September 1, 2011

Dear UUCCSM RE families and volunteers, RE UUpdates are back from their summer hiatus and will be coming to you. In these emails you’ll be getting important information about the start of the 2011-12 church year and lots more. There’s a great deal in store for us this year in our program, so make sure to stay connected! I hope you’ve all had a fabulous summer and are looking forward to getting our new church year started. Don’t forget – this Sunday will be the final week of our summer service schedule, one service only at 10:00. Starting next Sunday, September 11th, we will be going back to two services at 9:00 & 11:00.

Calendar of upcoming events:

Saturday, 9/10 
      COA/YRUU Youth Movie Night & Parent Orientation, 6pm (see announcement below) 
Sunday, 9/11 
      Ingathering Sunday – All-Church service in sanctuary– first week of our new church year! Multigenerational service of celebration, with Rev. Rebecca Bijur, Catherine Farmer Loya and new Music Director Seth Houston 
Sunday, 9/17 
      RE Volunteer Training, 8:30-1:30 
Sunday, 9/18 
      First day of RE classes! 
Saturday, 9/24 
      Multigenerational Movie Night - Explore this month’s theme of Love with a screening of “Billy Elliot,” from 7-9:30 pm in Forbes Hall! All ages welcome for film & discussion; alternate movie offered in cottage for young children. 
Sunday, 10/30 
      Day of the Dead Multigenerational service

Volunteer Opportunities:

NEW VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED IN CHILDREN’S RE - The first day of RE classes is September 18th, and we still have some volunteer spots open that need to be filled! We have a very ambitious plan for this year that includes new curricula and program models as well as adding an 11:00 option for our 6th-7th graders and splitting our elementary classes into three groups rather than two to better address the developmental needs of our kids. Would you enjoy spending 1-2 Sundays per month with our vibrant young UUs? Teachers work in teams and serve as lead teacher just once per month, with lots of lesson and planning support, and also serve as assistant once per month. Assistants show up once a month on their designated Sundays to help out during class time. We have need of volunteers in the following areas:

TEACHERS: 
K-1st Grade Class – 9:00 & 11:00 – Uses the “Spirit Play” story-based program model; the only advance prep needed is practicing telling the week’s story. Class includes sharing of the week’s story with a basket of small objects that provide a visual focus for the story, discussion time, and self-directed “work time” with story baskets or art materials.

3rd-5th Grade Class – 11:00 – This year we will use the brand new “UUniverse Story” curriculum, developed by UUCCSM members Margot Page & Ian Dodd, with lesson plans and lots of support provided to teachers. The curriculum is designed to nurture a sense of awe and wonder about the world around us through a hands-on, science-based program. Kids will explore the Big Bang and the origins of the Universe, 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-7th Grade Class – 9:00 & 11:00 – The Neighboring Faiths comparative religions curriculum takes participants outside of our own walls to experience the wide variety of religious practice in our world. Learn about other faiths as you lead our middle school youth in their exploration of Eastern and Earth-based faith traditions (Western religions studied on alternate years). Includes visitors and field trips to attend worship for each of the faiths studied.

ASSISTANTS: 
9:00 or 11:00 Nursery – Sign up to assist nursery staff 1x per month

9:00 or 11:00 Preschool Class – Sign up to assist preschool staff 1x per month

This Week in RE:

Final Summer Sunday: This Sunday will be the final week of our summer program. Preschoolers will celebrate their sense of taste, and elementary and up will visit France!

Announcements:

NEW Youth Programs Kickoff Event, September 10: Youth in COA & YRUU (grades 8-12) and their parents are invited to a potluck pizza dinner on Saturday, Sept. 10th at 7pm in Forbes Hall for a movie night for the teens and an orientation to our youth programs for parents. Siblings are welcome too! Drinks and popcorn will be provided; please bring a pizza or pizza-party-friendly side dish to share.

NEW RE Wish List: I am currently developing a “master wish list” for the RE program, which includes general and lesson-specific RE supply needs for this year’s classes. While the RE operating budget does have some money for supplies, this year’s budget is very tight and donations are happily accepted. The list so far includes: General Supplies: Drawing paper Large foam board Tea light candles Candle lighters Chart markers Flip chart paper (post-it or standard) Pipe cleaners Colored poster board pieces Backup snack supply Cheddar Bunnies (like goldfish crackers but with fewer preservatives, additives) Graham crackers, goldfish crackers okay as alternative Granola bars, rice cakes, other non-sugary dry good snacks

NEW RE Books Wish List on Amazon: Another arm of the “master wish list” for the RE program, is an Amazon Wishlist of books that will be used in RE lessons for this year’s program or that will be valuable resources for teachers & families in our church. We do have some money budgeted for book purchases, but we are running on a tight RE budget since the congregation’s budget cutback a couple of years ago, and donations are happily accepted. If you’d like to help out by donating a book or two to the program, check out the Amazon list at http://tinyurl.com/rewishlist. (Used books in “good” condition are just fine!) THANK YOU to the members who have already sent books our way – they are so appreciated!

UU Everyday (resources and ideas for practicing your UU values at home):

Reading of the Week:
It’s a blessing we were born, and it matters what we do, What we know about life is a piece of the truth, Let the beauty we love be what we do, And we don’t have to do it alone. Source unknown Each week I’ll share a short meditation or poem that can be shared as a blessing at mealtimes, for a family chalice lighting ritual, a morning meditation, a goodnight prayer… or just a moment of reflection for you as a UU parent. I’m tickled by the idea of all of our UUCCSM families sharing a reflection in common each week as we go about our daily lives. If this proves meaningful for you, I’d love to hear about it!

An At-Home Activity to Reinforce our UU Values – “Family Rituals for Celebrating Back-to-School Days”: (from The Book of New Family Traditions by Meg Cox) 
Think Harry Potter – Muggles don’t get school supplies as nifty as pet owls and magic wands, but make your school shopping into a fun outing including lunch, and let your kids pick as many items as possible, even if their taste appalls you. Harry loves going back to Hogwarts partly because he had such memorable experiences there, so on the night before school starts, go around the table and talk about the most memorable events from the previous school year. Talk about the school play, a favorite teacher, the science experiment that blew up. The Giehl family of Colorado has a feast in the dining room on the night before, and gives each kid a school-related present, such as a fancy pencil box or a globe.

Front-Step Photos – Many parents take photos of their kids dressed up in new clothes, carrying new backpacks and lunchboxes, but posed in the same spot on the front steps. It’s wonderful to look at these photos over the years, and maybe even combine them into one collage.

Bus Stop Party – Gail Spencer always starts out the year by providing juice and bagels to the 10 or so kids who wait at the bus stop with her kids. Pep Talk in Chalk – In Maryland, Kunni Biener used to wake up extra early on the first day, so she could write messages to her daughters on the sidewalk that led to their school. They giggled as they walked along reading “Good Luck!” and “Have Fun!” and when they reached high school, they started writing messages to each other in the street on the first day.

This Week in UU History: (From This Day in Unitarian Universalist History, by Frank Schulman)

August 31, 1740: John Frederick Oberlin was born. He was a simple village parson in Alsace, France, who was animated by his belief in universal salvation and, in consequence, belief in the triumph of universal good. He ran a village school that was noted for its nurturing spirit, especially toward girls. During the French Revolution, the reputation of Oberlin’s personal conduct spared him from anticlerical excess. Oberlin College in Ohio was named in his honor, although its founders never met him personally.

September 1, 1844: Meadville Theological School formally opened in Meadville, Pennsylvania, as a school to train Unitarian ministers. Many believed that churches should not be solely dependent on Harvard Divinity School for ministerial training.

September 2, 1578: Because of the growing influence of Socinianism, the University of Krakow, Poland, opened its doors to students of all religions. Before this day, the school admitted only Roman Catholics.

September 3, 1654: English Parliament charged John Biddle for writing the Two-fold Catechism. Its Unitarian theology was seen as an affront to the Church of England.

September 3, 1962: The celebrated American poet Edward Estlin (e. e.) Cummings, a Unitarian, died at age 67.

September 4, 1848: Lewis Howard Latimer, an inventor, was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. One of the founding members of the First Unitarian Church of Flushing, New York, he was the only African-American member of the Edison Pioneers, Thomas Edison’s engineering division of the Edison Company. Latimer was responsible for preparing the mechanical drawings for Alexander Graham Bell’s patent application for his telephone design. The author of many important inventions, particularly in the field of electrical lighting, Latimer died on December 11, 1928.

September 5, 1794: Hosea Ballou was ordained on this day without advance notice or preparation. Although he had been a respected Universalist preacher for some time, he had never been ordained. In September 1794, he attended the Universalist General Convention in Oxford, Massachusetts. On the last day of the convention, he was in the pulpit with Elhanan Winchester, who was noted for his fiery preaching. As Winchester reached the climax of his sermon, he suddenly pressed the Bible against Ballou’s chest, crying out, “Brother Ballou, I press to your heart the written Jehovah!” and ordered a church elder, Joab Young, to “charge him.” Ballou was 23 years old.

September 6, 1847: Transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau concluded his residence at Walden Pond, just outside Concord, Massachusetts, during which time he not only lived with great self-sufficiency but also kept a detailed journal and completed A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849). Thoreau’s book about his time on Walden Pond, Walden (1854), continues to have a profound impact on Unitarian Universalism to this day.

NOTE: This Tentative Board Agenda reflects items to be considered at the regular meeting of the Board of Directors. Additional items of new business may be added prior to the Board meeting. An Updated Agenda is available from the Church Office on the day of the Board Meeting.

Please take a moment to review your board packet and staff/committee reports before the meeting!

NOTE: This Tentative Board Agenda reflects items to be considered at a special meeting of the Board of Directors. Additional items of new business may be added prior to the Board meeting. An Updated Agenda is available from the Church Office on the day of the Board Meeting.