HOME
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
NEWSLETTER
CALENDAR
DIRECTIONS
LEADERSHIP
PROGRAMS
OUR BELIEFS
SERMONS
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
SOCIAL ACTION
ABOUT US
CONTACT US

RE menu:
Adult Education and Enrichment
Children's Calendar
Family Resources
RE Newsletter
Registration Forms
Youth

A Note from Reverend Bonnie

Family as a Spiritual Discipline

I've been doing some continuing education on issues involved with pastoral care in a congregation. One of our topics has been understanding the complex dynamics of families, including some ideas on what makes healthy families. Here's the list of "healthy family systems" I was given.

1. Ability to access humor
2. Ability to differ openly
3. Freedom to challenge & change traditions
4. Communication without defensiveness or regression
5. An optimistic attitude about the future
6. Freedom to share deeper parts of the faith
7. Respect for privacy, space and time alone
8. Desire to be with each other
9. Regular contact
10. Makes room for anger that does not permanently hurt or paralyze

Some of these are easier to understand than others, but all have their challenges when lived out in a family. Humor is important, yet it cannot be at the expense of anyone in the family. Humor in today's culture is so often based on "put-downs" that sometimes we don't know how to find it in any other way. Making room for anger can also be very hard to do, especially if we have particularly bad experiences with unjustified anger in our past. The hardest ones to identify in our lives, I think, are the ability to change traditions and the ability to communicate in non-defensive ways. First we have to agree on what our family traditions are, or what non-defensiveness looks like, before we can figure out if we have these skills in our families. This list is food for thought in your own family. There is no such thing as an ideal family. We are all better at some areas, and worse-or at least not so skilled-at others. I am an advocate for talking about these things in our families-talking about how we experience things and how we think we'd like to experience things. Our Family Support and Outreach Committee is trying to maintain a list of resources that might help us all in our attempts to grow personally and as families. Let us know the best resources you know of.

Deepening our families' health and understanding of each other is part of what gives life its meaning. May it be a spiritual journey for us all.

Faithfully,
Bonnie

January RE Calendar

Family Potluck on January 27

Come beat the winter doldrums and enjoy fun and fellowship at our next Family Potluck on Friday, January 27 at 5:45pm. Families will eat together in Adams Hall and then after dinner preschoolers will retire to play, while older children and parents stay to play another fun trivia game. We'll learn more about the two pillars that children K -5th grade will be exploring during the spring semester, World Religions and Social Justice. This event is sponsored by the Curriculum Committee and the Family Support and Outreach Committee of the RE Council.

Here's what to bring if your family name begins with:

• A-I bring salads/veggies
• J-R bring entrees
• S-Z bring desserts

Family Worship Abilities Awareness

Each year Eliot takes one Sunday to focus on Abilities Awareness, which in years' past was taught to our children in individual classrooms. This year, we are expanding the program by having Abilities Awareness as a Family Worship service on January 29. In addition, we will have a dynamic and energetic guest speaker.

These changes will allow us to present new information as well as include people of all ages while we explore Abilities Awareness. The program will retain the emphasis on participation.

Family Worship services take place in Adams Hall and 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 a few classrooms. Children who are dropped off attend Family Worship with these teachers and can be picked up back in the classrooms afterwards. Nursery and Intermediate classes are open as usual and at 10:45, 6th grade and up meet as usual too.

We hope, however, that you will join your children at the Family Worship service. You are welcome to attend even if you do not have children.

Lisa Dahlgren,
Abilities Awareness Coordinator

Love Is Inside U
Spiritual Retreat for 3 - 6 year olds

On Saturday, February 4 from 9:30 - 11:30, the Family Support and Outreach Committee will again sponsor a winter spiritual retreat for some of our youngest members. We would love for you to join us as we explore our loving feelings. Children will be separated from their parents for a portion of the morning. We would love to have dads participate too.

Registration forms will be available beginning on January 8 [are now available online]. We have a limit of 12 children, so please get your forms in quickly. Hope to see you there!

Help Wanted!

We're thrilled that we've got a bumper crop of babies already here and coming along. The Family Support and Outreach Committee would like to be able to help out new parents by providing some meals. If you would be willing to help out or would like more information, please contact Joan Casey or Angie Bowland, the chair of the committee. Her email address is: abowland@sbcglobal.net. We hope to hear from a lot of you!

Holiday Giving

Thanks to all of you who participated in the Giving Tree or Guest at Your Table during the holiday season. Because of your generosity with the Giving Tree, we were able to help make Christmas brighter for many needy children and youth in the Kirkwood area.

Guest at Your Table proceeds totaled $591.81. A check was sent on to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee to further their good work.

Pageant and Party Thanks

Once again, the Christmas Pageant and Holiday Party were fabulous. We have many people to thank:

Pageant - Viv and Mike Antoine for directing the whole pageant; Nancy Collis for music direction; Steve Lawrence for sound; Tracey Howe-Koch for costumes. Also thanks to our Role Leaders: Mary Dingus and Camille Fried, Lisa Beck, Stacy Bowen, Catherine Burgess, Kathleen Geier, Margaret Gordon, Andrea & Dave Kipp, Linda Korinek, Christi Lemery, Kevin Long, Marlene Mestres, Michelle Moller, Kelly Ogonoski, Jeff Pack, and Susan Pritchett.

Holiday Party - Amy Kruger for her overall management of the activities; Wendy Brooks for creating a craft area; Kevin Moore and Jim Gender for the Yule log activity; and Sandra Rhodes for providing some snacks.. Also thanks to the helpers in the individual craft/game areas: Angela Cook, Ellen Cowell, Laura Gray, Libby Hill, Teresa Reeves, Rachel Spann, Laura Waldman and Jennifer Wilbers.

Inclement Weather

If the weather outside is frightful, and you are assigned to teach that day, please make your best judgment about driving to Eliot. Many of you have a long way to come. We do not want anyone to get hurt trying to get to church. We will always be able to make do with the people who are able to make it here. Please call the office and leave a message for if you will not be coming in.

We are in the process of writing a more comprehensive, church-wide policy about Sunday services when the weather is bad, which we will keep you updated on. In the meantime, please use your best judgment. Thanks!

Playgroup Fun

Have a Milestone in your life to share? Have a Milestone in your life to share? Know of an Eliot student living his or her faith? Please contact Joan Casey so that we can share your family's news in REjuvenation!, our children's RE newsletter, and on our RE bulletin board leading into Adams Hall. For More News... To learn more about new families, new babies and January birthdays please pick up an issue of REjuvenation! the next time you're at Eliot. Religious Education Department Rev. Bonnie Vegiard, Programs Minister Joan Casey, Religious Education Director Susan Maginn, Youth Director 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. Back To Top