Friday, March 28, 2008

Special Sunday Schedule!

Mystery Buddy Breakfast
This is it, the Sunday you've all been waiting for. At 9:30 am, Sunday, March 30, identities will be revealed at the potluck Mystery Buddies Breakfast! Mystery Buddies should arrive for breakfast at 9:30 and find their name on their place-setting, which will be next to their buddy's. We'll eat together and share a craft project and conversation before church. Be sure to check your mailbags as you arrive if you missed your clue last week.

Even if you're not a Mystery Buddy, all are welcome to attend the breakfast, I hope you'll join us!  Here are some ideas for what to bring to the potluck:
• bagels and cream cheese
• muffins
• cereal and milk
• fresh fruit or fruit salad
• hard boiled eggs
• juice
• something creative of your own design!

Celebration Sunday Schedule
Due to the special Celebration Sunday schedule, Religious Education classes will start right at 11:00 am instead of all ages beginning worship together. Kids can go directly from the breakfast to the downstairs classrooms, where we'll have some games until classes begin at 11:00. Religious Education classes will join adults in the worship service towards the end of the worship hour, and all are invited to the Celebration Sunday reception afterwards.

See you all on Sunday!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter Egg Fun at First Unitarian!

Our small but exuberant group was already having a pretty good time this morning in Religious Education class, but when I told them that someone had left over a hundred Easter eggs in the parish hall and we needed to clean them all up, the children literally bounced up and down. Apparently this group really enjoys tidying up!

We marched out to the parish hall and within moments, all the eggs were found and we set to work eating the treats inside so that we could make shakers out of the empty plastic eggs.

Great fun was had by all!






Wednesday, March 19, 2008

War

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. As I thought about what to say here in reference to this milestone, much of what came to me feels insufficient. I thought about writing about how to talk with your kids about war, but since many of the parents in our congregation have children who have lived their entire lives within the span of this war, you all probably know much more about this than I do.

I think the most valuable thing I can do here is to open this question up to those of you who have children in your lives. In what ways does news of the war seep into your family’s lives? How do you talk about the war with the children in your life? Click “leave a comment” below to continue the conversation...

Here are some of the links to the websites I found when researching this topic. Perhaps one of these will be useful to you.

Unitarian Universalist Resources:
• “Kids as Sacred As Mine: Parenting and Protesting in an Unsaved World” by Denise Breeden-Ost (http://www.uuworld.org/2004/02/feature2b.html)
• Resources to help Children and Families Develop a Faithful Response to Fear and War, compiled by Pat Hoertdoerfer (http://archive.uua.org/news/2003/iraq/childrenresources.html)

War and Protest:
• Teaching with Protest Songs (http://www.rethinkingschools.org/war/ideas/song173.shtml)
• List of Anti-War songs, with lyrics (http://www.zmag.org/Songs/songarchive.htm)
• Talking with Kids about War by Alvin Poussaint, M.D. and Susan Linn, Ed.D. (http://life.familyeducation.com/communication/war/36261.html)

Kids and the Media:
• Talking with Kids about the Television News (http://www.talkingwithkids.org/television/twk-news.html)
• PBS Parents: Talking with Kids about the News (http://www.pbs.org/parents/talkingwithkids/news/)


May the peace we hope and work for reach those who need it most.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Twenty-First Century Giving

Donating needed items to the Religious Education Program just got a little easier!  I've put together an Amazon.com Wish List for our program.  To view the list, simply click the button on the right panel of this page or visit this link: First Unitarian's Wish List.  

While Amazon.com is a convenient place to organize this list, please feel free to note the titles and shop at your favorite local bookstore if you prefer.  Used books in good condition are always welcome! 

Thank you for all your support of the program!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Balance

I used to work at a movie theater, one of those gigantomous mall multi-plexes. To be perfectly honest, there were a lot of things about that job that were truly awesome. But there were more than a few things that...uhm...provided deep insight and life learning (these, of course, were really frustrating at the time).

Take the example of the between-showing theater cleaning. It is the job of the usher to clean up spilled popcorn, candy, soda and leftover trash after the movie ends, to prepare the theater for the next showing. Sometimes this job is easy. Many people pick up after themselves and a quick sweeping up is all that's needed. That's the job and ushers are happy to do it. Other times... Let's just say that you'd be surprised what some people leave behind in theaters. So here's the life learning part: no one leaves that kind of mess in the lobby. No one blows their nose and tosses their kleenex behind the concession stand. No one spits their gum in a planter by the bathroom. No one throws their empty candy boxes on the floor in the lobby.

It's not dark in the lobby.

For better or worse, people—in general—behave better when someone is watching. Or, to put it another way, when people understand that there are expectations of them, when their relationships—however brief—with other people are affected by their choices, they more often make choices that honor those relationships.

Which brings me to my point: there is an incredible tension within liberal religion between freedom and obligation. We so value our freedom, that we often resist calling others to account. As a result, being part of a Unitarian Universalist community can be a little like being in the dark. You are free to steward our community as much or as little as you like. Should you volunteer your time? Should you pledge? How often should you come to services? The answer, of course, is that it's up to you; you are free to choose your own path, with no one evaluating your choices.

For me, that kind of freedom loses its appeal after a while. What I want from my religious community is to find a way to matter in the world. I want to learn how to make meaning out of everyday life. I want to make a difference to someone. I want someone to be glad I'm here.

It isn't freedom that will help me do those things. It's obligation.

Unitarian Universalist churches don't like to talk explicitly about obligation because we are often afraid of scaring people off, of seeming too strict or sounding too much like the churches so many of our members escaped from in the past. And the truth is that if you just have a cup of coffee and come for the sermon now and then, you are still part of this community. However, if you want more, here are some obligations you might try:

• Come to church every Sunday. Unless you are sick, come to church. We are your people and we want to see you.
• Pledge. There is no reason not to make a financial pledge to the church. Small and large, financial pledges form the backbone of this community.
• Join a group. Whether it's a committee, a teaching team, a neighborhood circle or the Board, joining a group is a way to make connections with other people who care about this community. If you don't know what group to join, drop me a line and we can talk about what you like to do and what group might be a good fit (redirector@firstunitarian.net)
• Stay for coffee hour (and bring your kids). This is your church, filled with your people. Spend some time getting to know each other.
• Sign up to be an Usher. As an usher, you are one of the few people who get to see each person's face as they arrive. This is a wonderful spiritual practice.
• Resist donating junk. If you don't want it in your house, you probably don't want it in your house of worship either.
• Donate valuable items. If something has ceased to be of use to you but might be of use to the church, contact the office about whether it would be a valuable item.
• Work. Contact the office or keep your eyes on the announcements for ways you can contribute your time. Installing baseboards, painting, folding the newsletter and helping in the kitchen are all ways that you can make a home here in the church.
• Name-drop. Tell your friends where you go to church. I wish someone had told me about Unitarian Universalism sooner.
• Become a member. You and this community are part of each others' life stories. Make it official.

May your life be long and happy, filled with freedom and obligation.

Peace,
Becky

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Don't forget to Spring Forward!

Hi all,  don't forget to set your clocks one hour forward tonight because you won't want to be late to church and disappoint your Mystery Buddy!  It's our second week of clue exchange.  Each week you'll find your buddy's bag in front of the church, waiting for your clue.  Check your own mailbag after worship in the parish hall to pick up the clue from your buddy.  

See you tomorrow!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Life as Prayer

In worship this morning, during Time for All Ages, we talked about prayer. People shared some wonderful ideas of things one might say as a prayer and things one might do as a prayer. Many of us made a commitment to think of one thing between this Sunday and next that we could do that would be like a prayer. Leave a comment on this post if you'd like to share what you or your family did this week !

Several folks asked about the "Family Prayers" pamphlet I read from during the service and I'm afraid we gave away our last copy at coffee hour. I will be ordering more, however, and you can find them at the RE table later this month. In the meantime, here are a few resources on the subject of prayer.

Resources for Unitarian Universalist Adults:
UU Views of Prayer (Also a UUA pamphlet)

"Praying as Unitarian Universalists" by Wayne Arnason and Kathleen Rolenz, an article from UU World Magazine

Books about prayer from the UUA Bookstore

Kids' resources:
One of the kids' suggestions this morning about something a person can do to pray was to eat food. Here is a nice piece from UU&Me magazine about Mindful Eating by Betsy Hill Williams:

Also from UU&Me magazine, here is a nice craft idea for making prayer beads.

Prayer: A Family Meditation,
by Edwin C. Lynn

We breathe in faith
and exhale hopelessness
We breathe in gratitude
and exhale indifferenct
We breathe in Beauty
and exhale insentitivity
We breathe in joy
and exhale sadness
We breathe in kindness
and exhale harshness
We breathe in forgiveness
and exhale resentment
We breathe in love
and exhale isolation

What words or actions do you find able to connect you to that which you find most meaningful?