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Children's
Religious Education
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The
great end of religious instruction is not to stamp our minds irresistibly
on the young but to stir up their own; not to make them see with
our eyes, but to look inquiringly and steadily with their own.
--William Ellery Channing
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March RE Calendar
- 3-4: RE Committee meeting 7:45 PM
- 3-7: Birthday Sunday
- 3-12: Upper Elementary sleepover 7:00 PM (pick-up 9:00 AM Saturday)
- 3-14: Children's Service (McPeak)
- 3-21: Children's Story
- 3-28: Joys & Sorrows
- 4-4: Easter Day Extravaganza
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OWL 7th-9th Grades
Our Whole Lives educational program on sexuality will continue through May. Thank you to everyone for their cooperation in the use of our fellowship space during this important program for our youth!
Reminder:
We have supervision in the middle school room on Sundays from 10:00-10:30 AM and 11:45 AM-12:15 PM for children 3 years old to 5th grade. Please be sure to use this resource unless your children are under your direct supervision before and after the service.
Easter Morning Fun
At the service on April 4, the RE Committee will have an Easter Day extravaganza. We will have stations set-up in different rooms of the RE wing for egg craft/coloring, cookie decorating, storytelling and game playing. We will also have our annual Easter egg hunt for all children, from nursery to upper elementary ages.
We hope that all of the children can join us.
Upper Elementary Sleepover
On Friday, March 12, we will have an Upper Elementary (3rd-5th grades) sleepover at the fellowship. The sleepover will start at 7:00 PM and end at 9:00 PM the following morning. There will be friends, games, pizza, a movie, etc. ‘Lots of FUN!
UUFoM Youth RE:
On February 21 we finalized our Youth Covenant – look for it in the youth room and please consider signing the Covenant. It describes how we want to be with each other. The Social Justice CON is March 5-7. We will attend the service on the 21st, the UUSC Justice Sunday. With the OWL (Our Whole Lives) sessions under way, the youth group will be meeting in the library on the first and third Sunday of each month, except for April. In April, we will use the library on the second and third Sundays. Coming up: the Earth Day service in April and the Bridging CON in May.
Religious Education
is a lifelong adventure shared with a community of seekers.
Along our religious journey we ask the abiding questions:
Who am I? Who are you? Where have we come from?
Where are we going? We explore and integrate many different
possibilities and we act on our examined choices.
UUFoM's Children's Religious Education Program strives to give
children and youth opportunities that enable them to develop their
own religious philosophy and theology, thus freeing them to be
their own best selves and to become kind, fair, and responsible
persons. Our goal is to provide children and youth with
compelling experiences and healthy relationships which will help
them develop their sense of place, sense of worth, and sense of
self. These experiences and relationships are diverse paths
of the religious journey in our community life and the goals of
our curricular efforts.
Our curricular themes are both timeless and timely. Our
program is committed to the timeless themes of our living tradition
as Unitarian Universalists, our Jewish and Christian heritages,
the teachings of all world religions, and the insights of prophetic
visions and actions. We strive to respond effectively to
contemporary issues such as responsible consumption, violence,
and abuse. We seek a balance in pursuing our purposes.
Our guiding principles are to enhance our spiritual dimensions,
to further pluralism, and to empower ethical action.
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OUR PRINCIPLES
The First Universalist Church in Minneapolis uses the following wording
for our UU principles in their children’s RE Program:
- Respect all beings
- Offer fair and kind
treatment
- Yearn to learn.
- Grow in spirit and
mind
- Believe in your ideas
and act on them.
- Insist on peace,
freedom and justice.
- Value the connection
in all creation.
Each phrase
seems to get to the heart of the matter regarding each of the principles
more so than the UUA "adult" version.
Adult
Religious Education
The programs listed
here are designed to allow adults to continue to explore their
religious and philosophical paths. They include discussion groups
and formalized classes.
New
UU Class
Adult RE Committee News
The Adult RE Committee has a very exciting year coming up, including:
- Book discussions – a discussion surrounding a book chosen by the presenter that leads into a spiritual, theological, or social justice discussion.
- Promoting social justice events in the community.
- The Grace A. Dow Memorial Library is having several discussions and a book signing on The Cellist of Sarajevo which we are promoting within the Fellowship.
- Classes – either a single day or series of days where a presenter offers classes on particular topics.
- Reverend Fran will be doing several classes including:
- "Understanding the Bible" in January
- "Making Plans" where she will discuss having wills, advanced directives, and other end-of-life decisions.
- A series of classes regarding mindful eating.
- A single-day class regarding how to simplify the holidays (towards the end of November or beginning of December.)
Please keep your eye on this page for further information on upcoming events. If you have an idea or a book that you think would be some interest or if you would like to be part of the committee, please let anyone on the committee know.
- It’s for new members, for those who may be thinking about becoming
members, or those who are interested in learning more about us.
There will be a two-session program conducted by Peter Carlson and
the Rev. Fran Dew. Lunch will be provided. Come learn more about
UU’s. Contact Peter (631-3741) or Rev. Fran (631-1162) for more
information or to sign up.
Hot Topics
- Every Sunday from 9:30am to 10:15am. This is a discussion group
which is open to anyone who is interested on a drop-in basis.
No sign-up is required. Topics are selected for each week
by the social justice committee. When possible a "host"
will prepare readings for the discussion that are made available
a week before the discussion. The host's role is merely to
get the discussion rolling (and to kick everyone out at 10:15 am
so that the Children's RE program can set up and the participants
can attend the service).
Covenant Groups
We haven’t talked about it much lately, but our Fellowship’s Board
worked hard to develop statements of Purpose, Values and Vision
to help guide the growth and vitality of our congregation. Over
the past year, Covenant Groups have helped us realize many aspects
of our vision by nurturing individuals and strengthening connections
of our members. When someone comes to a new place, it can be hard
to find friends and establish connections in the larger congregation.
The smaller, more personal nature of Covenant Groups help us realize
our vision to “Attract and nurture members and friends seeking spiritual
truth.”
The friendly, supportive atmosphere of Covenant Groups also help
“Our congregation provide the warmth of friendship in a diverse
community committed to our UU principles and encouraged by our religious
heritage. Members of our congregation [are] actively involved in
each other's lives by celebrating life's triumphs and supporting
each other in times of challenge or need.” When you join a Covenant
Group, you quickly make new friends who can become an important
part of your life.
The questions and topics we discuss at each Covenant Group meeting
also support the vision that “Our gatherings provide inclusive social,
spiritual and intellectual activities for all ages, stimulating
the heart and mind with uplifting experiences, challenging issues,
and exciting ideas.” We explore many diverse topics at our meetings
such as friendship, success, forgiveness, failure, what we believe
and where we are headed. Group members often choose the topics themselves.
Every year, it’s the goal of each Covenant Group to complete a
service project to our congregation and the local community. This
supports our Fellowship’s vision to “Plan, direct and participate
in community activities that demonstrate the Seven UU principles
and provide a voice allowing others to learn about them, while serving
the needs of the larger community.”
Lastly, our small groups are open to anyone and everyone who is
willing to make the commitment of time and energy to this important
program. Please consider this an open invitation to join one of
our groups and help realize the vision that “Our Fellowship is known
in the local community as a welcoming place.” Covenant Groups are
open, and you are truly welcome. For more information on Covenant
Groups, please talk with our minister, Rev. Jane Thickstun, or a
group facilitator. Current facilitators are Jackie Anderson, Kyle
Bagnall, Judith Hill, Patty Raines and Roy Wedge. You can read our
Fellowship’s Vision Statement at http://www.uufom.org/vision.html.
Yours in Fellowship,
Kyle Bagnall
Classes offered
in the past:
- Our Unitarian Universalist Story
- This is a five-session program that explores our religious identity
as Unitarian Universalists within the context of the denomination's
history. The program includes readings, group discussions, and
activities that focus on the history and heritage of Unitarian
Universalism, personal religious values, individual experience,
and current theological trends and issues. It offers an opportunity
to explore our own spiritual development, identify our religious
attitudes, values, and beliefs, and to determine where we may
move in the future. See Rev. Jane Thickstun for details.
The UUFOM Book
Club
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Previous books read by the Book Club: Trans-Sister
Radio, Deep Survival, The Traveler's Wife, DiVinci Code, Kite
Runner, Celtic Riddle, 42nd Parallel, The Curious Incident of
Dog in the Night-Time, Confessions of a Pagan Nun, The
Alphabet Versus the Goddess, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's
Stone.
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EMERSON
ENLIGHTENMENT
“What is the hardest task in the world? To think” —Journals,
1836
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