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520 Kanawha Blvd, Charleston, West Virginia 25302 unitarians@verizon.net |
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| Lifespan
Religious Education News
October 09 News
Even though we provide a children's 'summer program' there is much feverish activity to get up and running for the new 'church year' that starts in September. Well the year has started with our full array of classes and things seem to be going well. The pre school group have been having a great time with Nevzetta and Moya. Strange as it may seem the repetition of the same theme for 2 weeks has gone over well. The children will be adding some songs to their repertoire.( I can already hear the holiday 'Philharmonia' service ). Nell is a great lead of teacher for K-2 who will continue exploring their September theme of 'Stories About God' in October. Grade 3-5 stay embroiled in Stories from the Hebrew Bible as well as finding out about St. Francis and Mohamed. This month the Prestons will be teaching. The middle school group seems very busy and has started of well with 'Compass Points', material to encourage a thinking mind. The teaching team of Renu, Tabitha and Mike seem to be doing great. I will be rotating in at all levels over the next few months. If you have any suggestions for a social activity, or questions or concerns please don't be afraid to be in touch. Thanks, Chris Higgins. Director, Children and Family Programming at UUC September 09 NewsRainbow Sunday School - starts Sept. 13th
The new UUC Program year begins in September. After the summer when children
attendance is a little lower as families travel we return to offering our full
array of 'classes' from September 13th. We hope our program over the course of a
year will expose our children to all of the sources of our beliefs, suitable to
their ages: Lifes's wonders and awe,
Words and deeds of prophetic women and men, Wisdom from the world's religions,
Jewish and Christian teachings, Humanist teachings, Spiritual teachings of
Earth-centered traditions, Pre-School will be learning from 'Friendship Finders' for the whole year. While the themes are simplified highlights of our UU principles (which parents especially love), the goal of this curriculum is simply to offer structure that empowers each child to feel comfortable and confident about coming to church. Children will be engaged in story time, singing songs, games and crafts, and coloring pages to scribble on. While this may seem strange each theme, with slight modifications is offered for two weeks because children this age need and appreciate this type of repetition. K-Grade 2 will start the year learning from 'Stories About God'. Children will experience a wide variety of stories about God, which will help give them insights; To understand that God takes many forms and has many names; and to express their own thoughts and feelings about God. Grade 3-5(6) will start the year mixing some stories from the Hebrew Bible and some Holidays and Holy Days like Rosh Hashanah. Grade(6)7-9 will be learning from Compass Points for the whole year. Compass Points will lead its adolescent participants on a year long spiritual journey during which they will have opportunities: To sort out their feelings about themselves, discover what they believe about life’s big questions, think independently, assume responsibility, make decisions, explore values, and to express what Unitarian Universalism stands for. Grade 10-12 will devise their own program with Group Leader Dee Bixler. On Sunday Sept. 20th their will be a Group Dedication of Children for the program year. Thanks, Chris Higgins Director, Children and Family Programming at UUC Past News: April NewsAs a first time bowler, I must say first the the Bowling trip at the end of March was a lot of fun, thanks to Mike and Jean for getting us there. Our K-Grade 3 children have been involved with 'Stories About God' for this past month and will be for the month of April. Different 'God Images' are presented weekly. Its interesting to hear thoughts on 'God' from children of this age. 'Well someone must have made it', 'My friend says it was a BIG BANG' and so on and so forth. We have looked at books of depictions of Gods through the ages and cultures. We have played guessing games to show how people see things differently. The Buddhist tale of the Elephant and the 6 blind men has been repeated several times. We have tried to show the mystery and wonder in awe of life and nature in by looking at things with the 'inner eye' and in 'silence'. To acquaint our older children, Grade 3-6, with the popular stories from the Bible, we have been spending some time on 'Timeless Themes'. As we come to close out the year if you would like to help teach please let me know. On April 12th: Easter Sunday there will be no Rainbow Sunday School program. Childcare will be provided as usual in the nursery for our youngest children. After the story for all ages older children and nursery children as well, will take part in an Easter Egg Hunt organized by the Teen Group. As Easter is the, 2nd Sunday of the Month, the 9 30 am morning meeting to plan children's programming will also not take place. The second Sunday in May is also Mothers day which is also not a good morning to meet. I am thinking perhaps we could grab a table at the Potluck on April 19th. Children's programming is a collective responsibility of parents and a part time program director, its nice to get some feedback. Its coming !!! Sat./Sun. 23rd/24th of May : Bi-annual campout at Kanawha State Forest. Come one night or two. On Sunday morning there will be an open air service led by Mel and Rose. Please let me know any thoughts by e-mail or call. Thanks, Chris Higgins. March News Pre-school group’s activities will stay the same. Children will continue with activities from 'Celebrating me and my World'. The children have developed a wonderful structure to their morning, the same song, 'the more we get together', circle and activity. All seem happy in the welcoming environment created by our wonderful childcare staff Nevzeta and Moya. K-1 and Grade 2-3 groups will be changing from their 'Tapestry of Faith' curriculums to 'Stories About God'. We do a section from 'Stories about God' every year. This is an age when children might first be introduced to 'God' with the pledge of allegiance in their school. It Addresses the spiritual and theological needs of young children and Looks at God as the central symbol in a religious communication system. This liberal and eclectic theology is story-based and covers three themes: God is a oneness that can take many forms; God is love and worth that can take many forms; and God is mystery that can take many forms. Grade 4-6 children will be engaged in stories from the Hebrew Bible -'Timeless Themes'. This is another recurring curriculum in our program. Bible stories are central to North American culture and to Unitarian Universalist heritage. Children become familiar with their cultural heritage, and to the human issues that inspired these scriptures: the timeless themes of transcendent power, human responsibility, love of freedom, speaking out against injustice, respect for the beliefs of others, love of one's neighbor, and forgiveness. The Bible stories are taught from a UU value structure. God is referred to as "God," not "he." The stories, drawn from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, are gender-inclusive. Violence is not avoided, but recognized and used to guide participants toward an understanding of non-violent ways to resolve conflicts. The youth group has been doing great under our new advisor Dee Bixler. Some members will be traveling to an OMD Social Action CON on March 13-15th at North Hills Church in Pittsburgh. There will be a meeting on Sunday March the 8th, at 9 30am in the kids korner room to discuss ongoing Children's Programming. Thanks, Chris Higgins. Director of Lifespan Faith Development. February News
We had a successful RE
Committee meeting in January and plan to continue on
the 2nd Sunday of each month for the foreseeable
future. Planning is underway to re-paint at least one of
the children's rooms in February. Suggestions are sought
on possibly naming the rooms. Some thoughts are also
required for Initiatives to add to the Green
Teams submission for accreditation to the Green
Sanctuary Program. We already carry out some wonderful
things related to environmental awareness, can you
think of more things that we can do ?.
In March all groups except Pre-School will
change curriculums. Please let me know if you are interested
in teaching.
Calendar dates: Class schedule
Pre- School Group
- Continue with 'Celebrating me and my World'.
Moya and Nevzetta, except Feb. 8th
and 15th when Chris will replace Moya who is
travelling to England.
K-1 Group -
Continue with 'Creating Home'
Feb. 8th - Jennifer - Session
14 - 'Mohammed'
Feb.15th - Laura - Session 13 -
'Worship'
Grade 2/3 Group -
Continue with 'Moral Tales' with Mike or Jean.
Grade 4-6 Group -
Continue with 'Tapestry of Faith' with Mike or
Jean.
Teen/Youth Group
- Dee Bixler
Feb 22nd:
Celebration of Black History Month –
Intergenerational service
Other dates:
Feb.8th: 9 30am, 'Children's Programming
Meeting', all welcome to attend.
Feb. 11th : STARLAB
program at UUC. We will gather early 5 45/6pm for
Potluck food together followed by program about the
night sky. It will include sitting in the STARLAB dome
to view constellations.
Feb. 20-22nd: Chris is away attending
Renaissance Module Training.
( March: Jean is looking into a trip
to a bowling alley following a Sunday service, to be
confirmed).
May 23rd/34th: Overnight camping at
Kanawha State Forest, with outdoor service on Sunday
morning.
January News
There will be a 'RE Committee
Meeting' on the second Sunday of January at
9 30 am in the kids corner
classroom. Moya and Nevzetta will be on hand
to provide Childcare. Please let me know if
there is anything you would like to discuss.
We will have another trip to the Ice
Rink after the Sunday Service on January
the 25th, 1-3pm. The group rate is $5 a
person plus I think $2 for skate rental.
Pre- School
This group will continue with
'Celebrating Me and My World' curriculum
this month.
K-Grade 1
This group will continue with Tapestry
of Faith 'Creating Home' curriculum this
month.
Grade 2-3
This group will continue with
Tapestry of Faith 'Moral Tales'
curriculum this month.
Grade 4-6
This group will continue with
Tapestry of Faith 'Creating
Home' curriculum this month.
To get an idea of the Tapestry
of Faith Curriculum visit:
There's been a good response
to Teacher sign up for the
new year. If you would be
interested in Teaching in
any of our classes please
let me know.
One of my favorite chants/hymns
is 'from you I receive, to you I
give, together we learn, and by
this we live'. In working with
children not only do we learn
from them, but I think you will
find the curriculums very
insightful to your own spiritual
development.
Wishing you all a Happy New
Year and thank you in advance
for any help you can provide
with RE or general programming.
December News Dark is the night !
I thought I would share a living holiday tradition from home.
Living in Electric goo goo land in our well heated homes, we are
somewhat insulated from the darker nights and the stark
reality's of the season that our ancestors faced, cold and less
food !! . The Advent wreath tradition, encapsulates the wait for
the birth of Jesus and the return of the light( Pagan). We turn
out our lights and eat by a single candle the first week, and 2
the second and so on until the solstice and Christmas is
celebrated.
I am already fermenting on New Year Resolutions. In a meeting
with our President Elliot Hicks he expressed the importance of
the 'RE Committee'. I have taken my foot of the gas on this
subject as in our small congregation I have seen committees
competing over the same small amount of potential members. I
have kept what I call the institutional brain trust or dharma
intact myself. I would be nice to share a bit of it around, just
in case I fall of a cliff or something and also have a forum
where parents and others can meet together to propel the
children's program forward. I am looking for at least one parent
from each Sunday morning class to participate in a regular
monthly meeting until June. We can if needed elect a
chair,secretary etc.
Traditionally the committee met on the 2nd Sunday of the month
at 9 30 am, would this be a good time or suggest another time if
you are interested in helping out.
Wishing you all a peaceful and Happy Holiday Season.
November News
Cha - Cha- Cha- Change.
As a person who grows plants I would prefer some
more broken wetter weather. At the same time I have come to
accept that the Fall in this area, is perhaps the driest time of
the year. As temperatures cool we miss those heat induced summer
thunderstorms and we are protected by distance and the mountains
from receiving hurricane overflow weather. The dryness suits the
season and allows us to enjoy the beautiful changing colors of
the trees. I have been lucky this Fall as work has been taken me
North on I-79 which in places has some lovely Fall Color. It
reminds me that Buddhist Monk Bhante Rahula when he visited
noted that his robes were the color of Fall, to remind him of
impermanence or change. The beauty of the fall colors will soon
pass and we will soon be looking at a bleaker landscape before
Spring comes back. Are recent 'Toolbox of Faith' Children's RE
lesson which uses tools as metaphors to describe
characteristics of UU faith used duct tape to illustrate
flexibility. It may be a tough stretch for some to imagine but
it does have a lot of flexible uses. I know one person who calls
it 100mph tape and that attests to its strength. Many have used
it to patch cars and temporary fixes. The point of the lesson
was that our UU faith is a living tradition and we have to be
flexible as a body and individually, as we are constantly moving
and changing.
Its exciting to see so many new faces. I hope you
are all enjoying your UU experience. If you have general
questions or in particular about the children's program please
do not hesitate to ask.
If any one would like to help with teaching in
either, Pre-School or K-1, Grade2-3 or Grade 4-6 please let me
know. The latter are using the new UUA Tapestry of Faith
curriculums.
October News Well the start of the 'new ' RE year seems to be going well. The pre-school class is accommodating to a wide age range and is developing a routine. Nell Fleming is definitely UUC's person of the month. Not only has she led a 'PowerPoint workshop, continued with her ongoing cataloging of books into the online 'library thing' database, sung in the choir; she has also set the stage for a wonderful K-Grade 1 year. Children in this group take of their shoes to cross the threshold into their 'sacred space'. The room is comfortable with cushions and drapes and has a floor labyrinth. Laura Bickett will be taking over during October and the class will be working on a Covenant House Project. Luigi Peracchia taught the Grade 2-3, and I taught the Grade 4-6 class in September and we will both continue into October. It is great for the children to have continuity. The Tapestry of Faith Curriculums that the K-Grade 6 children are working from are both enjoyable and interesting for children and teachers alike. Lots of exciting projects are available for teachers to choose from. I attended a NASA training at WVSU which allows me to borrow WVSU's STARLAB. STARLAB is a portable planetarium. It is an inflatable dome capable of accommodating about 20 people at a time. Inside the dome, a cylinder projector is not only able to show us the night sky devoid of any light pollution; it can take us on a journey from the South Pole to the Equator and on to the North Pole. There is very little doubt in the minds of anyone who steps into the STARLAB dome, that it has a unique ability to draw everyone into a wonderful and magical world of astronomy — from novices to experts, from kindergarteners to grandparents, from students to teachers. The sky we see each night reveals many mysteries of our existence. By looking and listening to those distant worlds, we know so much more today about the origins of the universe, the nature of our galaxy, the composition of our Solar System, and the condition of our home — Earth All of the parts for WVSU's Starlab have not arrived but should be here by mid October. We will have 2 early evening STARLAB programs. The first will be on October 22nd. We will be using a cylinder that projects the urban sky and doing activities outside the dome, on the moon and constellations. I might invest the evening with a 'Halloween or 'October Sky' theme, more details will be in the e-mail update and sent out to parents closer to the date. The second program, on November 19th, will focus on Native American Constellations and include crafts and activities outside of the STARLAB with a Native American theme. November is national Native American Month. September NewsA short note this month.It is exciting to be beginning a new 'Rainbow Sunday School Year'. All children will start in the service and leave after the story for all ages. The pre-school will meet in the childcare room and be learning from a UUA curriculum called 'Celebrating me and my World'. K-1, and Grade 2-3, will meet in the main building; Grade 4-6 will meet in the Eastman Center. All of these groups will start the year with one of the new UUA 'Tapestry of Faith' curriculums. This new series of resources nurture Unitarian Universalist identity, spiritual growth, a transforming faith, and vital communities of justice and love.A youth group will meet with Jeff Molenda in the Eastman Center Basement. It will be an exciting year for some of our emerging youth as they will be going to their first district youth events.The children’s program at UUC on September 28th will be limited because of the Overnight Campout at Kanawha State Forest.If you can help with teaching at anytime in the upcoming year please be in touch.Thanks, Chris Higgins.August Newsletter Thank you to all who have expressed kind wishes, thoughts and help during Shana's latest surgery. Shana is improving. Seamus is glad that 'mamaw' camp is over and hopefully life will become a little more normal soon. I would also like to thank all those who helped out at the Joint Vacation Bible School with St Johns Episcopal: Leah , David , Nell , Sue , Amy and Averill . And of course all those who attended. I am also very grateful for all of the people who have taken a Sunday morning in the summer with the children and engaged them in so many different activities. The garden that Leah and Sarah planted is looking great, children are amazed at the growth of their corn. Children will continue with the summer program through August. On Wednesday the 20th we will have our usual gathering potluck picnic. We will break from tradition and have it at UUC, rather than the ministers house and play at Celebration Station. I will be organizing some games and activates for parents and children after the food. Please bring a friend as it will be a good introduction to our program as well as a more informal way to catch up with friends after the summer. The evening will start around 5 30pm and go no later than 8pm. The new Rainbow Sunday School will starts on Sept. 7th. I have been ruminating in July and juggling our growing numbers of children, class sizes and curriculums to make a workable program. Full details of this years program will shortly appear on our uuc website, and be available at the picnic. I have decided on a class division along these lines. Nursery aged children up to aged 2 will be looked after by our caregivers in the smaller of the childcare rooms during the service/Sunday School Time. Pre-School children will have their class in the larger of the childcare rooms. They will follow a curriculum called 'Celebrating me and my World'. Kindergarten and Grade 1 children will meet in the small classroom next to the ladies Restroom. Grade 2 and 3 will meet in the Kids Korner classroom. Grade 4-6 will meet in the Ministers Study in the Eastman Center. As well as their core curriculums outlined on our UUC website they will follow some of the UUA Tapestry of Faith Curriculums We may have a Junior and Senior High group or a combined Youth group under the tutelage of long time Youth Advisor Jeff Molenda. We will make that decision and any adjustment to the program as the year progresses. It will be an exciting year for our Junior High, Grade 7 and above children as they will be able to attend their first 'CON', weekend UU camp. |
Unitarian
Universalist Congregation