Updates since the publication of the PrevUUs article
November Update 2005-11-02
This Sunday, November 6th at 12:30 will be the dedication ceremony for our new Yurts! These Yurts were made possible through a matching spirit level grant and through the hard work of many volunteers. Come show your appreciation and enthusiasm for the RE program. The kids will open the ceremony with a drum circle so bring your favorite percussion instrument and join us! (Instruments for the kids will also be supplied by RE)
Religious Education
by Stuart Holmes
Wow! The last month has flown by! RE classes are in full swing, and new traditions are taking shape! Beginning with the very first day of classes I have been amazed by the depth of discussions in each class from the preschoolers on up. Overhearing four and five year olds discussing worship and the value a rock holds beyond being just a rock, talking with 1st through 3rd graders about John Murray and his rejection of the Calvinist concept of Hell without salvation, and listening to the 4th through 6th graders explore their self worth and fairness in their schools and communities has clearly shown that our kids are capable of depth and reason that most adults would find surprising. Clearly they have a lot to teach us as well as a lot to learn.
A Glimpse of an RE class meeting
Each RE session begins with all the kids together as a large group gathered around our RE chalice. We introduce the topics being covered in each class and have some kind of group activity to "break the ice" and get the kids ready to engage in discussion within their small group. It might be a song, a game, or even a drum circle, but whatever the activity it starts the kids interacting and engaging with each other, and seems to set them at ease and open to discussion when they break up into small groups.
It's the discussions and the willingness of the kids to both ask and answer their own questions that shows we are doing well as an RE team. One RE teacher relayed the satisfaction of a student who felt like they had really been listened to in class. Of course some students ask tough questions. "What is self enlightenment?" for example. How fantastic for the kids that they have a forum to ask and discuss such questions even when there is no concrete answer. The kids are ready to think! After the lesson and discussion have finished, each student has a personal journal in which they can continue to work out their thoughts and feelings about the session or simply record what they did that day. These journals will give them a real sense of having been on a journey of exploration and growth throughout the year.
At the close of each session, the kids come together as a large group again and have the opportunity to share any particular thought about the day's lesson. This way the kids in different classes get a glimpse into what happens in all the classes. Finally we end by singing "From You I Receive" just as the adults do in congregation.
November RE Classes
Our November classes will be a mixed bag of large group sessions and individual classes due to the many activities November brings. We start the month November 6th with the dedication of the Yurts and an RE open house. The following week is the DeBenneville Pines retreat. Those students not attending the retreat will have an introduction to Native American lore and religion and a discussion of the role Native Americans played in the first Thanksgiving. November 20th the large group will prepare special blessings and bake rolls or make some other "goodies" to share at the Thanksgiving Feast that day. Finally on the 27th the classes will return to their individual curricula. For details of each class's topics please visit http://ical.mac.com/stumusic370/ChaliceRECal
The RE Chalice Lighting
The flaming chalice symbolizes so much for us as a UU congregation and for each of us personally. The RE program has always included the use of a chalice, but a separate chalice from the one used in the congregational meetings. As I began planning and preparing the weekly lessons for the kids it occurred to me that the kids were not separate from the congregation but rather an extension of it. We should not, therefore, light a separate flame, but carry the flame of the community, it's hopes, dreams, and support, out to RE classes with us. On October 9th we began a new tradition of lighting our RE chalice from the flame of the congregation's chalice to symbolize the unity of the kids as a vibrant extension of the congregation. The kids, teachers and I were thrilled with the obvious support shown by the applause of the congregation as we began this new tradition!