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REjuvenation!
Religious Education News - September 2005
REjuvenation! ArchivesA Note from Reverend Bonnie
Parents as God
How do we, as parents, affect our children's spirituality? We often think about things such as telling them stories from different religious traditions, small rituals of bedtime prayer or giving thanks at meals, and of course, bringing them to church. We try to teach them a sense of morality, emphasize characteristics such as honesty and responsibility, and eventually hope to engage them in ethical analysis of the word around them.
But I think there's something more basic than all this. I believe that a child's experience of being loved and accepted from the earliest ages is directly related to that child's experience of the goodness of being alive. Those of us who wish to talk about God with our children usually talk about a God who loves and protects them, or a God who is present when we care for and nurture one another, or a God who is inside everything and causes all the world to grow and change and be dependent on everything else, in a huge, complex web. But of course, for small children, we are all those things.
Children learn by running into boundaries. Most of the time they seem to fling themselves at these boundaries, over and over again. Surely this time the limits can be broken? Surely this time their little immortal soul can soar into the universe doing exactly as it pleases? Yet children who experience no boundaries quickly find life unmanageable, frightening, and essentially without that underlying sense of love and protection that is part of most religions' concept of God. Children need boundaries. And yet, they need to feel accepted and lovable even when they test the boundaries. Parents can lay a foundation for a child's belief that s/he is loveable by accepting a misbehaving child even while holding to the limits of acceptable behavior. Tricky line to walk.
And then there are the occurrences in your child's life that suddenly prove to them that you are not God after all. Death or severe illness, accident or abuse, especially affecting someone in the immediate family, may shake whatever strong foundation has been laid. Even then, we have learned what a powerful process grief can be. Children can grieve their way back to a sense of wholeness, just as adults can. Again it's usually just a matter of healthy limits mixed with a consistent sense of love and acceptance that lead to healing.
Children with this basic sense of self-worth and personal limits seem willing and able to feel a connection with a loving God, or a full sense of the meaning and power of being alive. If you were raised with this self-confidence, you have a good chance of being able to give it to your children. If not, there is no failure in seeking support while you learn new skills. None of us succeed in always being loving or always holding the limits. Yet loving limits are foundational to a child's life-long sense of the wonder of being alive. No, parents are not God. But we reflect God possibilities for our children. I hope Eliot can support each of you in this sacred endeavor.
Faithfully,
Bonnie
September RE Calendar
| September 11 Sunday | Ingathering 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 |
| September 18, Sunday | RE Classes and Chapel as usual 10:15 - 10:45 am Children's Choir rehearsal in music roomm |
| September 23, Friday | 5:45 - 8:00 pm Family Potluck in Adams Hall (See article) |
| September 25, 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 & Senior High 9:20 am & 10:50 am Family Worship in Adams Hall for Pre-K - 5th grade (See article) 10:15 - 10:45 am Children's Choir rehearsal in music rm Between services and after 2nd service in Adams Hall: Children sign up for Secret Pals (See article) |
Potluck Fun and (Trivia) Games
Our Curriculum Committee and our Family Support and Outreach Committee will again host a Family Potluck on Friday, September 23, beginning at 5:45 pm in Adams Hall. Please bring a dish to share (see what to bring below). We decided to shake things up a little this year and play a Family Trivia Game! We'll eat first, and then preschoolers and younger will retire to room 107 to play. Children Pre-K and up will stay with their parents in Adams Hall to play the trivia game together. We hope the game will help everyone learn more about the pillars we'll be focusing on this semester, as well as other interesting facts about Eliot Chapel.
We will also have handouts for families to take home. Expect the evening to end no later than 8:00 pm. See you there! Here's what to bring if your family name begins with:
- A-F bring salads/veggies
- G-L bring entrees
- M-R bring desserts
- S-Z bring milk/juice
Secret Pals
It's time to start thinking about the Secret Pals program that begins soon (we'll be passing out Secret Pal forms for children ages K - 5th grade the first few weeks of church). If this year is typical, we'll have no problem finding the kids who want to be Secret Pals - but we want to remind everyone we really need adult volunteers to be either a pal or help with the party! For this reason, we ask that if a child participates in the program, at least one parent help out.
On Sunday, September 25, adult pals will choose their Secret Pals in Adams Hall. Just look for our table.
Forms need to be returned NO LATER than Friday, September 23; otherwise you are responsible for finding your own child's pal.
All participants need to be able to attend our Secret Pals party on October 28, from 6:30 - 8:30. As before, we ask that pals limit spending to no more than $10 for the whole month. We hope many of you will participate, children and adults alike.
FYI
All registration forms are now available online! Also check out our new Yahoo group - uuparenting!
UUs In Action!! Fillmore Park Fun Day
Come and join us for a fun day of picnicking and cleaning up at Fillmore Park. It is a great way to put into action our UU principles while having fun with the family. Join us with your picnic lunch at noon on Saturday, Oct. 1. Please call Joan Casey or Tracey Koch at 314.838.1725 if you need further info. Trash bags and plastic gloves will be provided. See you then!
Family Worship
Our first Family Worship of the year is September 25 in Adams Hall. 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, teachers will be available in room 108 on the upper level (for kids Pre-K - 1st grade) and in room 003 on the lower level (for kids 2nd - 5th grade). Children who are dropped off will attend Family Worship with these teachers and can be picked up back in the classrooms after the service.
Thank You Summer Volunteers
Summer REThanks to Debbie Fechter & Lynn Murphy, for planning and co-leading the older Summer RE class all summer! Thanks also to the following RE Council and Curriculum Committee members who assisted Lynn and Debbie: Lisa Beck, Susie Bradley, Dave Day, Ben Gleason, Tracey Howe-Koch, Rich Wagner, Lisa & Paul Wilhelms and Nancy Williger. We are also grateful to Sue Videen for helping out with the animal blessing. This year we opened a preschool room, along with the nursery, and have a rotating group of parents to thank for helping out there: Catherine Burgess, Wendy Cutshaw, Ellen Cowell & Renae Quinn.
Summer Camp
Summer Camp was a blast. Thanks to our adult helpers: Lisa Beck, Christy Berger, Nancy Collis, Tracy Drissell, Debbie Fechter, Jeanne Kloeckner, Amy Kruger, Anne Meneely, Marlene Mestres, Marissa Nauman, JoAnne Polley, Renae Quinn and Dianne Wagner. We also had some amazing youth helpers too.
YUUth Artwork Ready for Pick Up
If you produced artwork for the YUUth Art Show last spring, please pick up your masterpieces in Joan Casey's office right away. Because of the tight space situation, any artwork that has not been picked up by October 2 will be disposed of. So please, come get your work! Thank you.
Musical Opportunities
If you like to sing or play an instrument, WE WANT TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE! There are lots of ways you can help out at Eliot Chapel! You might play prelude in Children's Chapel or Family services, or in the Youth Coffee House. If you can count to 4, you could play HANDBELLS on Tuesday evenings. If you like to sing, you can JOIN THE CHALICE CHOIR! They will be practicing from 10:15-10:40 on Sundays beginning Sept. 18th. The Chalice Choir will sing at many more services this year! Look for registration forms and more information at Eliot. See you soon! Jan Chamberlin, Music Director (314) 662-2947
Playgroup Fun
If you've got a little one, we would love for you to join us in the nursery at 9:30 am on Friday, September 9 for play (the kids) and conversation (the adults). We meet the second Friday of each month. We hope to see a lot of our new families there!
Youth News
Some Eliot youth participated in a service camp this summer. The camp was facilitated by Faith Beyond Walls and took place in Kinloch. The Eliot youth joined other youth groups to learn about poverty, faith and the wonderful people and community of Kinloch. On the first day of the camp, there was a day of poverty simulation so that the youth could empathize with the challenges of living in poverty. The rest of the week the youth helped to clean up an area so that it could become a community garden. We are hopeful that we'll be able to continue to do projects with Faith Beyond Walls throughout the upcoming year. We'd like to thank parents Holly Ingraham, Amy Joseph and Jean Pollard for making this event possible.
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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