RE News Archive
From Our Director of Religious Education: Please State Your Vocation
Congregations and organizations often create mission statements. The mission articulated by our congregation's Board is to: Love Generously, Seek Truth, and Serve the World. There it is, a single sentence that is intended to sum up our church’s purpose, and all that we do at UU Santa Monica is meant to align with that mission. So we have a collective mission in our community of faith, but I wonder what a personal mission statement might look like. If you had to craft one sentence to sum up what you feel called to do or be in the world, what would it be? Or looking at it another way, if there were a bumper sticker that described the core purpose of your life, what would it say?
If you are used to thinking of this month’s ministry theme — vocation — as referring only to one’s profession, it may seem like an odd choice for a month’s reflection. But the Latin root of vocation means “a call” or “a summons,” and so I wonder: what is it that the still, small voice of your own deepest self tells you about how you are called to live in this world? What do you cherish so deeply that you must align your life with it or risk leading an inauthentic life?
I was challenged once to write a haiku summing up my life that was neither flip nor pretentious. My most successful attempt was:
Aiming to meet this
Hard world with steadfast kindness,
Sometimes she managed.
I’ve done more work on my statement since writing the haiku version, and I’ve whittled it down to two words: Choose Love. In every moment of my day, I am faced with choices to make. Even when things happen around or to me that are beyond my control, my own response is always something I can choose. And in every instance I can think of, I will be living with the deepest authenticity and faith and meaning if the choice I make is a loving choice. Choose love – love for the person I’m interacting with, love for myself, love for the world, love for the values I claim to hold dear.
I’d like to invite you to take some time this month to write a statement of vocation for yourself: it could be a mission statement, a haiku, a bumper sticker, or even just a word or two. Any way you choose to do it, the idea is to make a succinct statement that gets to the heart of how you mean to live, every single day.
May we all learn to hear within ourselves that still, small voice which is our own life’s deepest call to living authentically, meaningfully, vocationally.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
RE Field Trip
On January 2, an interfaith meeting hosted at King Fahad Mosque posed the question: What do Jesus and Mother Mary mean to you personally?
The Director of Interfaith and Public Relations Mahomed Khan greeted us, and everyone who chose to participate in the meeting was warmly welcomed to sit in the main hall of the mosque. The meeting consisted of relatively short spiritual and introspective talks on this subject. Roughly 200 people attended, with a significant number of people from The Church in Ocean Park. We were treated to the amazing vocal skill of world renowned chanter Qari Tariq Fattani. In addition we enjoyed a prayer in Aramaic, the language of Jesus. A most memorable story came from the Rev. Janet McKeithen of The Church in Ocean Park, who traced her spiritual journey into the embrace of an all-accepting Jesus, an awakening which happened in a Native American sweat lodge. The point was also made that the head scarf and modest dress that Muslim women don is a way of honoring and emulating the piety of Mother Mary. We were then given a brief tour of the mosque. Overall, the warm invitation, hospitality, and meaningful dialog created a lovely experience. It is expected that this will be an annual event, not to be missed next year.
— Sarah Robson
Winter 2015-2016 Groups from the Adult RE Subcommittee
Groups continuing through February
Waking Up to “Who and What We Are”
January 11 to February 29, Mondays, 7 to 8:30 pm, in Room 3
Our “who” is our mind-body expressiveness, caused by parental and cultural influences. Our “what” is our Essence and has the names Consciousness, Awareness, and “what sees out our eyes.” It’s always available and vibrantly marvelous. Our “what” can be termed, “Be-Here-Now.” Each class begins with a review of the previous week’s meditation homework, continues with the same or new meditation, and then a discussion of what happened during this meditation. Classes are learner-centered and experiential. Facilitator: Bill Blake.
Groups starting in February
Building Your Own Theology
February 3 to March 9, Wednesdays, 7 to 9 pm, in Forbes Hall
Inspired by the fourth principle, a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, this class allows you explore what UUs believe and help you “build a theology” of your own. We will explore our spiritual odysseys, examine the varieties of liberal religious experience, discuss the nature of ultimate reality, and learn how to make meaning in our lives. At the end of the class participants will have the opportunity to write a personal credo of their own theology. Facilitated by Catherine Farmer Loya and Dan Patterson. Contact: Dan Patterson
Thursday Night Meditations
February 4, 11, 18, and 28, from 7 to 8:30 pm, in Cottage SE.
Each week we will do Centering Meditation and a guided Mindfulness meditation. There will be a brief time of comments, sharing, and questions. Experience the benefits of meditation and see which meditation invites you to develop your own regular practice at home. Sign up at the Adult RE table. Questions? Contact and Facilitator: Bettye Barclay.
UU Foundational Texts Series: Emerson’s Address to the Harvard Divinity School February
Date and Time pending.
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Divinity School Address, delivered to the graduating class of Harvard Divinity School in 1838, was so shocking for its time that Emerson was not invited back to Harvard for another 30 years. What was so controversial? The “sage of Concord” implored the students to cast aside nearly all they had been taught about Christianity. He inveighed against “stationary” theology and urged them to live, learn and speak from their own life experiences -- to show that “God speaketh, not spake.” Like other radicals in their own time, Emerson’s ideas would have a profound influence on the future of Unitarianism. Facilitator: James Witker
FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:
Why We Do Science At Church
Happy New Year! As I write this, it has not yet arrived — the holidays are staring me in the face, and our Winter Holiday pageant is fast approaching. I love our big, messy pageant every year because it’s one time when our whole church community fully participates in worship together.
Once the new year arrives, though, my thoughts turn toward the new beginnings I’m hoping for. Resolutions and goals and aspirations, oh my! It is a time of searching for a better path, of seeking to be more fully myself. The life of our congregation mirrors the individual path at this time of year, too, as we not only welcome Rev. Rebecca back from her sabbatical but also begin our mid-year assessment of our RE programs to see how they’re going. It’s also a time when many new opportunities for connecting and growing are launched. Be on the lookout for signups for many new adult as well as multigenerational programs coming soon!
This month’s ministry theme is Truth, a theme which reaches to the heart of our Unitarian Universalist tradition. In our 3rd to 5th grade UUniverse Story class, the guiding question of the year is, “How do we know what we know?” The class spent some time earlier this year discussing “why we do science at church,” and this attention not only to seeking answers to our questions but also learning how to determine for ourselves what is true and trustworthy is a big part of what makes the curriculum fit so very well into the landscape of our religious exploration program. The “free and responsible search for truth and meaning” holds its place right in the center of our seven Unitarian Universalist Principles. We are not only free to look for truth, wherever it is to be found for each of us, but are also called to temper our search with responsibility: to be thoughtful and use our powers of reason and discernment as we are choosing truths to embrace.
I suspect that the search for truth has been a part of human life as long as there have been people. As Unitarian Universalists, though, we are a people who know that truth is to be found in many places, and we honor the search for knowledge as one of our core principles. This month, let’s celebrate the search for truth together. Think about the things you know now that you didn’t know this time last year, or 10 years ago, or thirty years ago. Reflect on the best piece of advice you were ever given. Remember the elders who were part of your own life when you were a child, and think about what you learned from them. Then share some of your own truths with those you see at church on Sunday. Friends, as we move into 2016, what are the deep truths from the last year that you want to hold onto, or rediscover anew in yourself? And how can our covenantal community help support you in living out those truths?
— Catherine Farmer Loya
FROM THE ADULT RE SUBCOMMITTEE
Winter 2015-2016 Groups
GROUPS STARTING IN JANUARY
Waking Up to “Who and What We Are”
January 11 to February 29, Mondays, 7 to 8:30 pm, in Room 3
Our “who” is our mind-body expressiveness, caused by parental and cultural influences. Our “what” is our Essence and has the names Consciousness, Awareness, and “what sees out our eyes.” It’s always available and vibrantly marvelous. Our “what” can be termed, “Be-Here-Now.” Each class begins with a review of the previous week’s meditation homework, continues with the same or new meditation, and then a discussion of what happened during this meditation. Classes are learner-centered and experiential.
Facilitator: Bill Blake
Multigenerational Neighboring Faiths Visit
January 9, Saturday, 8:30 am to 2 pm
We will be visiting the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple on Saturday, January 9. Those interested can meet up at the church for carpooling at 8:30 am. Expected return time is at 2 pm. See the Adult RE Table for important information, including dress code, and helpful handouts prior to the visit.
UU Foundational Texts Series:WRESTLING WITH JEFFERSON’S JESUS: A DISCUSSION OF THE JEFFERSON BIBLE
January 31, 2016, Sunday, 1 pm (location to be determined)
Thomas Jefferson distilled a philosophy from the Bible, which was published posthumously. He called this philosophy, “the most benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.” His work, “The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth” will be discussed among the group’s participants, as well as Jefferson’s methodology and the resultant theology. Facilitator: James Witker, jwitker@mac.com
GROUPS STARTING IN FEBRUARY
Building Your Own Theology
February 3 to March 9, Wednesdays, 7 to 9 pm, in Forbes Hall
Inspired by the fourth principle, a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, this class allows you to explore what UUs believe and help you “build a theology” of your own. We will explore our spiritual odysseys, examine the varieties of liberal religious experience, discuss the nature of ultimate reality, and learn how to make meaning in our lives. At the end of the class participants will have the opportunity to write a personal credo of their own theology. Facilitated by Catherine Farmer Loya and Dan Patterson.
Thursday Night MeditationsMEDITATION THURSDAYS: CENTERING MEDITATION AND MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
February 4 to April 28, 7 to 8:30 pm, in Cottage SE
Each week we will do Centering Meditation and a guided Mindfulness meditation. There will be a brief time of comments, sharing, and questions. Experience the benefits of meditation and see which meditation invites you to develop your own regular practice at home. Sign up at the Adult RE table. Questions? Contact Bettye Barclay. Facilitator: Bettye Barclay
UU Foundational Texts Series:
EMERSON’S ADDRESS TO THE HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL
February Date and Time pending.
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Divinity School Address, delivered to the graduating class of Harvard Divinity School in 1838, was so shocking for its time that Emerson was not invited back to Harvard for another 30 years. What was so controversial? The “sage of Concord” implored the students to cast aside nearly all they had been taught about Christianity. He inveighed against “stationary” theology and urged them to live, learn and speak from their own life experiences — to show that “God speaketh, not spake.” Like other radical concepts in their own time, Emerson’s ideas would have a profound influence on the future of Unitarianism. Facilitator: James Witker
EMERSON’S ADDRESS TO THE HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL
February Date and Time pending.
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Divinity School Address, delivered to the graduating class of Harvard Divinity School in 1838, was so shocking for its time that Emerson was not invited back to Harvard for another 30 years. What was so controversial? The “sage of Concord” implored the students to cast aside nearly all they had been taught about Christianity. He inveighed against “stationary” theology and urged them to live, learn and speak from their own life experiences — to show that “God speaketh, not spake.” Like other radical concepts in their own time, Emerson’s ideas would have a profound influence on the future of Unitarianism. Facilitator: James Witker
From Our Director of Religious Education:
“Faith” Reflects Trust and Values
As we move into December, suddenly the holiday season is upon us. How quickly it has arrived! This year, I find myself thinking more than ever about the meaning of the rituals of this season, and appreciating the ways in which special traditions draw us closer to our loved ones, those who are present with us as well as those who are far away or no longer living.
When I was a child, the night my family gathered to decorate our Christmas tree was more special than Christmas itself. I’ve always loved the winter holiday season, and most especially the weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas, weeks of joyful anticipation and making-ready.
This year, though, I enter the holiday season in a more somber way than in some years, as a beloved family member nears the end of his life. And I am mindful that the holidays are hard for many people who have lost loved ones, or who are far away from their families. We as a church community are here for one another through the joyful times and through our sorrows. We celebrate and mourn together, and provide a safe place in which we can share our truest selves. We are a family, we members and friends of UU Santa Monica, and this month is a time for remembering that bond.
The congregational ministry theme for the month of December is Faith, and I am reminded that there are many faith traditions that have their own special rituals at this time of year. Faith is a word that can be challenging for us as Unitarian Universalists — it’s one of those that has sometimes been defined so narrowly as to leave a wide swath of our members cold. But I’d love to reclaim it.
I understand “faith” to mean that in which we place our trust. Faith, to me, is at heart a trust that who we are and what we do matters. A person of faith is one who makes a commitment to living in a way that reflects that trust. There is no specific belief that one must hold in order to be a person of faith; rather, to live faithfully is to live in a way that aligns with your own most deeply cherished values and beliefs, whatever they may be.
The holidays are perhaps the time of year most heavily laden with tradition and ritual, but throughout the year the rituals we choose to share with our families, or that we practice as individuals, can keep us connected with our own faith. Some people light a chalice at mealtimes, or practice meditation or prayer, or have special words they use to say goodnight to their family members every evening.
What are the rituals in your life that help you to regain focus on your intentions for how to live faithfully every day?
May we all be joyful as the days grow shorter and we approach the nadir of the year on the Winter Solstice: the return of light and warmth is near. And if we cannot be joyful, may we find peace.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
Friendly Beasts Pageant Update
Our friendly beasts, preschoolers through 5th graders, will continue their rehearsals of “The Friendly Beasts Song” this month for the holiday pageant, which occurs December 20 at both services.
The rehearsal schedule is as follows:
• December 6 — Preschoolers to grade 5 during RE (costume fitting after RE in the Cottage)
• December 13 — Group rehearsal for all at RE beginning (costume fitting after RE in the Cottage)
• December 19 — Saturday dress rehearsal in the Sanctuary (9:30 am to10:30 am) with RE Pancake
Breakfast before the rehearsal and a Bounce House after!
• December 20 — Pageant! (both services; please arrive at 8:15 am.)
We realize that pageant day is a long one for the children, so please contact me if you can help by:
• Supervising the children and providing crafts and games between the services and during most of the second service, when they’ll be in the cottage until they sing, or
• Bringing food for between the services (small sandwiches, bagels, cream cheese, muffins, crackers, cheese, cut vegetables and fruit, water, juice, etc.).
Ideally, we would like all children to sing at both services on pageant Sunday, but if your child can only sing at one service, please let me know. Here’s to another great pageant!
— Kris Langabeer
Adult RE:
Foundational UU Texts: James Luther Adams on Faith
Adult RE is pleased to announce a new series of oneoff study groups that will examine and discuss what we
might think of as some “foundational texts” of Unitarian Universalism. These documents — essays, addresses, or
excerpts from longer works — are not necessarily “sacred” texts. They certainly shouldn’t be regarded as infallible or perfect revelations of truth, but they do contain ideas that have profoundly influenced the trajectory of thought in the UU movement.
We will begin this month with a discussion of James Luther Adams’s “A Faith for the Free (1946).” Faith, the
monthly ministry theme for December, can be a controversial word. Some would argue that it means only
belief in something without evidence. But in a liberal religious context, faith is more complicated. What do Unitarian Universalists mean when we say we are “a people of faith,” despite encompassing a diverse array of beliefs (and non-beliefs)? What sort of faith unites us?
“An unexamined faith is not worth having,” wrote James Luther Adams, the legendary 20th century Unitarian
theologian, minister, professor, and essayist. He had a lot to say about faith in a rapidly changing world:
“To many people the word signifies something that puts a strain on the intelligence. Accordingly, faith is to them a belief in what is not true or what is by nature not fact but wish. To others, the word signifies the acceptance of some belief simply because a church, a tradition, a state, a party demands it... [But] ‘a man bears beliefs,’ said Emerson, ‘like a tree bears apples.’ He bears beliefs about himself, about his fellows, about his work, and his play, about his past, about his future, about human destiny. What he loves, what he serves, what he sacrifices for, what he tolerates, what he fights against, these signify his faith. They show what he places his confidence in.“The faiths of the Twentieth Century have been as powerful and influential as any that have ever been. They have created its science and its atom bombs, its Hollywoods and its Broadways, its Gestapos and its Undergrounds. We have no choice but to be free in the choice of our faith. Indeed, those who claim to be able to identify an infallible authority ‘above’ themselves really claim to be themselves infallible. A more reliable object of faith can be found if people are free to learn from each other by mutual criticism, free to discard old error, free to discover new insight, free to judge, free to test.The free person’s faith is not merely faith in oneself: It is a faith in the capacity of sincere persons to find freely together that which is worthy of confidence.”
What does faith mean to you? We will read this essay together and consider Adams’s ideas. Join me Sunday,
December 13, from 3 to 5 pm in Forbes Hall. Copies of the essay and a sign-up sheet will be available at the RE Table.
— James Witker
YRUU Staff for 2015-2016
This year’s YRUU elected staff. Left to right top row: Paice Van
Ooyen (Treasurer), Annalivia Martin-Straw (President), Dagny
Stahl (Secretary). Left to right second row: Cheyenne Mason
(Chief of Staff), Sanna Legan (Vice President). Bottom: Alex
Michaelson (Photographer). Text and photo provided by Dagny
From Our DRE: Let's Get to Work
What is there for me to say about this month’s congregational ministry theme — Gratitude — that isn’t so well-worn it hardly needs mentioning? As Thanksgiving approaches, we are reminded to give thanks: to our families, to our friends, to people who’ve done important things in the world, to all those who make our lives easier or bring meaning to it… and so forth. And sure, sure, we should be grateful for all the nice things we experience in our lives. How true — but how trite — this easy practice of gratitude has become. But it seems to me that authentic gratitude for the beauty and ease and joy in our lives is possible only alongside the acknowledgment that not all are given access to such beauty, ease, and joy. And I believe, too, that our UU values call us to act upon that realization. Our principles call us to walk in the world in ways that bend us ever more and ever more, by leaps and by bounds and perhaps most especially by the tiniest of everyday steps, toward justice and compassion for all.
Oh friends, we live in frightening times. We live in Ferguson and Syria and Sandy Hook, whether we plug our ears and avert our eyes or not. If there is a blessing to be found in the reporting of the news these days, perhaps it is that we are living now in a world with cell phone cameras and social media and Youtube — oh, my — which makes privileged, blissful unawareness of injustice harder to maintain. The work was always there, but now perhaps more of us are awakening to it. As broken as our world is, and as loud as the voices that speak counter to love and justice may be, I find such hope in that. I feel such gratitude for the life I have been given, so much of which came to me through no special effort or merit of my own. My belly is full. Thank you, world. My child is safe. Thank you, oh a thousand times thank you. My work is meaningful, and my hands are ready. Thank you. Let’s get to work.
Today, as I think about my time with all of you at UU Santa Monica, I am deeply grateful for this congregation’s willingness to change and grow and experiment with new ideas and new programs, as well as the commitment so many of its members show to working not only within our own walls but out in the wider world for justice. I have served this congregation as DRE for twelve years now—what a gift that is! Thank you for walking with me on this journey, friends. It’ll never get old.
The closing words we say every week in our 11am RE class are: “We are Unitarian Universalists with minds that think, hearts that love, and hands that are ready to help. Together we work for peace and friendship in our world.” This community of faith that we have built together isn’t just for our own benefit—this is where we can come together for an hour on Sunday mornings to find inspiration and companionship for what the world desperately needs of us: to love generously, seek truth, and serve the world. We have so much to be grateful for. Let’s put that gratitude to work, my friends.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
Adult RE
Exploration is an important continuing part of our adult lives as Unitarian Universalists. By learning, discovering new perspectives, and working towards deeper understanding of ourselves, one another, and our world, we grow as individuals. We also gain new tools and insights as part of a larger movement of people seeking peace and justice. These are UU Santa Monica’s fall workshops and discussion groups currently meeting or beginning soon:
• Light Group Meditation — The 7 UU Principles and the Palestine-Israel Conflict
• Long Strange Trip: Video Series on UU History
• Last Conversations Ongoing groups meeting regularly throughout the year:
• Patio Chat: Discuss ministerial themes, sermons, and related topics between services.
• Writers Group: Stretch your literary muscles in a safe and supportive atmosphere.
And here are some offerings to look for in the New Year — Winter/Spring 2016
• The Jefferson Bible
• Building Your Own Theology: Introduction
• Foundational UU Texts: Emerson’s “Divinity School Address,” James Luther Adams’s “A Faith for the Free”
• “This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate” Book Discussion
• Joseph Campbell’s “The Power of Myth”: Our Myths, Our Future
• Building Your Own Theology — Ethics - Understanding the Bible?
Additionally:
• The 2015-2016 Common Read: “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” by Bryan Stevenson. Book groups TBA.
• Neighboring Faiths: All are welcome to accompany the RE participants and their parents on visits to other faith communities. This year’s exploration theme is Eastern Religions. Each program is related to one or more of our seven core religious exploration topics:
• Unitarian Universalism, Jewish and Christian Heritage, World Religions, Personal/Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Practices, Peace and Justice, The Interdependent Web
Are you interested in facilitating your own class or discussion group? You’re welcome to fill out a UU Santa Monica Adult Programs Proposal and submit it to Catherine Farmer Loya. The Adult Programs Subcommittee will review it and, if approved, work with you to schedule and promote your program.
For more information, stop by the RE table in Forbes Hall or speak to a member of the Adult Programs Subcommittee (Natalie Kahn, Dan Patterson, Sarah Robson, James Witker) and check this space in the months ahead!
Wherever your interest leads you, we welcome you to a new year of exploration here at UU Santa Monica.
— James Witker
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Our Whole Lives (affectionately known as OWL) is a unique, holistic lifespan sexuality education program grounded in the belief that honest, accurate information about sexuality changes lives. Developed jointly by the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association, OWL was launched nationally in 1999. Its lifespan scope encompasses five levels: K to 1st Grade; 5th to 6th grades; 7th to 9th grades; 10th to 12th grades; and adults. OWL’s approach is comprehensive: going beyond identifying body parts to include relationships and personal skills in addition to sexual health and behavior. OWL addresses decision-making, clarifies values, builds interpersonal skills, and deepens understanding of spiritual, emotional, and societal aspects of sexuality, which can influence the decisions we make. Its “three Rs” are Responsibility, Respect, and Relationships. UU Santa Monica is one of the only churches in the area to offer all five OWL modules in a two-year rotation. (Information from www.uua.org/re/owl) |
The OWL (Our Whole Lives) program is 15 years old!
In January 2000, UU Santa Monica offered its first OWL class. With four facilitators and nine youth, the first group was for 7th and 8th graders. It was a wild success, and UU Santa Monica has offered OWL classes ever since. Beth Rendeiro coordinated and co-facilitated that first group and has continued coordinating and facilitating UU Santa Monica OWL classes, and participating in OWL at the national level. In honor of its 15th year, Sabina Mayo-Smith interviewed Beth Rendeiro about why OWL is such a special and important program.
SMS: Beth, how did you get involved with OWL?
BR: In September 1999, the UU Santa Monica Director of Religious Education at the time, Judy Tomlinson, asked me if I would be interested in applying to a training to facilitate a brand new sexuality education program called Our Whole Lives. Judy knew that I worked at Planned Parenthood. I applied to be a trainer, was accepted, and I have been coordinating and co-facilitating OWL classes at UU Santa Monica ever since. We started with one class for 7th to 9th graders, and over time, added four other classes for other age groups, which we continue to offer over a two-year cycle.
SMS: When did you realize that OWL was something special?
BR: I realized it with our first group. I saw that the youth in the group were very involved and interested in what we had to share. Kids like to talk about these issues. After the first OWL class ended, the youth asked if they could continue to meet with us. Two facilitators agreed and we met once per month on a Friday night at my house for the next three years! Sometimes they would bring their friends because they thought they would enjoy and benefit from the discussions. Working with OWL continues to be profound and meaningful for those of us who volunteer with the program. Volunteering with OWL requires a lot of time and dedication. Yet, three of the four original facilitators still work with OWL, and one of our first youth participants is now being trained as an OWL facilitator in Oregon!
SMS: Not all UU congregations have an OWL program. Why do you think OWL is important for UU Santa Monica to sponsor?
BR: I believe OWL is part of a holistic ministry that allows us to consider fundamental aspects of what it means to be human. OWL incorporates the core values of our UU faith. It highlights our connection and integration as human beings. And we are all so grateful for the church’s commitment to OWL these last 15 years. The church has offered financial, logistical, and ideological support that has allowed us to offer a comprehensive, life-span program led by trained, committed volunteers.
SMS: Why is OWL such a powerful program?
BR: Sexuality is a big part of who we are as humans. It is also a big part of the culture. The discussions we have with children as part of OWL are meaningful to their families too. In three OWL age groups, we also have parent participation. This gives both children and parents a chance to think about sexuality in age-appropriate ways and open a dialogue that can be difficult to broach. OWL provides information. It provides awareness of both individual and cultural aspects of sexuality, and it is a safe place for participants to practice decision-making.
SMS: Why is OWL an exceptional program?
BR: All of us who are involved with OWL have found it relevant and meaningful both to us and the participants. And the information is developmentally right on. It is very unusual for a sexuality education program to look at the human lifespan and to address the needs of different age groups. OWL offers participants something they can easily integrate into their lives outside of church. It helps them look at the world through a different lens.
OWL Facilitators
UU Santa Monica’s current OWL facilitators are:
Francois Bar
Alan Brunell
Karen Canady
Kathy Cook
Tom Early
Leon Henderson-MacLennan
Stanley Johnston
Dan Nannini
Karen Patterson
Buudha Quant
Amy Thiele
Linda van Ligten
Steve and Sylvia Young
Retired: Sue Bickford, Cynthia Cottam, Carl Hoppe, Victor Paddock
(About to be trained next month): Vicky Foxworth, Mike Monte
Thank you from all of us for your dedication and hard work!
UU Santa Monica is hosting a regional OWL facilitators’ training on November 5 to 7 to work with the 7th to 9th grade and 10th to 12th grade modules.
If you are interested in more information about the Our Whole Lives program you can find it at http://www.uua.org/re/owl
Friendly Beasts
Once again, our preschool through elementary-aged children will sing “The Friendly Beasts” song at our holiday pageant on Sunday, December 20, at both services. As in years past, all involved children will sing the first and last verses of the song. Small groups of children will sing the middle five verses, dressed in a costume appropriate to the animals speaking in that verse (brown donkeys, red and white cows, dogs, doves, or mice). Our preschoolers sing the mice verse, and the older children pick which of the other animals they want to be.
We have costumes for our Beasts from previous years. Older kids who don’t want to dress as an animal but do want to sing are welcome to be shepherds. Religious Exploration teachers and parents, please note: I will lead Sunday rehearsals (about 10 minutes long) that occur in the RE classrooms during both services. Below is the rehearsal schedule, including a dress rehearsal that occurs Saturday morning, December 19, just after the RE Pancake Breakfast.
November 8 Preschoolers to grade 5: 10 minutes each classroom
November 15 Preschoolers to grade 5: 10 minutes each classroom
November 22 Preschoolers to grade 5: 10 minutes each classroom
November 29 Group rehearsal for all at RE beginning
December 6 Preschoolers to grade 5: 10 minutes each classroom
December 13 Group rehearsal for all at RE beginning
December 19 (Saturday) RE Pancake Breakfast at 8 am in Forbes Hall, Friendly Beast dress rehearsal in Sanctuary from 9:30 am to 10:30 am, and more fun (including a Bounce House) for the kids after the rehearsal! December 20 Pageant! (both services)
Call or email me with questions. I look forward to working with your friendly beasts once again this year!
— Kris Langabeer
FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
A Safe and Sacred Place for Children, Youth, and Adults
We are a few weeks into our new church year now, and it is an exciting time, as we try out new ways of being together in our RE classrooms as well as in worship with the arrival of Rev. Tera Little as our sabbatical leave minister this fall.
As you know, our Unitarian Universalist faith is covenantal. We do not subscribe to a common doctrine, and are instead made up of all who have chosen to “walk together” as members and friends of the church. When we gather, we welcome all who choose to join us, and we ask and depend on one another to create a safe and sacred space for all the children, youth, and adults of our community. We also rely on one another to create, talk about, and implement policies that help keep our congregation healthy and ensure the safety and well being of our members and visitors.
As we have just launched a new year of classes, it is a good time to remind our members about the congregation’s existing safety procedures, policies, and plans, particularly as they protect the children and youth entrusted to our care.
Training: An important part of every year’s RE volunteer training is a review of our safety policies, including classroom procedures as well as a discussion of mandated reporting of suspected abuse.
Screening: RE teachers and advisors fill out a screening form that provides background information and personal references as well as permission to perform a background check. We conduct this screening when volunteers are new to RE as well as once five years have elapsed since prior screening.
Evacuation Planning: Evacuation procedures for RE classes are reviewed with all volunteers, and the printed plans are included in every teacher notebook as well as in the attendance notebook for each RE class. In the event of an evacuation during class time, teachers will fill out a form with each child’s name, and parents are required to sign their children out when they are picked up from the designated gathering area outside.
Classroom Rules: All of our classes require two adults to be in the room — generally a lead teacher and an assistant. We put windows in the doors of our upstairs classrooms during the renovation to make periodic classroom check-ins possible without disrupting class time. Parents fill out and sign registration forms that include permission to treat in an emergency if a parent is not immediately available, though this is an extra precaution, since our Sunday RE classes happen when parents are also on our campus. A special extra permission form that includes health information is required for any trips or events at UU Santa Monica when parents are not present. At least a 1 to 6 adult to youth ratio is required for any of these special programs (in addition to the 2-adult minimum). At no times are a child/youth and an adult in a one-on-one setting during activities offered or sponsored by UU Santa Monica.
First Aid/CPR: All RE Department staff are First Aid/CPRcertified.
Finally, as written in our congregation’s Policy on Disruptive Behavior, while openness to a wide variety of individuals is one of the prime values held by our congregation and expressed in our denomination’s purposes and principles, we affirm the belief that our congregation must maintain a secure atmosphere where such
openness can exist. When any person’s physical and/or emotional well-being or freedom to safely express his or her beliefs or opinions is threatened, the source of this threat must be addressed firmly and promptly. (For more information on this policy, please see http://archive.uusm.org/about-our-church/governance/policies/general-operations/disruptive-behavior) The time to make plans for how to respond to a breach of trust in our community is before such a breach happens. While the RE program has comprehensive safety plans in place, and much
work has been done to develop helpful, clear policies such as that outlined above, there is more to do within the congregation as a whole to support our shared commitment to community wellbeing.
All of the staff at UU Santa Monica are committed to working with you and our leaders to continue to refine and improve safety policies and procedures, which will enable us to meet the needs of all in our community. Like many of you, we know this is hard, necessary, and sacred work.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
Coming Up this Month in RE
This month in the elementary and middle school RE programs, preschoolers will celebrate our multigenerational church community, and will begin to explore the natural world with sessions focusing on our connections with trees.
Kindergarten to 2nd graders at the 9 am service will jump into this year’s focus on themes from our church covenant with sessions celebrating love for ourselves and our families, as well as a session featuring a story called “Uncle Willy’s Soup Kitchen,” as we consider ways we can be of service to others in our wider community.
3rd to 5th graders in the UUniverse Story program at 9 am will discuss the purpose of religion and science, and will learn about science as the best method we have developed yet to understand the natural world around us.
Middle-schoolers in the Interfaith Quest class at 9 am will set off on their year-long journey by taking a look at our own Unitarian Universalist faith, using it to build a framework for how we’ll learn about other religious traditions later in the year, and developing our own “elevator speeches” for explaining our UU faith to people of other faith traditions.
And in our multi-age 11 am program, we will kick off the month with an exploration of “The Chemistry Between Us” in building a caring community together, and then will engage with October’s ministry theme of “Letting Go” with a focus on the Buddhist story of “Tenzin’s Deer,” as well as a special “Ribbons of Memory” ritual, leading toward our Day of the Dead Sunday service at the beginning of November. We will also be offering our parent/
youth orientation to the newly revised 8th to 9th grade Coming of Age program on Sunday, October 18.
From Our DRE:
As the summer winds down, we come together once again to launch our 2015 to 2016 program year, and we move into September’s ministry theme of Forgiveness. Some religious traditions have a strong grounding in the practice of forgiveness, but it’s not a theme we grapple with often in UU circles, though it is certainly a worthy one. We live in a culture which does not encourage either selfforgiveness or the forgiving of others. Maybe that’s why it’s so very hard, at times, to accept or to offer forgiveness. But to forgive is to make room for new health, new growth. It means letting go of anger or hurt that holds us captive in the past. It does not mean failing to hold others accountable into the future for past hurtful actions, but rather to take away the past’s power to continue to wound.
In the Jewish tradition, the New Year is celebrated on Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown on the day of our UU Santa Monica Ingathering on September 13 this year. The ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur mark a time of self-reflection and making amends to any you have wronged in the last year. I am
reminded of the refrain from a reading by UU minister Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs: “We forgive ourselves and each other; we begin again in love.” What a timely reminder as we begin a new church year together; while certainly we as a congregation don’t always get everything right, every fall we join hands and hearts yet again to help bring our UU Santa Monica mission to life in our church and in our world: Love Generously, Seek Truth, and Serve the World.
I am so excited about what’s in store in our religious exploration programs for all ages here at UU Santa Monica. Take a look at these Lifespan RE pages for an overview of what’s coming this fall. I’ve decided that the overarching theme of this year is “deepening.” That is the core purpose of our educational ministry to children, youth and adults: to provide opportunities for our members to deepen their spiritual lives, to deepen their understanding of our UU history and values, to deepen their ability to live with compassion, integrity and joy. We’re trying out some new ways of offering these opportunities, particularly in our 11 am children’s RE program, and I can’t wait to get it all started. Let’s play and experiment and grow together! And may we all, this month and throughout the year that is before us, practice forgiving ourselves and each other, and seek always to begin again in love.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
Children and Youth Programs
On Ingathering Sunday, September 13, we’ll celebrate the beginning of a new church year together as one community of all ages, as we “Gather the Spirit” — all will attend the service in the sanctuary. Then on September 20, all children and youth who attend will take part in a special RE Faith in Action project, providing some care and cheer for our UU Santa Monica classrooms and grounds, while many of our church families are enjoying the church camp weekend at Camp de Benneville Pines. RE Classes will begin on Sunday, September 27. No matter the age of your child, we have something exciting in store this year:
9 and 11 am — Care for our Youngest UUs
Nursery Care: Babies and toddlers are kept safe and happy with loving care. Our nursery room is a warm and welcoming place for our children.
Preschool: “We Are Many, We Are One” encourages young children to learn how to play and work cooperatively, appreciate how we are all alike yet different, and celebrate the different religions and cultures of the world.
9 am RE Classes
Kindergarten to 2nd Grade: “Spirit Seekers” share core stories of our faith, focusing this year on themes from our UU Santa Monica RE Covenant: Love, Service, Peace, Knowledge, Freedom and Building Community. We’ll engage children in stories and activities to help them make meaning of their lives, grow a strong UU identity, and create a spiritual community together that honors multiple learning styles and celebrates beauty in diversity.
3rd to 5th Grade: How do we know what we know? “The UUniverse Story” is designed to nurture a sense of awe and wonder for the world around us through a hands-on, sciencebased curriculum. Kids will engage our UU Principles and values as they explore the chemistry of life, the ideas of evolution and change over time, and the interconnectedness of all people from our shared ancestry with each other and every other life form on the planet.
6th to 8th Grade: “Interfaith Quest” takes participants outside of our own walls to learn about the world’s religions through direct engagement and building connections with youth from other religious traditions. Participants will reflect on the unique and the universal of religious experience, explore their own values as they relate to many other faith traditions as well as our UU faith, and increase their appreciation of religious diversity. This year’s program will focus on exploring Asian and earth-based religious traditions.
9th to 12th Grade: “Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU)” empowers teens, with the guidance of adult advisors, to create their own vision and mission for their program. YRUU youth will explore what it means to be young and UU, how our UU principles inform how we live our lives, and what power young UUs have to change the world. YRUU also takes part in social justice projects, organizes social gatherings, and will plan and lead a Sunday worship service for the congregation.
11 am RE Programs
“Spirit Explorers Multi-age Program”: Children and youth will explore the UUSM monthly ministry themes through story, craft, song, movement and more. Each week will begin with the sharing of a story to help us enter into our theme, and then participants will choose among two to three workshop options for further exploration engaging mind, body, and spirit.
Instead of RE “teachers” in this new program model, volunteers focused on building caring community within our RE circle will be trained as “Spirit Guides,” to lead the opening ritual and story and then assist in the workshops, providing consistency and connection with the kids in the program. The workshops will be led by UU Santa Monica members who volunteer to offer a workshop for a span of two to four weeks to explore the theme further (Yoga? Sand mandalas? Children’s Choir? Gardening? Cooperative game day? Building a UU box city? Making Lunches for Bunches? The possibilities are endless!)
8th to 9th Grade (and beyond): “Coming of Age,” which will launch in late October during the 11 am service, provides opportunities for youth to learn who they are and where they are on their spiritual journey, bond with other teens, learn about the church and how it works, and articulate their own personal beliefs within the context of our UU faith. The year culminates on Coming of Age Sunday, May 15, 2016, when the youth will present religious credo statements before the congregation in a worship service of their own design. This program is a special opt-in opportunity for youth in grades 8 to 9 (also open to older high school youth who have not yet been in COA), and requires a strong commitment to attendance and participation. Will begin in late October with parent/youth orientation earlier in the month.
5th to 6th Grade: “Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education.” This class nurtures and supports the “three Rs” of childhood sexuality—Respect, Relationships, and Responsibility — by helping children gain self-respect and respect for others, build relationships with members of all genders and with many kinds of families, and understand their responsibilities regarding their own health and that of others. This curriculum helps participants integrate the values of the program with their own system of values in an open, affirming and anti-bias environment and a community of trust and authenticity. Will be held January to March, with mandatory parent orientations in preceding months.
K to 1st Grade: “Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education.” The OWL Grades K to 1st grade curriculum is based on specific values related to human sexuality. It nurtures the worth and dignity of every participant. It fosters loving, equitable and healthy relationships and counters injustices such as homophobia, stereotyping, and sexism. Children are encouraged to value themselves and act on their values throughout their lives. This elementary-age program is based on the philosophy that parents and religious communities can form a meaningful partnership for positive responsible sexuality education. Will be held March to May, with mandatory parent orientations in preceding months
— Catherine Farmer Loya
Adult RE Class To Study the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Beginning in October, a new Adult RE class on the decadeslong Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be facilitated by members of the Peace and Social Justice Committee. We will use an online study guide recently created by UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME), an independent UU organization in existence since 1971. Each of seven sessions will be based on one of our seven UU principles, beginning with our third principle — acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregation. There will be pre-readings and/or videos to preview for each session. Readings have been compiled from articles and essays written by UUs, correspondence with ministers and UUs of Jewish and Palestinian origin, and resources from allied U.S., Israeli, and Palestinian groups.
UUJME supports ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories taken in 1967 and stopping the settlements, and seeks to change U.S. foreign policy to support these goals. This curriculum reflects these opinions and the opinion that the sides in the conflict are not equal; there is a much stronger oppressing power and a much weaker occupied population. UUJME supporters hold differing opinions on political tactics and solutions but share UU values which inform their mission: to educate ourselves and our fellow UUs and citizens about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its legal, moral, and ethical issues in an effort to bring about peace and justice in Israel-Palestine, including a settlement of the conflict affirming the equality, dignity, freedom, and security of all peoples involved.
We invite you to sign up for our class where we will engage in study and respectful dialogue. The class will meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays from 7 to 9 pm.
— Roberta Frye
New at 11: The Spirit Explorers!
Starting on Sunday, September 27, look for brand new RE programming.
A shift in attendance patterns in the last four years has given us the opportunity to try something new at 11 a.m. Starting on September 27, at the 11 a.m. service only, RE at UU Santa Monica will offer a celebratory, multi-age program for children from Kindergarten through 8th grade called “The Spirit Explorers.”
Rather than grouping children by age, Spirit Explorers will offer different types of programming for all participants. Children will move from whole group activities to small group experiences. The program content will be drawn from our UU Seven Principles, the monthly Ministry themes, and the Six Sources of our Faith.
So what will this look like? Children will leave the service after the Time for All Ages as they normally do, and go to the Cottage. There will be a large group activity including welcoming and an introduction of the day’s program content through story, movement, or an exercise. After this, children will have a choice of two to three activities to further explore the day’s topic. One of these will always include movement and one will always involve a craft project. Examples of the some of the movement programming are yoga, dance, or active games. Finally, the class will end with the children coming back together as a group for a closing and then snack. Parent pick-up will still be at 12:15 p.m.
Children will have the freedom to choose in which of the available activities they want to participate on any given Sunday. Some children may always go for the movement. Some may always opt for the craft. Still others may want to mix it up. We are excited to offer this new program because it will allow children to engage with each other and with the weekly content in a setting that acknowledges our different ways of connecting with our community.
Please note: Nothing will change for Babies through Pre-Schoolers. As before, during the 11 a.m. service the nursery will be open for infants and toddlers from 10:45 to 12:15, and the pre-school classroom will be open for children ages 3 to 5 following the Time for All Ages until 12:15 p.m.
he 9 a.m. RE program will remain the same with age-specific programming through 12th grade.
Come try out the Spirit Explorers at 11:00! (And adult volunteers are always welcome, too.)
— Sabina Mayo-Smith
From Our DRE:
Adapting to the Realities of Family Life
The congregational ministry theme for the month of July is CREATIVITY. This is certainly a season of creative thinking in the RE program at UU Santa Monica — we are busy launching this summer’s classes as well as crafting curricula and planning our structure for the 2015-16 program year. We will be trying out something new next year, as I continue to believe that we (along with the vast majority of other congregations) are experiencing a broad shift in the way that members participate in church life, with more sporadic attendance across the board (regularly attending families generally come 1 to 2 times per month, rather than 3 to 4 as once was typical) and reduced availability of volunteers to take on significant preparation and leadership roles. I look forward to continuing to adapt our programs and our ministry to families in a way that takes into account the realities of family life in 2015, and makes good use of the time and talent of our members. In the next year, we will be differentiating our 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. RE programs more fully than in the past, with age-specific classes for all ages at 9 a.m. At 11 a.m. we will launch a multi-age, experiential workshop-based program, as well as offering our special opt-in programs including Our Whole Lives, Coming of Age, and more. This will expand the range of opportunities for young people in our church community, and will bring new vibrancy to our 11 a.m. program.
In the meantime, we have an invitation for you to help you flex your own creative muscles: join us in our “Wonder-Full Summer” RE program as our children put their hands to work each Sunday in celebration of our seventh UU principle, which calls us to “respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” We can always use an extra helping hand! Here’s what we have in store for elementary and middle schoolers in July and August:
July 6 – Sun Print Art (Sun)
July 13 – Seed Mandalas (Nature)
July 20 – Leaf Print Altar Cloths (Nature)
July 27 – Oxygen Experiments (Air)
August 3 – Recycled Material Kite-Making (Air/Conservation)
August 10 – Terrarium Crafts (Nature)
August 17 – Beach Cleanup (Earth/Conservation)
August 24 – Recycled Wind Chimes (Air/Conservation)
August 31 – Sand Clay Crafts (Earth)
While the big kids are getting crafty with nature, preschoolers will explore “The Senses.” I hope to see many of you at church on Sundays this summer — let’s celebrate “being you and being UU” together!
— Catherine Farmer Loya
It’s a WonderFull Summer in RE!
Summer is a time when we sometimes look to explore new things, when things may slow down or, if you have children, when the schedule just changes! In RE this summer, all of these are true. Starting on June 21, and continuing through August 13, we will have only one service on Sundays at 10 a.m. Our two RE youth groups take a break in the summer: the high school group, YRUU, and Coming of Age. But all other children from babies through 7th graders are welcome to enjoy our RE Summer programming. Here’s what’s happening:
For babies and toddlers, the nursery is open and welcoming from 9:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
For pre-schoolers, including those children who will enter Kindergarten this fall, we will have a fun curriculum called “Our Senses.” We will spend the summer learning about and experimenting with our seven senses. (What? You thought there were only five senses? Drop by the Pre-School room this summer to find out about the other two.)
For children who finished Kindergarten in June through 7th graders: We invite you to join us in the Cottage every Sunday for “A Wonder-Full Summer.” Each Sunday children will have the chance to celebrate the natural world and our connection with it in a fun, relaxed way. This may include building a terrarium, creating sand clay sculptures, or making prints using various vegetables. We also plan to have a Social Justice Sunday Beach Clean-Up Day.
For adults who are interested in a one-time opportunity to volunteer in RE this summer: Do you have a “Wonder-Full” activity that you would like to share with the children of our UU community? Summer is a great time to do this. You can also volunteer on a Sunday and we can give you a complete lesson plan. Just want to assist? That’s great too! Summer is a also a good time to get your feet wet working with our children. If you’re interested, just ask Catherine Farmer Loya, or go to the RE table in Forbes Hall after a Sunday service.
— Sabina Mayo-Smith
FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:
Teach Our Kids — 8 Answers Why
It’s that time of year again — the Lifespan RE Committee and I are recruiting volunteers for the summer and 2015-16 RE program year, and I invite YOU to consider teaching this year. You may have questions about volunteering; potential volunteers often raise similar concerns, so here are answers to some of the most common questions that come our way about teaching RE.
1) Why do teachers volunteer their time?
The best way to get an answer to that is to ask one of our teachers. Sharing the excitement of learning and exploring new ideas with children can be a very special experience. We learn as much, or more, from them as they do from us, and their fresh outlook helps us to keep our youthful perspective. The curriculum materials we provide allow you the opportunity to explore and clarify your own religious ideas and delve into the varied religious heritages that have influenced Unitarian Universalism.
2) I’m still forming my own beliefs. How can I teach religion to children?
As UUs, most of us spend our entire lives formulating our religious beliefs. It’s a part of what we’re all about. Since we have no creed, we don’t try to “teach” our children religion. Instead, we help them to question, to wonder, to grow their own spirituality. We teach them how to think about religion, not what to think about it. Our teachers don’t need theological certainty, just open minds and open hearts.
3) But I don’t know how to teach!
That’s okay — we’ll help you! We’ll have a training workshop on a Saturday in September before classes begin so you’ll feel right at home with our RE program. The Lifespan RE Committee and I will provide support, both practical and emotional, at any time.
4) But I can’t do it alone!
Of course you can’t, and we don’t expect you to. You’ll be a part of a teaching team of three or four teachers per class. When it’s your turn to teach, another member of your team or a class parent will be there to assist. The DRE and LRE Committee will check in with you, offer suggestions when asked, and help provide the supplies and resources you need.
5) But I’m not good at arts and crafts (or music, drama, or whatever).
You don’t have to be. Our curricula are designed to be easy to use and are so complete that all you need to do is follow the directions. Just add love and stir! Remember, the members of your teaching team will have complementary strengths. Our congregation is a wealth of talent, and we will help you find that guitarist-dancer-scientist who can add the touch of expertise you want.
6) I don’t have kids (or my kids are grown up). Why should I get involved in RE?
Social responsibility begins at home, within our own church family. What better way to assure our future, as well as that of our denomination, than to work with children and youth, who are its heartbeat? It is very rewarding to share the joy of celebration and discovery. The children will benefit from your viewpoint — differing perspectives are invaluable to their growth.
7) I enjoy the sermons too much to miss them.
Good News! We have two services each Sunday, at 9 and 11 a.m., so you may still participate in worship on weeks when you’re teaching. Many of our teachers, particularly those who don’t have young children currently in RE, volunteer at one service and attend worship at the other each week. Your commitment as a teacher is two Sundays per month (once as lead teacher and once as assistant), so you’ll also have two or three Sundays every month without classroom responsibilities when you can attend the service of your choosing.
8) I have a crazy schedule, so I can’t teach. Is there another way I can help?
Yes! Our LRE program can use volunteers in countless ways. We need nursery and classroom helpers, teacher substitutes, snack providers, and more. We need resource people in many fields. A “guest appearance” adds a dimension to a young person’s religious education. Perhaps you have a professional expertise that could be utilized to support our teaching staff. We also have plenty of opportunities for those who would like to plan or supervise parties or activities, intergenerational events or service projects, or help organize the RE library and supply closets. Choose what interests you!
To learn more about volunteer opportunities or to sign up, visit the LRE table during coffee hour, or contact me at catherine@uusm.org or (310) 829-5436 x105.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
Interview with Roxanne Bell by Sabina Mayo-Smith
The next in our series on RE for children and youth at UU Santa Monica is an interview with Mrs. Roxanne Bell, the teacher for the Sunday morning preschool class.
“Mrs. Roxanne, Mrs. Roxanne!” The sound of excited young voices greeting their teacher will let you know you have reached the UU Santa Monica preschool classroom where Mrs. Roxanne Bell works with our preschool children at both the 9 and 11 a.m. services. A staff member at UU Santa Monica since 2012, Roxanne Bell graciously agreed to talk with Sabina Mayo-Smith to share something about herself and what happens in “Chalice Children.”
S: Roxanne, what other work do you do?
R: For the last two years I have worked as a nanny with a family with two girls in first grade and kindergarten. Among other things I work with them on educational activities.
S: How did you get involved with working with children?
R: Sixteen years ago, I was a waitress in Atlanta, Georgia. Every day I passed a childcare center in my neighborhood. As time went on, I just got the feeling that this was the work I was meant to do. One day I went in to talk with the director of the center to see if there was a job. I didn’t have a phone at the time so — this was before cell phones — I went out and got a pager! She interviewed me and right after I left, I got a page from her. She brought me into a classroom and I stayed with that center for two years. I have been working with children ever since! And now I have an Associates Degree in Early Childhood Care and Education, with a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential.
S. What do you enjoy about working with children?
R: I enjoy their innocence. I enjoy hearing what they have to say and learning from them. I enjoy providing consistency for the preschool children every Sunday. They come into this classroom knowing what the structure of the day is and knowing what to expect from me.
S: Tell us about the preschool class on Sunday mornings.
R: Every week I put together a lesson plan for the day. During the year, I have had units on various topics including “I Am Special” which helps children look at how they are unique, “My World: Light and Dark” and “My World: Animals” to name a few. These units may take one or more weeks to explore. Each Sunday, children come into the classroom and get settled for Circle Time. We greet each other, “light” our chalice, and sing our song “Little Chalice Burning Bright.” I share with them what the plan is for the day. We start with an activity, which usually is a craft related to the day’s topic. After that we clean up and have a snack. I end the morning with reading a book that addresses the day’s topic.
S: How are UU values part of your classroom?
R: We talk about respecting each other, our community, and ourselves. We also practice respect in the classroom. S: What do you like to do with your free time? R: I have three boys ages 16, 14, and 8. Now that they are older, believe it or not, I do have free time. We like to do tourist things in Los Angeles, like go to the Getty and the Griffith Observatory. I also have regular dates with my husband. We like to watch foreign films on Netflix and go out to eat. When it’s just me, I like to read.
FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Spend a Summer Sunday Morning with Our Kids
It’s hard to believe that we’re almost at the end of another church year, isn’t it? Our ministry theme for May is Freedom, and I am reminded that our commitment to religious freedom is deeply ingrained in the way we govern our congregations; the decisions about what we do and how we do it are made by our own members, and so we’re free to create the kind of programs we want to see. But that also means that we can offer only what we ourselves are willing to make happen through our own inspiration and effort.
What feeds your spirit, and where can you make your mark as part of our covenantal community? When you close your eyes and envision yourself as a volunteer at the church, what are you doing? Are you making coffee? Planning multigenerational worship and events? Singing in the choir? Facilitating a program on world religions for adults? Celebrating Earth Day with elementaryschoolers? Knitting with friends during coffee hour? There are so many ways to help us realize our vision for UU Santa Monica’s future.
If your vision included spending time with children or youth in our community or helping to craft the programs we offer to young people or adults, now’s a great time to talk with us about how to bring that vision to life. During coffee hour this month at the LRE table we’ll have lots of information about opportunities for volunteering in our RE programs, as well as the exciting curricula we have planned for all ages in our church in the next year.
We’re also looking for help with our summer programs. Members of the congregation who would like to spend a Sunday morning with our youngsters this summer are invited to sign up for one week, to lead our “elementary and up” participants in exploring and celebrating nature and ecology through hands-on craft projects, experiments and games. In addition to our leader each week, we need an assistant for this class, as well as our preschool and nursery — please consider helping out for a Sunday or two! Signups will be available at the LRE table, or you can contact me at (310) 829-5436 x105 or Catherine@uusm.org for more information.
We have a Lifespan RE program to be proud of here at UU Santa Monica, and its high quality is very much dependent on the generous gifts of time and energy given by church members who have volunteered to teach in RE classes, or coordinate special events, or serve on the LRE Committee, or help out in any number of ways
large and small. Thank you.
— Catherine Farmer Loya
Introducing a New Interview Series
For the next few issues of the newsletter, the Children and Youth Subcommittees of the Lifespan Religious Committee will highlight our programs for children and youth. With the goal of introducing this aspect of our church community to all those of you who may spend your Sunday in the Sanctuary, we want to let you know what goes on after the children and youth “Go Now In Peace.” This month we start at the beginning with a portrait of our Nursery and Toddler Teacher, ZaNyaa Lee.
— Sabina Mayo-Smith
Meet ZaNyaa Lee!
When you first walk into the Infant/Toddler Nursery in the Cottage, you may notice how warm and cozy it is. If it’s a Sunday, you will also be fortunate to experience the calm presence of ZaNyaa Lee, UU Santa Monica’s paid Nursery teacher.
A teacher here since September 2011, ZaNyaa brings all her wonderful knowledge, experience, joy, and enthusiasm to the youngest members of our church community and their families. Sabina Mayo-Smith recently had the pleasure of talking with ZaNyaa.
S: ZaNyaa, what other work do you do?
Z: For the last four years, I have been a service coordinator with the North Los Angeles Regional Center, working with children with special needs and their families.
S: How did you get involved with working with children?
Z: I have been working with children for most of my life. I am the oldest of four with a sibling who is 13 years younger than me. I am also the oldest cousin in an extended family. When I was a student in middle school, I had the chance to work with young children in a special education class and I loved it. Since then I have always worked with children, particularly those with special needs. I have a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in early childhood education.
Z: I have been working with children for most of my life. I am the oldest of four with a sibling who is 13 years younger than me. I am also the oldest cousin in an extended family. When I was a student in middle school, I had the chance to work with young children in a special education class and I loved it. Since then I have always worked with children, particularly those with special needs. I have a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in early childhood education.
S. What do you enjoy about working with children?
ZaNyaa: [Laughs] So many things! I love young children’s emotional intensity. I find their immediacy refreshing. And I love to watch them grow and learn.
S: Tell me about your Infant/Toddler Room.
Z: I want to provide a space that is simple and warm. I also want to offer opportunities for the children to learn and have experiences. What we do depends on the day and who is in the classroom, both the ages and personalities of the children present. I like to be responsive to what the children want and need. Sometimes we may have a group of lively toddlers who may want to play a game. Sometimes we take a walk around the courtyard observing what’s around us. Sometimes we have a story time. Or if there is just one infant present, I may spend the time rocking the baby. I love my baby time!
S: How are UU values part of your classroom?
Z: We start each group by “lighting” our felt chalice and singing “Little Chalice Burning Bright.” I also encourage
toddlers to explore their own solutions to small problems that may arise. And I talk with the children about
compassion. I have really enjoyed the energy of this church, and I like to bring it into the classroom.
S: What do you like to do with your free time?
Z: Since I am also starting my own Life Coaching business, I don’t have a lot of free time. But when I do, I like to read and exercise. I also like to go out to the movies with my husband, [singer] Babatunde Akinbobye, and our friends.
The Infant/Toddler Nursery is open from 10 minutes before each service until 15 minutes after each service. If you’re at a Sunday service, come by to meet and say hi to ZaNyaa Lee.
(No children necessary!)
Quotes about Freedom
Bettye Barclay has provided this list of quotes about our ministerial theme for May. Daily quotes also appear in the weekly electronic announcements.
Week 1. To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. — Nelson Mandela
Week 2. He who has overcome his fears will truly be free. — Aristotle
Week 3. No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. — Ansel Adams
Week 4. Frederick Douglass taught that literacy is the path from slavery to freedom. There are many kinds of slavery and many kinds of freedom, but reading is still the path. — Carl Sagan
Week 5. I tell my students, “When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.” — Toni Morrison
Week 6. All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man’s life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence, and leading the individual towards freedom. — Albert Einstein