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REjuvenation!
Religious Education News - September 2003
REjuvenation! Archives
A Note from Rev. Bonnie
But Isn't This a UU Church?Some Eliot parents may be surprised - or even nervous - to find that the Children's Worship Committee has decided to use Bible stories for our Children's Chapel theme this year.
Children's Chapel meets for the first 15 minutes of Religious Education time every Sunday except the 1st Sunday of the month, for kids K-5 grade. The brief service gives our children a taste of what the adult worship service is like, but at their level. It includes prelude, hymns, offering, a story or message, and opening and closing words.
Why would we choose to use Bible stories as the theme for Chapel this year? It is true that Unitarian Universalists believe religious inspiration comes from many sources. The six sources listed in our statement of principles are: direct experience of mystery and wonder, Jewish and Christian heritage, world religious traditions, words and deeds of prophetic men and women, teachings of science, and cycles of nature and ecology. So isn't a focus on Bible stories just a little too much like what other churches do?
We believe that the Unitarian Universalist approach to Bible stories is different from most Christian churches. UU churches have been so careful to address all these other sources of inspiration that often we have been in danger of bringing up children completely unfamiliar with the Bible. Like it or not, our culture is steeped in the Biblical heritage. References to the Bible are in literature, television, movies, video games, really all over the place. Furthermore, the Bible is a record of a people's struggle to understand what is divine in the world and in themselves. There is much of spiritual significance there.
But we also approach the Bible in a very open way. Others may tell our children that the Bible is the one word of God literally transcribed. We need to tell them that the Bible is open to a wide variety of interpretations, that much of it reflects outdated social systems, that it has internal inconsistencies, and that it is a record of human struggles rather than a divine template for our lives. Then they can put the opinions of others into this context and know our Unitarian Universalist approach. But even with all these caveats, the Bible can spark thought-provoking and spiritually satisfying discussions.
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I'll write more about how you can learn about the Bible at home in future newsletters. I can be reached at or (314) 821-0911.
Faithfully,
Rev. Bonnie
September RE Calendar
| Sept 5, Friday | 9:30 a.m. Play group meets in the nursery |
| Sept 6, Saturday | 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. GATE Pizza Party in Adams Hall |
| Sept 7, Sunday | Opening Sunday 9:15 a.m. Nursery - 5th grade RE classes 10:45 a.m. Nursery - Senior High classes Children K-5 in sanctuary first 15 minutes No Children's Chapel RE Classes as usual |
| Sept 14, Sunday | 9:15 a.m. Nursery - 5th grade RE classes Children K-5 begin their morning in Children's Chapel 10:45 a.m. Nursery - Senior High classes Children K-5 begin their morning in Children's Chapel RE Classes as usual |
| Sept 19, Friday | 9:30 a.m. Play group visits zoo (see article) |
| Sept 20, Saturday | 112:00 noon Fillmore Park Fun Day (see article) |
| Sept 21, Sunday | Classes & Children's Chapel as usual Assign Secret Pals in Adams Hall between services and after the 10:45 service |
| Sept 22, Monday | 6:00 p.m. RE Committee meeting in Adams Hall |
| Sept 28, Sunday | Family Worship 9:15 & 10:45 Nursery & Intermediate and 10:45 6th grade, Junior High, & Senior High are in session as usual. For children PreK - 5th grade, teachers will be on hand to take children to Family Worship at 9:20 & 10:50 in Adams Hall) if parents choose not to attend Family Worship with their children. 10:45 GATE adult partners in class |
Fillmore Park Fun Day
Please join us, all ages, on Saturday, September 20, for a chance to reconnect after the long summer. We'll meet at noon at Fillmore Park (located about 1/4 mile south of Eliot Chapel on Fillmore Ave). Bring a picnic lunch for you and your family and we'll eat and chat first. Then comes the fun part! As many of you are aware, Eliot Chapel adopted Fillmore Park many years ago. It's our job to keep it litter free. Sometimes we have been a little forgetful in keeping it clean. We're hoping that you will help us with this very simple family service project. Plastic bags & gloves to wear will be provided.
For more information, please contact Joan Casey or Dave Day of the RE Committee.
Secret Pals
We'll be assigning Secret Pals in Adams Hall on Sunday, September 21, between services and after the 10:45 service. Over the first two Sundays, we will be handing out registration forms for children K - 5. Adults will then choose their pals on the 21st. We need lots of adults to be pals, as well as adult and youth non-pals who can help staff the party on Friday, October 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. More details will be available in flyers, handouts, and bulletin boards in early September, or talk to Joan.
Children's Chapel News
Last spring, thanks to your generous contributions in Children's Chapel & Family Worship, we were able to send $815 to Lorand, the young man from Transylvania who is paralyzed.
We are excited that this year's contributions will go to the South Side Day Nursery, a local organization in South St. Louis. Their mission is to promote the community's well-being by: providing & supporting good care for young children; assisting families to earn a sufficient living; & developing productive, healthy citizens who contribute to neighborhood economic stability & cultural richness.
We have chosen SSDN this year because of its relationship to Unitarian Universalism - in 1886, fifteen Unitarian women founded the South Side Day Nursery. We will provide more information about SSDN on September 14, the first day of Children's Chapel. We are hoping that we will collect enough money throughout the year to make a sizable donation to the program.
Important News - New Policies
If you have children in 1st grade or younger, please bring a current family photo the next time you come to church. Our latest directory photos would be perfect if your family had one taken. We will run off a copy of it (and return the original to you). It will be used for identification purposes by teachers when parents pick up their children at the end of classes. The photo will be a useful tool for new teachers who may not know your family.
If you don't have such a photo, we will be happy to take one.
Parents of children 5th grade & younger will need to sign their children in & out each morning. This means you will need to drop off and pick up your children, making contact with teachers at both times. Teachers will show you how signing in an out works. Students 6th grade & up will be dismissed after the adult service lets out, so families need to make arrangements where to meet them after the service.
Parents: Please pick up your children immediately after the adult service, or at 10:15 or 11:45 if the service is over early. Thank you.
Child Care Needed
Occasionally we have events in the evenings or on the weekends at Eliot Chapel when we need to hire child care. If you are over 18 (so that we can have you screened) and would like to earn a little extra money (we pay $10 per hour), please contact Joan Casey for more information.
Play Group Plans
New (& used) parents may be interested to know that we have an active play group for parents & children (preschool age & younger) that meets regularly.
September meetings are: Friday, Sept. 5, in the nursery at Eliot. On Friday, Sept. 19, the group is planning a zoo visit. They'll meet in front of the Children's Zoo at 9:30. (Admission is free. On street parking is free, $8 to park in zoo parking lots.) Please RSVP for the zoo excursion to Wendy Cutshaw at 636-305-9753, or for information about the play group.
Eliot Chapel Youth E-Group
A special website is being started for the Jr. and Sr. High Youth group through a Yahoo! group site. Students and parents can sign up to receive information of upcoming activities and events.
Parents and youth can sign up by contacting the group moderator, Carolyn Burke or visiting the E-Group home webpage at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eliotyouthgroup/.
Playground
Parents: NO children, of any age, should be left unattended on the playground without designated adult supervision, either before, during, or after class. Older children left unattended can misuse equipment or play in dangerous ways that can result in injury to younger children.
UU Parenting Group
"UU Parenting - parents helping each other answer the hard questions from kids 0-18 years of age." As three moms, relatively new to Eliot Chapel, Hilary Babcock, Tracey Howe-Koch, and Mary Bumpus each participated in a seminar offered by Rev. Bonnie Vegiard on UU parenting. We had such good discussions, and learned so much from each other and from the other participants that we started a monthly discussion group with the above description as our focus. We have devoted discussions to incorporating UU traditions into our daily lives and the lives of our children, finding books and resources to share with each other about UU, on how to talk about death with our children, on how to deal with our children's friends' questions and comparisons between our church and theirs, and discussing sexuality with our children.
Our next meeting (Sept 21st at 6:30, call for directions) will focus on raising children in a culture of affluence and acquisition and how to approach it from a UU perspective. Meetings, usually on the third or fourth Sunday, are posted in the RE and Eliot newsletters and reminders are printed in the announcements in the order of service. We also have a spot on the RE bulletin board leading to Adams Hall with information. Additionally, Tracey (314-835-9275) and Hilary are happy to talk to anyone about the group anytime, and are always happy to have newcomers join our discussions.
Did You Know...
...that last spring, the RE Committee gave a special tribute during both services to a very wonderful, dedicated teacher - Lynn Murphy? Lynn, who has no children of her own participating in our RE program, has taught every year since the late 1980's, sometimes all year & sometimes at both hours. Her special interest is in the Native American Spirituality class we offer for our 4th graders, but Lynn has taught many curricula and ages in her long tenure at Eliot.
Lynn is a treasure that we were long overdue in thanking. We hope that you will thank her too, the next time you see her.
For More News...
To learn about new babies at Eliot, and our kids' August & September birthdays, be sure to pick up a copy of REjuvenation! during your next visit to Eliot.
This newsletter is a product of the Eliot Chapel Religious Education Department. Please direct any articles, comments, or questions to Joan Casey (Religious Education Director) at 314-821-0911 or at . An article must be submitted no later than the 20th of each month to ensure it appearing in the next issue.
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