December, 2004

From the Desk of the DRE

Can you believe that it’s December already? The holiday season is almost upon us. I seem to remember, vaguely, a time when Christmas seemed to take forever to arrive. No more. That breathless anticipation I remember from my childhood, counting down each day by tearing another loop off of the red-and-green construction paper chain—it’s long gone. I’m far more likely, these days, to find myself counting the days and wondering why there are so few left. My guess is that I’m not alone in this. Maybe we’re all busier and more frazzled than we used to be. When I find myself recounting the days in the hope that I missed some, I know it’s time to take a breath and slow myself down. That’s not easy for me; it turns out I’m much better at hurrying than I am at meandering. However, it’s at those moments when I do manage to stop rushing and to step back that I remember what the winter holidays are really about.

This year, we’ll be celebrating many of those holidays in our new “Twelve Days of Winter” pageant on December 19. And while each of these holidays has its own special rituals and stories, you’ll find that they have many similarities. All celebrate, in their own ways, the return of light and hope in the dead of winter, and all bring families and communities together to remember and celebrate the things that are truly important.

I’m reminded of one of my favorite readings for the season, by Margaret Starkey:

With mounds of greenery, the brightest ornaments, we bring high summer to our rooms, as if to spite the somberness of winter.

In time of want, when life is boarding up against the next uncertain spring, we celebrate and give of what we have away.

All creatures bend to rules, even the stars constrained.

There is a blessed madness in the human need to go against the grain of cold and scarcity.

We make a holiday, the rituals varied as the hopes of humanity,

The reasons as obscure as ancient solar festivals, as clear as joy on one small face.

May you find much joy (and rest) in this holiday season.

—Catherine Farmer

 

What's it Like to Be a Teen at UUSM?
An Interview with Chris Marten

How long have you been going to UUSM?

I started going in 8th grade and was part of Coming of Age. I’m in 11th grade now, so that is over 3 years.

Why do you come here?

At first, it was because I was friends with Daniel Teplitz and I had nothing to do on Sunday mornings. Now I come because there is a real accepting feeling and it’s fun. We tried another church in my neighborhood, but it didn’t feel right. Not like here.

How would you describe your beliefs?

Basically, it is earth-based religion, which is centered on helping others. I also believe in looking at the self and nature.

What activities do you enjoy in YRUU [our high school group]?

I am working with another teen, Jesse Figueroa, to find social action activities for our group. Just recently I introduced to the church and youth a foundation called Neve Shalom/Wahat Al-Salam. This is a group in the Middle East dedicated to promoting relationships between Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Muslims.

What are you looking forward to in YRUU?

Keeping it fun. We are trying to find a balance between planning activities and just having fun together. I don’t want it to become dull because I think the fun aspect is really important. I really enjoy the social events we have, like lock-ins, where we just hang out.

Sounds like the church is pretty important to you.

Yes, in fact I plan to become a UU minister some day. Right now I am mainly a writer and am working on a novel.

— Karen Patch

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November, 2004

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? The discussion has been fascinating. This summer at General Assembly, I picked up a copy of a newly-published book “Full Circle: Fifteen Ways to Grow Lifelong UUs.” Clearly, lots of people are thinking about this.

What does it mean to be “raising UUs”? And is that what we really intend to do, anyway? One of the most interesting points raised in the e-mail list discussion was that talking about “raising UUs” implies that the children in our church are not already UU, that you can’t really be a Unitarian Universalist until you’ve finished RE and signed the membership book.

One of the things I love most about the Way Cool Sunday School (WCSS) model of 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 youth of our faith are at least as much, if not more, UU than we adults are. At its heart, WCSS is about lived faith, and our program ought to reflect and engage and 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 make art together. We all learn best what it means to be Unitarian Universalists when we do, then reflect on what it means. Greg Stewart, originator of the Way Cool 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 addition to 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 program there that was the precursor to the one he developed at Neighborhood. As someone who grew up UU, I know that I could never be anything else. As someone who has experienced WCSS as participant, teacher, and now DRE, I will say this: that a program that is experiential, that recognizes leaders and learners as full participants 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. This goes for adults as well as children: just ask our RE teachers who they think has learned more in their classes, the adults or the kids. We all have gifts to bring, and we adults could learn much from the children and youth in our church 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 had grown up a UU and they wanted a community after the riots to get support. I was 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 school program 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. It is a safe environment — no putdowns allowed and everyone is heard. We have adult advisors who are mandated reporters who help us stay safe.

What do you rap about?

Social issues, politics, spirituality, basically anything. Spirituality can be the seven UU Principles and what they mean to us, and general UU stuff like what 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 up for rap then. We also keep in touch during the week on the listserve. That is also where the business items come up. I’m serving as moderator now and I draw up the agenda. I also try to keep the group on topic during business so we can get things done.

What sort of business do you all do?

Right now we are doing the haunted house for the UNICEF carnival, AIDS Walk on October 17, and helping with the Pilgrims Feast. Chris Marten and Jesse Figueroa coordinate the social action activities for the group. Advisors also bring ideas for things we can do for the church. We have a policy that if you want the YRUU to 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 Church down the street. We meet during the 11 a.m. service. Many of us also go to District Cons, which are for YRUU teens in the PSWD. These are weekend events at various churches.

What do you get from being in YRUU?

A sense of community, much like the adults get who come to the services. This is 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 events such as beach BBQ or rock climbing with the Coming of Age class just to have fun.

—Karen Patch

 

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October, 2004

From the Desk of the DRE

It hardly seems possible that I’ve been your director of religious education for a full year. Where does the time go? It was a wonderful first year . . . and yet I’m glad to have gotten through it and into year two. It’s nice to feel like I’ve achieved an “insider’s perspective,” to visit classes and know almost all the kids in the room, to see so many familiar faces in coffee hour.

It’s also nice, though, to see new faces, and to realize that there are still lots of folks I don’t yet know—those who are new to the church or to the RE program, and even some I just haven’t encountered yet who have been here all year. With 476 members and 150 children, it takes a long time to create connections with everyone.

But the most important thing I’ve realized about being here at UUCCSM is that it feels like home. And it’s a good home to have.

There you have it: a short statement that articulates one of the most important parts of our RE program (not to mention the whole church). I want every kid (and every adult) who walks through our doors to be able to say, “This feels like home. And it’s a good home to have.”

So what does that tell us about how we “do” church? What does it take to make this church a home for everyone? I’ll give you a hint—take a look at our seven UU Principles. The extent to which we live those principles, as individuals as well as in our congregation’s programs and structures, tells us how we’re doing at creating a home for everyone in our church family. What are the implications for how we greet newcomers, if we take their inherent worth seriously? What are the implications for how we choose curricula, if we truly value justice, equity and compassion? And so forth. The good news is that I think we’re doing very well. The better news is that we could be doing more—there are always opportunities for growth and innovation. Those principles provide a wonderful lens through which to view all that we do.

Our RE program for the first part of this year will be grounded in an exploration of our Second Principle, “Justice, equality, and compassion in human relations”—or, in kid-friendly wording, “. . . all people should be treated fairly.” We’ll be asking the children in our classes to reflect on how they can more fully incorporate this principle into their daily lives. Shall we adults do any less? Here’s my challenge to you: every time you walk through our doors, ask yourself how you’ve lived the principles this week, and what you’ll do today to create a good home for all who enter. That’s what I’ll be doing on Sunday morning. I hope to see you there.

– Catherine Farmer

 

Introducing: Janet Goodwin, Our New RE Council Chair

My family joined this congregation in 1995, when our son was 4 years old. Although my husband, Karl Lisovsky, and I had not grown up as UUs, we decided to establish our ‘family church-going’ at this church. We had heard good things about it and were also pleasantly surprised to see friendly faces from other parts of our lives here. Our children are John-Michael, 13, and Angela, 8, and both were dedicated in this church in February 1997.

“My family lives in Venice. Some of you remember our remodel from a year or two ago, when we had the good fortune to live with Dean and Lee Voegtlen for eight months. The relationship between our two families deepened in a way that would have been impossible any other way. In our larger remodeled space, we have been able to welcome my mom to live with us, the best situation imaginable. The extended family is the best of all possible worlds.

“I coordinate the Turning Point volunteer task force. We serve and prepare dinner for about 50 to 60 people on three to four holidays each year (let me know if you want to help). Both my son and daughter have assisted at Turning Point. I also help out monthly at Step Up on Second, another shelter where we provide and serve dinner. John-Michael has been a stalwart member of that task force as well. I truly appreciate these outreach efforts which allow my children to join me. Not only do they get a chance to feel useful,but they get to understand on a more personal level what caring for others in our community is all about.

“Both my husband and I teach at UCLA, he in Writing Programs and I in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a Second Language. In my 20s, I lived abroad—France, Italy, and Germany—for a total of almost eight years as a student, a nanny, or a teacher. My career in English as a Second Language grew out of a love of travel and all things international.

“My interest in the Religious Education program dates back to the early years in Super Friends, when I, like other parents before and after me, sat on the floor with my child until he felt comfortable on his own. Those first teachers I observed were Graham Jarvis, Serena Shames, and Liza Cranis. What an incredibly wonderful introduction to RE.

I became a teacher myself the following year and have taught every year since. Teaching has been a great way to get to know some of the new families through the children I teach. I’ve also had a great time working with other RE teachers; I’ve learned a lot from them.

“This year, I am joining and chairing the RE Council. I will do my best to foster a positive environment for our children. My hope is that all UU kids will feel nurtured and well cared-for and will learn to care for other people, for animals, and for the environment. I hope they will grow up with a sense of social justice and the ability to treasure and share their own unique gifts. Please feel free to introduce yourself to me. I’d love to get to know you.”

– Janet Goodwin

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September, 2004

From the Desk of the DRE

September already? Where does the time go? Yes, it’s almost time to kick off a 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 grounded in a common focus on our Unitarian Universalist principles and values. At its heart lies the conviction that children are best served when integrated into the whole life of the church and that religious education includes engaging not 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 explicitly related to one another; what happens in a 2nd grader’s class relates to what’s happening with her 5th grade brother’s class, and what they’re working on in their classrooms is linked with what they experience together in worship and social justice Sundays, and when experiential learning at church on Sunday mornings is linked with what happens at home, in conversation, and in practice. To that end, we will not only be tying the elements of our program more closely together this year, but we are also creating an “RE Bulletin” for families that will share highlights of the program as well as ideas for activities and stories to 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 focus on the 1st UU Principle. For the first half of this year, we’ll continue the cycle with a program-wide focus on the 2nd UU Principle: justice, equity, and compassion in human relations, or, in more kid-friendly terms, all people should be treated fairly and kindly.

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

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

— Catherine Farmer

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May, 2004

Travel the Whole World Over With Summer RE Program

Yes, summer’s on the horizon, believe it or not, and we’re trying something new this year – so make sure to check it out. Kids who come to church this summer will be traveling around the globe and exploring lots of countries and cultures, all from right here on our 17th Street lot.

On our Kickoff Sunday on June 27 kids will gather to create their very own passports, to use throughout the summer as we visit different countries. (You’ll even get your passport “stamped” each Sunday.) Then on July 4 we’ll start our travels here in the USA with a Fourth of July celebration. We’ll then visit nine different countries in July and August, and then celebrate the end of our world tour with an “Around the World Feast” on our final Sunday, September 5.

Members of the congregation with experience in or an affinity for a particular culture or country are invited to sign up for one Sunday morning, to lead our kids in exploring the world with us. We’ll have music, food, games, dances, crafts, languages, costumes, art . . . what would you most enjoy sharing? In addition to our leader each week, we need two assistants for each Sunday – please consider spending a morning with us in our travels. To volunteer, please contact me at the church, or by email. Hurry – we only have seven Sundays left to fill.

This is shaping up to be a fabulous summer for all. What better way to wrap up a year of focus on our First UU Principle (Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person) than by celebrating the richness of cultures and customs around the world?

— Catherine Farmer

 

Join Catherine in Welcoming Aishia Gray in the Nursery

Our new head nursery caregiver, Aishia Gray, will be with us at both services every Sunday to provide safe and loving care for our babies and toddlers. She comes to us with a wealth of experience in working with young children as well as with children with special needs, and has both first aid and CPR certification. She is also enrolled in the early childhood education program at Santa Monica College and has completed courses including “School Age Programs,” “Programs for Children with Special Needs,” and “Child Growth and Development.”

I have been very impressed with Aishia’s poise and warmth, as well as with her easy rapport with the children in our programs. We are lucky to have such a skilled caregiver working with our nursery. Welcome, Aishia.

— Catherine Farmer

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April, 2004

From the Desk of the DRE

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

• I hope that we will continue to inspire the religious growth of our members of 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 who come 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 for our dreams.
• May you keep the teenagers involved.
• Best wishes as you work with the young people, and lead them to longterm commitment 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 inspiration that 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 for Religious Education in our congregation. And we have only begun our journey. I look forward to many years among 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 Goliath Project” to sponsor a food drive to aid Los Angeles hotel workers in anticipation of a strike. A marked food bin will be left in Forbes Hall for the next two months. Please donate rice, beans, baby food, and diapers only. For more information on 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 prominent UU writer, presented a one-day workshop on Saturday, February 28, on the variety of concepts of God found in the Unitarian Universalist community. The purpose of 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. Three common concepts of the divine are atheism, agnosticism, and affirmatism. UU allows for denying, doubting, and believing simultaneously. Each of these perspectives holds 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 “without God.” Many Asian philosophies put little effort into defining God. There are also styles of religion that include “the inheritor,” who accepts beliefs as they are given, or “the heretic,” who chooses what beliefs to accept.

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

Affirmatism requires defining concepts to which one gives loyalty. Belief is passive; affirmatism requires action. It is not just seeking, but declaring that which is found. One finds God through service and action, not words. Humor is a necessary approach to God; one looks to recognize the lurking places of God in art, nature, music, and the laughter of children. One can recognize the divine through struggle, in the sense of “being there”; through suffering, with the goal of acceptance; through surrender, by being willing to give oneself to a person or a purpose without giving up self; through service; even through “stuff,” such as meaningful objects that can be windows to 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 each find our own concept of a God that is transpersonal, not anthropomorphic. Seekers must remain open and active on the face of mystery.

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

— Geralyn Lambson

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March, 2004

Youth Winter Camp March 19-21

There’s still time to register for “Speak Out!” Jr. High/Middle School Winter Camp 2004 at Camp de Benneville Pines March 19-21. The cost is $125.

We’ll explore issues of peace, how these issues affect our community, and ways to make an impact on our world. We'll have capture the flag, HUUP groups, worship, and, we hope, sledding and snowballs (let it snow, let it snow, let it snow).

This is a great way to get your junior high youth group energized, bonded and excited about doing more activities together. It’s also a wonderful community-building experience for Coming of Age groups.

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February, 2004

From the Desk of the DRE

On the first Sunday of every month, while adults are in the sanctuary, the children in our “Way Cool Sunday School” program gather for their own 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 to the mystery beyond.” Worship is coming together in celebration of the joy and mystery and wonder of the world. With the kids, I call it “celebrating being 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 want to remember and then tasted the traditional Day of the Dead bread and chocolate drink. 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 just by being who we are, and then created gifts to take along on a visit to a local nursing home. We celebrate the wonder and beauty of life and living in all its vibrancy and, yes, its silliness.

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

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

It’s time, though, to expand the horizons – what excites and inspires you? What can YOU bring in celebration to our kids? I’m in need of people to join me in dreaming up and carrying out these worship services. And here’s my big secret – spending a couple of hours each month playing in earnest with a room full of children is part of what keeps me spiritually alive, reminds me 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 few of 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 newcomers to our church community, as well as interested members, are invited to attend an introduction to Religious Education at UUCCSM on Sunday, February 22, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the sanctuary anteroom.We’ll explore RE philosophy and its embodiment of UU principles, as well as provide an overview of the programs and classes offered for our children and youth.

Whether you’re a parent considering becoming a member of UUCCSM, a member interested in learning about being an RE volunteer, or are just interested in learning about what goes on upstairs on Sunday mornings, this is the place to find 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 consecutive Wednesdays 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 Covenant Groups are grounded in Unitarian Universalist history and theology, and how they actually work. Join us in taking this important step toward creating a sustainable Small Group Ministry at UUCCSM.

Registration is limited to 12, and a commitment to attendance for each of the four meetings is required. To register by the deadline, February 22, leave a note 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 Winter Camp, “My Heart Is In the Mountains,” February 14-16, is a great introduction into the UU camp experience. The staff is headed by Karla Brockie, director of religious education at Northwest Tucson UU Church. Elementary-school children will enjoy snow play, hot chocolate, crafts, worship, capture-the-flag games, and new friends from all over the district. Registration fee is $125. To download a registration form, visit http://www.debenneville.org.

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January, 2004

From the Desk of the DRE

January.

New beginning, new hope, new year. A time for looking forward, a time for making plans. How many of us have made New Year’s resolutions?

And how many have made resolutions that we really expect to be able to keep? I gave up that hope a long time ago. My substitute ritual was borrowed from Robert Fulghum. He wrote that rather than making resolutions for the year to come, he backdated a list of things he had accomplished in the year as resolutions from the previous January. I liked that suggestion so much that it’s turned into a family ritual – on New Year’s Eve, just before midnight, we’ll gather and share with one another our lists of resolutions, dated January 1, 2003. All written in the previous several days. All things we’re proud of ourselves for having achieved.

What began as a joke has evolved into something quite different. No more lists of resolutions destined only to make me feel vaguely guilty at the end of the year for having failed to realize them. Now, my family and I can celebrate our successes in a way that encourages us to expect to accomplish great things in the year to come. And that’s the way to begin a year. Why not tinker with tradition? Family rituals are powerful. And let’s not forget our family of faith: UUCCSM’s New Year’s “RE”solutions, January 1, 2003 (Yes, the year’s right – don’t forget to backdate!)

• Continue exploring Way Cool Sunday School philosophy, and create a program-wide curriculum resource from the ground up that focuses on the first UU Principle: the Inherent Worth and Dignity of Every Person.

• Staff the RE program with more than 50 amazing volunteers.

• Engage kids and youth in celebrating “being you and being UU” with monthly Worship and Social Justice Sundays.

• Make Catherine feel welcome as our new DRE.

• Minister to our children and youth by providing meaningful classroom and intergenerational experiences.

• Put on a big, messy, silly, celebratory Holiday Pageant in December, replete with dragons, elephants, unicorns, three special babies, and a passel of Friendly Beasts.

•Spend the year laughing and learning and growing together.

(Add more of your own.)

That’s a 100% success ratio. Congratulations, UUCCSM!

— Catherine Farmer

 

Head Start Holiday Party Was a Huge Success

Thanks to the generosity of the RE students from UUCCSM and their families, the annual party for the Santa Monica Head Start Preschool for disadvantaged preschoolers was a great success. Our RE students and their families purchased toys that the high school group wrapped. Our families, led by Gretchen Goetz, baked and decorated dozens of elaborate holiday cookies for the preschoolers. They gave each child a book in addition to the toys.

RE Director Catherine Farmer, Dagmar Schnauss, Lyn Armondo, Diana Spears, Marge Zifferblatt, and Marge’s friend Mary Stewart all contributed their talents to the party. The UUCCSM volunteers were treated to a charming program of entertainment put on by the Head Start students. The room was made doubly festive by the giant piñata shaped like Clifford — the Big Red Dog — donated by a member of our congregation.

— Marge Zifferblatt