From the Desk of the DRE

Recently, on an e-mail discussion list populated by UU religious educators,a seminary student sent out the following question: Are we raising UUs? Thediscussion has been fascinating. This summer at General Assembly, I picked upa copy of a newly-published book "Full Circle: Fifteen Ways to Grow LifelongUUs." Clearly, lots of people are thinking about this.

What does it mean to be "raising UUs"? And is that what we really intend todo, anyway? One of the most interesting points raised in the e-mail list discussionwas that talking about "raising UUs" implies that the children in our churchare not already UU, that you can't really be a Unitarian Universalist untilyou've finished RE and signed the membership book.

One of the things I love most about the Way Cool Sunday School (WCSS) modelof RE that we've adopted is that it challenges that assumption at its very core.Undergirding the structure of the program, with its rotation of Worship, Classroom,Social Justice, and Arts Sundays, is the recognition that the children and youthof our faith are at least as much, if not more, UU than we adults are. At itsheart, WCSS is about lived faith, and our program ought to reflect and engageand celebrate that. Our kids are UUs, and know it, when we worship together,when we take action together to change the world, when we get messy and makeart together. We all learn best what it means to be Unitarian Universalistswhen we do, then reflect on what it means. Greg Stewart, originator of the WayCool Sunday School model, calls this "putting our hands and feet on our UU Principles."

In some sense, I am a second-generation Way Cool Sunday School UU. In additionto having worked with Greg in his program at Neighborhood Church in Pasadena,I was in high school in Cleveland when Greg arrived and created the programthere that was the precursor to the one he developed at Neighborhood. As someonewho grew up UU, I know that I could never be anything else. As someone who hasexperienced WCSS as participant, teacher, and now DRE, I will say this: thata program that is experiential, that recognizes leaders and learners as fullparticipants in our own exploration of faith, and that celebrates being UU by"living UU" will grow people who know who they are and why they're here. Thisgoes for adults as well as children: just ask our RE teachers who they thinkhas learned more in their classes, the adults or the kids. We all have giftsto bring, and we adults could learn much from the children and youth in ourchurch about what being UU is really all about.

-Catherine Farmer

What's it Like to Be a Teen at UUCCSM?
An Interview with Amelia Harati

How long have you been going to UUCCSM?

Since 1992. My parents started coming right after the LA riots. My mom hadgrown up a UU and they wanted a community after the riots to get support. Iwas two years old and went to the nursery. Now I'm in YRUU.

What is YRUU?

That stands for Young Religious Unitarian Universalists. It is the high schoolprogram in the UUA.

What do you do in YRUU?

At our church, the first half is business and the second half is a rap session.Raps are deep, confidential discussions. What is said there, stays there. Itis a safe environment - no putdowns allowed and everyone is heard. We have adultadvisors who are mandated reporters who help us stay safe.

What do you rap about?

Social issues, politics, spirituality, basically anything. Spirituality canbe the seven UU Principles and what they mean to us, and general UU stuff likewhat our "elevator speech" would be.

Where do the rap topics come from?

After the business is completed, we do check-in and something might come upfor rap then. We also keep in touch during the week on the listserve. That isalso where the business items come up. I'm serving as moderator now and I drawup the agenda. I also try to keep the group on topic during business so we canget things done.

What sort of business do you all do?

Right now we are doing the haunted house for the UNICEF carnival, AIDS Walkon October 17, and helping with the Pilgrims Feast. Chris Marten and Jesse Figueroacoordinate the social action activities for the group. Advisors also bring ideasfor things we can do for the church. We have a policy that if you want the YRUUto help with an event, you have to come to our class and ask us in person.

Where do you meet?

We are so big now we have to use a room at the Seventh Day Adventist Churchdown the street. We meet during the 11 a.m. service. Many of us also go to DistrictCons, which are for YRUU teens in the PSWD. These are weekend events at variouschurches.

What do you get from being in YRUU?

A sense of community, much like the adults get who come to the services. Thisis an open place to talk - it's safe to be yourself. It is hard to be a teenager,so it is great to have somewhere to talk, and have fun. We have monthly eventssuch as beach BBQ or rock climbing with the Coming of Age class just to havefun.

-Karen Patch

From theDesk of the DRE

September already? Where does the time go? Yes, it's almost time to kick offa new year of RE, and here's what to expect from this year's program.

Two years ago UUCCSM adopted a program model called Way Cool Sunday School,an experiential RE format which incorporates regular worship, social justice,and arts Sundays as well as curriculum- based classroom Sundays, all groundedin a common focus on our Unitarian Universalist principles and values. At itsheart lies the conviction that children are best served when integrated intothe whole life of the church and that religious education includes engagingnot only the minds, but also the hearts and hands of our kids.

Religious education is at its best when all parts of the program are explicitlyrelated to one another; what happens in a 2nd grader's class relates to what'shappening with her 5th grade brother's class, and what they're working on intheir classrooms is linked with what they experience together in worship andsocial justice Sundays, and when experiential learning at church on Sunday morningsis linked with what happens at home, in conversation, and in practice. To thatend, we will not only be tying the elements of our program more closely togetherthis year, but we are also creating an "RE Bulletin" for families that willshare highlights of the program as well as ideas for activities and storiesto use at home to reinforce what's happening on Sunday mornings.

Last year we began a four-year cycle in our program with a year-long focuson the 1st UU Principle. For the first half of this year, we'll continue thecycle with a program-wide focus on the 2nd UU Principle: justice, equity, andcompassion in human relations, or, in more kid-friendly terms, all people shouldbe treated fairly and kindly.

Kindergarten to 5th graders will meet together on the 1st Sunday of every monthfor principle-based worship. On the 2nd and 3rd Sundays they'll be in agespecificclassrooms for curriculum-based learning. On the 4th Sundays, they'll meet togetherfor a principlefocused social justice experience. On months with a 5th Sunday,they'll explore the 2nd principle through art. Preschoolers meet weekly forprinciple-based play and exploration. For 6th and 7th graders we're offeringa comparative religions curriculum, Neighboring Faiths, which includes monthlytrips to religious services of other faith traditions. Coming of Age, a programthat engages 8th graders in articulating their own beliefs within the contextof our UU faith, is offered at 9 a.m. Our YRUU program for high school youthwill meet each Sunday at 11.

We have an exciting year ahead of us, and I look forward to kicking off theyear with you at our ingathering on September 12.

- Catherine Farmer

From the Desk of the DRE

Thank you all for a lovely installation service on February 8. Now, I’mreally, really official as your Director of Religious Education. As part ofthe ceremony, we invited all of you to share your hopes and dreams for my positionand for the RE program with us. Together, they paint a wonderful vision forour church, and I’d like to take this month’s column to share someof them with you.

• I hope that we will continue to inspire the religious growth of our membersof all ages.
• I hope the children learn to feel support from this church.
• I hope for a religious education program that grows the soul of all whocome to our church.
• Help the children to learn to make the world a friendly place.
• Value the children’s differences.
• May we feed each other.
• Joy in learning, tolerance and love.
• May our community and its newest members thrive.
• Let our UU history and traditions give strength to our efforts to reach forour dreams.
• May you keep the teenagers involved.
• Best wishes as you work with the young people, and lead them to longtermcommitment to Social Justice in our world.
• Joy and laughter.
• To have a place where the children want to come and feel at home and at peace
• Encourage curiosity.
• I hope you help the children to find a nice, soulful place in their hearts.
• Spirit and hope for the homeless and depressed.
• Include everyone.
• I hope that we can make RE more racially diverse.
• I dream that our children feel in their hearts the truths and inspirationthat our faith has to offer.
• That the kids grow into UU values and strength.
• Keep it simple.
• Reverence for truth and peace on earth. Also have fun.
• A continuing UU community.
• Love wastefully – it won’t run out.

Truly, we are passionate about the possibilities forReligious Education in our congregation. And we haveonly begun our journey. I look forward to many yearsamong you as we bring our dreams to life.

— Catherine Farmer

Bring Donations for David and Goliath

The YRUU high school group is working with the “The David and GoliathProject” to sponsor a food drive to aid Los Angeles hotel workers in anticipationof a strike. A marked food bin will be left in Forbes Hall for the next twomonths. Please donate rice, beans, baby food, and diapers only. For more informationon the project, contact Edith Mendez.

Forty Participants Gathered for Owen-Towle Workshop

Tom Owen-Towle, minister emeritus of the San Diego UU Church, and a prominentUU writer, presented a one-day workshop on Saturday, February 28, on the varietyof concepts of God found in the Unitarian Universalist community. The purposeof the class was to help participants update their concept of the unnamable.The goal is for participants to “grow their souls” by loving self,neighbor, the natural world, and divine mystery.

Tom reminded us that UUs are comfortable with paradoxes and ambiguity. Threecommon concepts of the divine are atheism, agnosticism, and affirmatism. UUallows for denying, doubting, and believing simultaneously. Each of these perspectivesholds part of the truth, and each attitude can be a part of a strong UU community.

Atheism is usually considered a rejection of God but actually means “withoutGod.” Many Asian philosophies put little effort into defining God. Thereare also styles of religion that include “the inheritor,” who acceptsbeliefs as they are given, or “the heretic,” who chooses what beliefsto accept.

Agnosticism is a suspension of belief based on incomplete knowledge. In thereality of mystery, the agnostic accepts what is. Reality is a paradox, andis always evolving. Our being is a combination of body, heart, soul, and mind.We seek integration because one or two combinations are not enough. Religionis love of self, neighbor, the natural world, and divine mystery.

Affirmatism requires defining concepts to which one gives loyalty. Belief ispassive; affirmatism requires action. It is not just seeking, but declaringthat which is found. One finds God through service and action, not words. Humoris a necessary approach to God; one looks to recognize the lurking places ofGod in art, nature, music, and the laughter of children. One can recognize thedivine through struggle, in the sense of “being there”; throughsuffering, with the goal of acceptance; through surrender, by being willingto give oneself to a person or a purpose without giving up self; through service;even through “stuff,” such as meaningful objects that can be windowsto the divine.

In summary, participants were reminded that God is larger than human comprehension;we are but human, not angels or gods. There are many paths to God; we must eachfind our own concept of a God that is transpersonal, not anthropomorphic. Seekersmust remain open and active on the face of mystery.

The Adult Religious Growth and Learning Committee sponsored and hosted theevent. Jane Machnik did a superb job of executing their arrangements for a groupof 40 members and guests.

— Geralyn Lambson

From theDesk of the DRE

On the first Sunday of every month, while adults are in the sanctuary, thechildren in our “Way Cool Sunday School” program gather for theirown worship service. It doesn’t look much like worship in the sanctuary,though. This one is messier, louder, more chaotic.

Worship, wrote Jacob Trapp, is “the mystery within us reaching out tothe mystery beyond.” Worship is coming together in celebration of thejoy and mystery and wonder of the world. With the kids, I call it “celebratingbeing you and being UU.” We celebrate special times of the year together,such as in October when we shared memories of special people and pets we wantto remember and then tasted the traditional Day of the Dead bread and chocolatedrink. We also celebrate being ourselves, as we did when we had a “gifts”worship and shared with one another what special gifts we bring to church justby being who we are, and then created gifts to take along on a visit to a localnursing home. We celebrate the wonder and beauty of life and living in all itsvibrancy and, yes, its silliness.

Think about what brought you to this church, about the things that make youfeel spiritually connected and electrically alive. Kids experience those thingstoo, and we need to be intentional about sharing a language of spiritualitywith them. That language includes ritual and tradition, but mostly, for kids,it is concerned with celebration and recognition that something special happenswhen we come together at church.

And that’s what I look for when I lead children in worship. I want tohave a room full of noisy, bouncy, silly kids who know how to play and laughand live together. That tells me that we’re getting it right – thatthe kids know that they belong, know that they are home. That church is safeand comfortable and fun. Our kids know what celebration is all about. They knowwhat worship is.

It’s time, though, to expand the horizons – what excites and inspiresyou? What can YOU bring in celebration to our kids? I’m in need of peopleto join me in dreaming up and carrying out these worship services. And here’smy big secret – spending a couple of hours each month playing in earnestwith a room full of children is part of what keeps me spiritually alive, remindsme what this faith, this community, this life are for. Could you use a reminder,too? If so, get in touch quickly because I’ve got space for only a fewof you. Find me on Sunday, call me at the church, or e-mail me. Come and play!

— Catherine Farmer

Come and Learn about RE

Have you ever wondered what Religious Education is all about? All newcomersto our church community, as well as interested members, are invited to attendan introduction to Religious Education at UUCCSM on Sunday, February 22, from12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the sanctuary anteroom.We’ll explore RE philosophyand its embodiment of UU principles, as well as provide an overview of the programsand classes offered for our children and youth.

Whether you’re a parent considering becoming a member of UUCCSM, a memberinterested in learning about being an RE volunteer, or are just interested inlearning about what goes on upstairs on Sunday mornings, this is the place tofind answers to your questions. RSVP to Catherine Farmer.

Coming next month: Covenant Groups workshop

The Covenant Group Learning Series workshop will be held on four consecutiveWednesdays in March from 7 to 9 p.m. The dates are March 3, 10, 17, and 24.

This workshop is an opportunity to explore and experience the way CovenantGroups are grounded in Unitarian Universalist history and theology, and howthey actually work. Join us in taking this important step toward creating asustainable Small Group Ministry at UUCCSM.

Registration is limited to 12, and a commitment to attendance for each of thefour meetings is required. To register by the deadline, February 22, leave anote in the office for Intern Minister the Rev. Stefanie Etzbach-Dale,including your name and phone number.

Fun in the Mountains for Younger Children

The Pacific Southwest District (PSWD)/de Benneville Pines Elementary WinterCamp, “My Heart Is In the Mountains,” February 14-16, is a greatintroduction into the UU camp experience. The staff is headed by Karla Brockie,director of religious education at Northwest Tucson UU Church. Elementary-schoolchildren will enjoy snow play, hot chocolate, crafts, worship, capture-the-flaggames, and new friends from all over the district. Registration fee is $125.To download a registration form, visit http://www.debenneville.org.