month we're thinking hard about our buildingplans as well as how we'll live in the space that we havefor the time being. Everything's in flux, and as we graduallymove our RE program over to the cottage I'mmindful of the importance of creating a welcominghome for the children and youth of our community.This move is a big step in the right direction, and wewant to make sure that from the moment our youngpeople step into their new classrooms they know thatthis is a home that we've created just for them. As weget the rooms ready, some of the older classes willbegin meeting in the cottage right away, but our preschooland elementary programs will wait to start thenew year in their new space, so we have time to get itjust right. So this month we'll be moving furniture, puttingup bulletin boards, filling shelves with books andsupplies, and decorating the walls in anticipation ofour official launch of RE in the cottage at the beginningof January.
We may have some hard decisions to make aboutour facility in the future, but I know that whatever wedecide, this church will continue to be a safe and nurturinghome for all of us as we live our liberal religiousvalues both within our own community and out in thelarger world. I look forward to the next year, and manymore, at home here at UUCCSM with all of you.
Holiday Toy Drive
On Sundays, December 2 and 9, we'll be collectingtoys for the Santa Monica Head Start program's holidayparty. This year we need approximately 35 unisex giftsthat are new, unopened, and unwrapped for three- tofive-year-olds. This year we're taking signups so weknow how many gifts to expect. Please sign up onNovember 25 or December 2 at the Head Start table inForbes Hall during coffee hour, or contact Catherine.
-- Catherine Farmer
December RE Star - Zac Geoffray
Did you know that December REShining Star Zac Geoffray representedthe Boy Scouts soap-boxderby contest on theJay Leno Show?Well, his car wasn't thefastest, but it was the mostcreative. He used a bird themeincorporating a beak and feathers.Because of this creativity his carwas chosen above all others. Theproducers were so impressed byZac that they invited him back again the following year.WOW! He can now be found cavorting with the youngstersin the kindergarten through second grade class at9 a.m. His positive disposition, creativity, confidence,and sense of humor serve him well in working with hisyoung students.
Zac is "giving back" to our community in the veryclass he first attended when his family joined our community11 years ago. He had enjoyed his experience asan RE student so much that during his Coming of Ageyear he started assisting in the preschool class. Heassisted almost every week for two years. Then Zactaught a wonderful lesson to the K through 2nd gradeclass on one of the Five Senses last summer. During hisclass on taste his young charges had a great timetouching a plastic tongue and tasting a variety of foodswhich were sweet, bitter, or salty. The kids thoroughlyenjoyed themselves.
Zac is a sophomore at Santa Monica High Schoolwhere he enjoys Latin and Choir classes. He also lovesacting and will be performing in SAMOHI's upcomingproduction of "Bye Bye Birdie." He has also performedwith the Santa Monica Shakespeare's productions of "AComedy of Errors" and "Richard III." Next summer hewill move from volunteering with kids to a paid gig as ateaching assistant at Rustic Canyon Performing ArtsCamp, combining two of his loves - kids and theater.
We are grateful for Zac's work with our children andhope that he will continue. He is a shining star in somany ways.
Friendly Beasts Pageant Update
The Friendly Beasts,preschoolers through5th graders, will continuetheirrehearsals of TheFriendly Beasts Song" for the holidaypageant, which occurs December 23 at both services.
Below is the rehearsal schedule:
Dec. 2 and 9 - Preschoolers and K
RE Shining Star: Tom Ahern
Tucked away on the side of our campus, the nurseryprogram is easy to overlook if you're not theparent of a young child. This month we're makinga bit of a departure from our usual pool of ShiningStars in order to recognize a staff member who hasbeen instrumental in our program for the very youngestmembers of our community for a very long time: TomAhern. Tom, on staff first as anassistant and now a lead nurserycaregiver, spends every singleSunday morning with thebabies and toddlers in ournursery program, and has doneso for many years. He makessure that the younglings aresafe and lovingly cared for inthe none-too-ideal office areathat makes up our nurseryspace while we wait for ournew building to be constructed.The children respond right away to Tom'scalm, easy-going presence, and it's clear that he enjoyshis time with them, too. For all that you've brought toour nursery kids, Tom, thank you!
Summer is almost upon us,believe it or not, and the RECouncil and I have been busy planning ourprogram for next fall. And we have a question forall of you: How have you engaged the UU principleslately?
There is no better way to learn and live yourUU principles than by learning and teaching withour youth and children. Presenting stories tothem and listening to their efforts to interpretand understand can be a wonderful way toexplore these issues and concepts for yourself.Without teachers, interesting curriculum is of novalue. Over the next few weeks, we will be searchingfor more "RE Shining Stars" to help us createa vibrant RE program next year with our childrenand youth.
In our elementary program next year we'llembark on an exciting new program called "SpiritPlay," grounded in the sharing of core stories ofour faith in order to help children make meaningthrough wondering and art, create a spiritualcommunity, support multiple learning styles andchallenges, and create a strong Unitarian Universalistidentity. We also will continue to offer thevery successful "Neighboring Faiths" comparativereligions curriculum for 6th and 7th grades,"Coming of Age" for 8th grade, and our seniorhigh YRUU youth groups at each service.
Think about how sad a place UUCCSM wouldbe without our enthusiastic kids. Consider thewonderful energy there is in an intergenerationalcommunity (a model that is increasingly rare).And we need you. To fully staff our fabulous programs,we're looking for more than 50 membersof our congregation to volunteer to teach for oneto two Sundays per month.
Think about it. Think about teaching RE. Thenvisit the RE table in Forbes Hall during coffeehour on Sundays this month to hear about ourprogram in more detail and let us know howyou'd like to be involved. Help us bring our visionfor RE to life.
- Catherine Farmer
YRUU is looking good for2008
From Our DRE
"Church," as Judith says fromthe pulpit every Sundaymorning, "is where we getto practice what it means to be human." And thosearen't just some pretty words that she says to make usfeel good about getting out of bed to come to church -they are a stunningly concise description of what itmeans to be part of our church community. Church iswhere we bring our fullest selves and struggle togetherto live our beliefs fully with one another, practicing howto take them back into the rest of the world with us.
Being an intentional community of people open toall who want to walk this path with us is not light work.Community is where you don't get to walk away whensomeone disagrees with you or aggravates you -you're stuck with them, no matter what. You don't getto decide who belongs and who doesn't - everyonewho's here is part of our community. And that's wherewe really get to practice being human and practicebeing our best selves.
Our faith isn't an easy one if we take it seriously. Itcalls us to treat the person we like least with the samemeasure of respect and compassion that we show ourbest friends. It asks us to stand firm on our ideas andvalues, but in a way that doesn't belittle or dehumanizeanother person for holding a different view. Not an easytask, I know, but of utmost importance - this is the giftthat our faith has to offer the world, this is our savingmessage: our Unitarian heritage that holds that we areall capable of deciding for ourselves what is true andright and our Universalist heritage that teaches that allare equally deserving of justice and compassion.
Our church community is where we practice thisfaith on a smaller scale, living it as fully as we cantogether. Our church is where we come together whenlife is at its best, and at its worst. At its best, we createtogether the world we'd like to see, and at its worst, wesupport one another through the hard times. The mosttranscendent times are those when the two arrive handin hand.
This January our entire church community will participatein our first-ever Intergenerational Winter Intensiveprogram, Lessons of Loss, a month-long UU curriculumin five levels that offers developmentallyappropriate opportunities for children, youth, andadults to develop skills, and therefore confidence, inhelping themselves and others respond to change andloss, voice fears and questions about loss, and learnhow the UU principles provide guidance in understandingloss and supporting the grieving process.Adults are invited to participate in the four-week adultRE component, facilitated by Leon Henderson andJudith Meyer, to be held on Thursday evenings in January.Sign ups begin this month at coffee hour.
- Catherine Farmer
Friendly Beasts Pageant Update
"Friendly Beasts" pageant updateThe Friendly Beasts, preschoolers through 5th graders, will continue their rehearsals of "The Friendly Beasts Song"for the holiday pageant, which occurs December 17 at both services.
Below is the rehearsal schedule:
Dec. 3 - Preschoolers to K-5 in their classrooms (10 minutes each)
Dec. 10 - Group rehearsal in mural room for all at start of RE
Dec. 16 - Saturday dress rehearsal in sanctuary (9:30 to 10:15 a.m.)
Dec. 17 - Pageant (both services; please arrive at 8:15 a.m.)
We realize that the pageant day is a long one for the children, so pleasecontact me if you can help by:
From Our DRE
On the afternoon ofDecember 10 (time TBD)in Forbes Hall we'll be holding a conversationwith our whole church community onassessing our congregation's ministry to and withyouth. I hope that you will all join us.
Earlier this year, the UU Association completeda large-scale survey of youth, undertaken todetermine how they regard their church communities.An article about the survey published atUUWorld.org notes that "91 percent said they feelwelcome at worship services, 89 percent said theywere treated respectfully, and 87 percent saidtheir opinions were valued. But only 53 percentfelt that the congregation was their spiritualhome." Jesse Jaeger, UUA Youth Programs director,noted, "The fact they feel welcome does notnecessarily mean they are being fed."
It's time for us here at UUCCSM to take a lookat how we're serving our own youth, time to talkwith one another about what we're doing well,and what we could be doing better. With a youthpopulation that has increased nearly tenfold inthe last four years, it is time for us to articulate astrong vision for the future of our youth programs.Is our church providing a spiritual homefor our youth?
Embedded in this conversation is an evenlarger question, though, one that I'd like to inviteeach of you to consider over the next month:What is a spiritual home? Is our church your spiritualhome, and if not, what would make it so?What is it that connects you to our church community,and what would make that connectionstronger?
I think that this is a worthy exercise for all ofus, this search for the center of our faith, for anarticulation of where home is. A church communitythat is home for its members is a communitythat fully serves the needs of and celebrates thegifts of every person who walks through thedoors. What would that look like, here atUUCCSM? For you? For our youth? For all of us?
- Catherine Farmer
RE Shining Star - Jacki Paddock
This month we honor Jacki Paddock as our REShining Star. Jacki has been teaching our 9 a.m.preschool class for many years, and her experienceas well as her enthusiasm for spending timewith our younglings couldn't be more evident ormore appreciated. She has also served as a mentorfor new teachers joining theranks, mostrecently supportingher son Jordanas he hasmoved from servingas classroomassistant tobecoming a fullfledgedteacher.
Jacki has alsobeen a strong advocatefor our youthprograms, servingon our Youth ActivitiesCommittee,engaging youth insocial justice projects, and even donating some ofher lovely jewelry creations for our youth to sell infundraisers. Jacki's commitment to our faith hasalso inspired her to attend the UU Association'sannual General Assembly for the last several yearsand she always returns brimming with new ideasand energy for what we could be doing here atUUCCSM. For all of these things and more, Jackiis a natural choice for RE Shining Star. Threecheers for Jacki.
Friendly Beasts are Coming
Once again, our preschool through elementary-aged children will sing "The FriendlyBeasts" song at our holiday pageant onSunday, December 17, at both services.
As in years past, all involved children will singthe first and last verses of the song. Small groupsof children will sing the middle five versesdressed in a costume appropriate to the animalspeaking in that verse (brown donkey, red andwhite cow, dog, dove, and mouse).
We have a few costumes from previouspageants, but parents are encouraged to createtheir child's costume (don't panic-we have easysuggestions). Older kids who don't want to dressas an animal but do want to sing are welcome tobe shepherds.
The children pick which animal they want tobe, but generally, the preschoolers sing the miceverse.
Religious Exploration teachers, please note: Iwill lead Sunday rehearsals (about 10 minuteslong) that occur in the RE classrooms during bothservices. Below is the rehearsal schedule:
Nov. 12 - Preschoolers: at start of class
Nov. 19 - Preschoolers: at start of classK-5: 10 minutes each classroom
Nov. 26 - Preschoolers: 10 minutes during classK-5: 10 minutes during class
Dec. 3 - Preschoolers: 10 minutes during classK-5: 10 minutes during class
Dec. 10 - Group rehearsal in mural room forall at start of RE
Dec. 16 - Morning dress rehearsal insanctuary from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m.
Dec. 17 - Pageant (both services)
Call or e-mail me with questions. I look forward to workingwith your friendly beasts once again this year.
- Kris Langabeer