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REjuvenation!
Religious Education News - February 2005
REjuvenation! ArchivesA Note from Reverend Bonnie
What's Religious about Religious Education?
There is much going on in our children's lives to help them be good people. Character Education is big in schools and extra-curricular activities. Schools, the Girl or Boy Scouts, the YMCA programs, many other programs, proudly proclaim their values: honesty, respect, fairness, leadership, conflict management, etc. We believe these values are part of religions, but are also part of civic and social responsibility. Our children learn about them everywhere.
When it comes to topics that are recognized as specifically religious, however, schools and extra-curricular programs must steer clear. The Boy Scouts have gone to court to defend their right to include faith in God as one of their principles, but they are not able to insist on a particular way to have faith in God. Schools are caught up in all the complexities of separating church from state. All these areas of your child's life separate the values they teach from a religious perspective.
Religious Education, on the other hand, is a place where we can, and where we need to, talk about all those concepts traditionally called "religious." We talk about God, prayer, the afterlife, and why our values make a difference in the world. We talk about these things with a very open perspective, sharing with the children how various religions have viewed these topics, as well as how various individuals have viewed them. We believe that each person must make up his or her own mind, but we also know that children will form their opinions from what they hear from friends, family, church, and media. We give them a place to process what they're hearing and learn our open perspective.
This February begins a new semester in Eliot RE, where we will spend February and March talking about World Religions, and April and May talking about Social Action. We will talk about God, prayer, compassion, justice, and other "religious" topics in RE. The World Religions part of the semester will present stories from different religious perspectives about God. The children will see that in other world cultures and at different times in our history, people have thought about God in a variety of ways.
I hope parents can share their own ideas on these topics while being open to your child's ideas. Here's an example that would work for me about prayer: "I don't like to think of prayer as asking God to do things my way. I like to think of prayer as taking a few moments to imagine what would be best for everyone in the world, and then think about what I can do to make that happen. Prayer can help us accept the things that are hard for us, and be thankful about all the good things we have. What do you think?" If a child answers that the whole point of prayer is to ask for what you want, it's probably OK to accept that this is a natural developmental stage, perhaps gently disagree (as above) and leave it for some other time. You will still have made some impact with what you have said, even if your child doesn't immediately change her/his mind.
It is a privilege to be able to talk about religious ideas with your children, one that we are very mindful of. I hope Religious Education is an important part of the lives of both you and your family.
Faithfully,
Bonnie
February RE Calendar
| February 5, Saturday | 9:30 - 11:30 am Winter Wonderland Spiritual Retreat 5:30 pm GATE Spaghetti Dinner 7:00 pm Youth Coffeehouse |
| February 6, Sunday | Spring Semester Begins Both services Children K-5th grade begin in service for first 15 minutes, then attend class as usual 10:15 - 10:45 am Chalice Choir rehearsal in music room |
| February 11, Friday | 9:30 - 11:00 am Playgroup meets in the nursery
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| February 13, Sunday | Family Worship 9:15 am Classes as usual for Nursery and Intermediate 10:45 am Classes as usual for Nursery, Intermediate, 6th grade, Junior High and Senior High 9:20 am & 10:50 am Family Worship in Adams Hall for Pre-K - 5th grade (see article) 10:45 am Adult GATE partners in class |
| February 20, Sunday | 9:15 am Nursery - 5th grade RE classes only Children K-3rd begin their morning in Children's Chapel Children 4th-5th end their morning in Children's Chapel 10:45 am Nursery - Senior High classes Children K-3rd begin their morning in Children's Chapel Children 4th-5th end their morning in Children's Chapel RE Classes as usual 10:15 - 10:45 am Chalice Choir rehearsal in music room |
| February 27, Sunday | Classes & Children's Chapel as usual 10:15 - 10:45 am Chalice Choir rehearsal in music room 12:00 noon RE Council meeting in room 001 |
Spring Semester Starts
We want to thank the wonderful Fall Teachers who with our Eliot children (in grades Kindergarten - 5th grade) explored our Unitarian Universalist principles and our Jewish/Christian heritage the past five months or the teachers who lookes at our Unitarian Universalism with our little ones or our 6th grade GATE students. It's been a great semester! Now it's time to greet our incoming Spring Teachers and look to the rest of our church year, which ends on June 12. For the remainder of the year, our children K - 5th grade will look at our last two Pillars: World Religions and Social Justice. It promises to be another exciting semester - we hope to see your children there!
Thanks to our departing teachers: at 9:15 - Mike Antoine*, Vivian Antoine*, Ellen Cowell, Pat Eby, Karen Gender, Adine Hickey, Ed Kastner*, Lisa Kastner*, Robert Kokenyesi, William Lemon*, Robin Lopate, Glenn Lopate, David Maguire, Jane Pack, Sandra Rhodes, Rich Vaughn, Rich Wagner, Karol Walters, Laura Williams, and Barb Yusen.* At 10:45 - Lori Allen*, Hilary Babcock, Carolyn Burke, Beth Campbell-Blethroad, Elisha Chambers, Nicole Chaput, Barb Crowley, Lisa Dahlgren, Dave Day, Judi Davis, Tracy Drissell, Camille Fried, Margaret Gordon. Georgie Herz, Jim Hunstein, Holly Ingraham, Linda Korinek,* Doris Kutz-Compton, Marcia McIntyre, Tim McIntyre, Marissa Nauman, JoAnne Polley, Kathy Sanders, Brent Vaughn, Brian Ward*, Harold Waxman, Karen Webster, and Paul Wilhelms
*Denotes those teachers who are coming back for another semester!
Family Worship
Reverend Bonnie will lead Family Worship in Adams Hall on February 13. It will run concurrently with the adult services. Families with children Pre-K through 5th grade are encouraged to attend together. If that is not possible, a few teachers will be available to take children to Family Worship instead of their parents:
For children grades:
Pre-K - 1st grade ~ room 108 (Pre-K classroom)
2nd - 5th grade ~ room 003 (2nd/3rd grade classroom)
Family Potluck
We hope you can make our next Family Potluck ion Friday, Feb 11 beginning at 5:45. We will eat first and then children will leave to have their own fun activities. There will be childcare for children under 5. Parents will meet with Reverend Bonnie and the Curriculum Committee to talk about our two pillars for Spring Semester, World Religions and Social Justice. Potlucks are usually over by about 7:30.
If your last name begins with A-D bring milk/juice; E-J bring dessert; K-R bring main dish; S-Z bring salad/veggies.
See you there!
Eliot YUUth Art Exhibit
From Sunday, January 30 to Sunday, February 6, artwork by our Eliot Chapel youth will be on display in the RE Wing near Children's Chapel and in the Taylor Avenue entrance area of the church. Girl Scout Sara Luckow, a senior at Parkway Central High School, organized the show as the final project for her Gold Award, Girl Scouting's highest honor. Sara wants to thank Eliot Chapel staff, members, and friends who donated art supplies for the youth workshops and supported her efforts in achieving her goal. Please take the time to look at the masterpieces by Eliot youth, ages 5-18.
First Semester Giving
We want to thank all the generosity our families displayed during the first semester:
Gift at Your Table: $503.50 Gift at Your Table proceeds go to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.
Children's Chapel: $413.04 Children's Chapel proceeds go to our Partner Church's Scholarship Fund
We also donated 100 Christmas gifts to needy children who attend South Side Day Nursery. The wrapped gifts filled up the bed of a pickup truck and most of the interior of the truck - gifts were piled up between my husband and me and they filled my lap. Luckily, we were able to get all the gifts down to the south side without mishap.
Thank you all for your generosity!
Chalice Choir Resumes Rehearsals
The children's Chalice Choir, for grades 1-5, will start practicing again between services on Sun. Feb. 6th. They meet in the Music Room from 10:15-10:45. Jan Chamberlin and Nancy Collis start the group with a musical game, then a song by rote, and a song by note. New children are welcome. Contact Jan if interested at (314) 662-2947.
Spiritual Retreat
The Family Support and Outreach Committee is sponsoring a Winter Wonderland spiritual retreat for youngsters aged 3-6 and their families. We will be
spending Saturday, Feb. 5, 9 am - noon [9:30-11:30am], sharing and celebrating our uniqueness with our Eliot friends and family. Please make plans to join us.
Look for more details and registration information in upcoming fliers and announcements.
Abilities Awareness Day
Thanks to Lisa Dahlgren for all her hard work planning our Abilities Awareness Day on January 30. Children K - 5th grade were able to explore how it feels to be physically different from others. Lisa has been planning these mornings for several years now. Thanks Lisa!
Playgroup Fun
If you've got a little one, come join us in the nursery at 9:30 am on Friday, February 11 for play (the kids) and conversation (the adults). See you there!
Reminder to Visitors
Visitors are welcome on any Sunday. We do ask that children register in the program after 3 visits. There is an RE fee, but it can always be waived if necessary. After January 1st, fees are reduced to half.
Childcare Providers Wanted
Interested in earning some extra money on a part-time basis? We are always looking for people 18 years old and over who would like to help provide childcare for Eliot Chapel events. The salary is $10 per hour. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Joan Casey.
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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