|
|
Children's
Religious Education
|
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
|
May RE Calendar:
5-4 Birthday Sunday
5-7 RE Committee meeting 7:30PM
5-11 Children's Service
5-17 Youth Trip to Michigan Adventure Youth Conference
5-18 Story Sunday
5-25 Joys & Sorrows
Michigan Adventure
The Youth Group is going to Michigan Adventure amusement park on May
17 as a year-end celebration. Unfortunately, our incredible youth advisor,
Maxine Guettler, can't go because she will be recovering from back surgery
(we wish you could be there, Maxine!) Please see Rod Martin for details
about the trip.
Youth Conferences
In April, three of our youth (Allie Davis, Grace Davis and Stefanie
K-Martin) attended a youth conference at the UU church in Kalamazoo.
A youth conference (usually called a "Con") is a 3-day gathering of
high school youth from across the UU Heartland District (which consists
of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky). The Cons always have a theme.
Sometimes, the Cons are "working Cons" with themes such as anti-racism
or fighting poverty. Sometimes, the Cons are "fun Cons" with themes
such as Dance Con or Masquerade Con. The Cons foster ongoing opportunities
for UU youth to connect with other UU youth and share and express their
UU values as a group. It's also a chance for them to meet with old and
new friends who share some of the same values. If you've been to a Con
(as I have) you know it's really something special to behold. The youth
are so creative, so compassionate, so impressive! Our youth plan to
attend another Con in May.
Mother's Day: Fathers Wanted!
Every Mother's Day, the DRE gives all of the moms the day off from
Children's Religious Education so that they can attend the service.
It's not always easy to do so, because our UUFoM moms make up the majority
of our RE teachers. So, come on dads, let's step up for all of those
wonderful moms in RE and do the teaching for them on May 11! Please
contact Rod Martin at 835-3207 to help out.
Thank You
- Scott Davis and Karen Treadway for supervising our Youth Group for
April, May and June. And thanks again to Scott Davis for donating his
entire weekend to take our youth to the Kalamazoo Youth Con!
- Evelyn Lipowitz, Lisa Drottar and Kathy Weaver for facilitating the
"Our Whole Lives" sexual education program for 4th-6th graders in March
and April. What an important donation of time and energy they have invested
for the health and well-being of our children! It is MUCH appreciated!
Secret Pal
The Fourth Annual Secret Pal program at UUFoM culminated on April 25
at 6:00PM with a pizza party for adults and kids. Kids were introduced
to their secret pals and found out who had been sending them the great
messages during the duration of the program.
-
|
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.
|
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.
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 offered by Rev.
Jane Thickstun
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.
Discussion
groups:
- Hot Topics
- Every Sunday beginning in the fall 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).
The UUFOM
Book Club
- The book club will be meeting soon. Snacks are provided.
While we encourage you to read the book, it will be summarized
and the discussion led by someone who has read it. Come join
us for a lively discussion.
- 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.
|
EMERSON
ENLIGHTENMENT
“What is the hardest task in the world? To think” —Journals,
1836
|
|