Reflections on candy and compromise

Ah traditions! Springtime, like fall is a season of contemplating change. Instead of life around us dying, we see new life again. We have many stories and rituals around these changes: daffodils, Easter bunnies, eggs and the story of the death of Jesus are a few. These are all powerful stories and at FUSS we work hard to honor traditions even as our awareness of what they might mean grows and changes. So too we sometimes let go of traditions that don't really serve our Unitarian Universalist values.

And, as is often the case change, does not come without some amount of debate and discussion.   It is an opportunity for deeper reflection around shared values and a chance to find common ground. This is definately the case with our Easter egg hunt. The RE Council made a decision to eliminate candy with the egg hunt and published this in Circuits and the OOS so that people would know about the change. There were lots of good reasons for this. Most parents try to limit the amount of highly processed foods like candy that their children eat. Most children receive an Easter basket with plenty of candy. For many children candy is particularly bad for them and their bodies react negatively to the excessive sugar, chemical additives and colorings. And, in terms of living out our values there are serious ethical considerations with much of the candy that is sold, namely it's connection to child slavery.

Our senior youth responded that they felt this was an important traditions that they were a part of. Each year it is the senior youth who hide the eggs.  After much discussion the compromise was this: children will hunt for eggs. We all agreed that along with hiding the eggs, searching for them was the most fun. Some of the eggs will have seeds in them. Once the children finds the eggs they will return them to the senior youth. When they do the senior youth will give the children a small bag of candy. The rabbit and egg candy is made by a local company. The earth balls are fair trade.

It is in all these ways: discussion, education, reflection, compromise, respect for each others opinions that we live out our values. I think this was a pretty good chance to travel that path.

Adult RE

We have four adult RE opportunities in March, besides the opportunities  to learn from leading classes and helping with children's chapel : )

Last A People So Bold discussion series meets Sunday, March 6 in the Emerson room from 12 noon – 1:15.

A World of Health: Connecting People, Place and Planet. A six-session brown-bag lunch series that explores "good health," the connections between human health and the environment, and how we can sustain both. March 13 – April 17, 12 noon – 1 PM. If you ordered a book they're in!  If you have not ordered a book, there will be some extras available at the first meeting.

UU Parent Discussion Group! Barb Norton will run an ongoing, monthly group. We'll continue using Tending the Flame: The Art of Unitarian Universalist Parenting, as a starting point and move from there. The next meeting is Sunday, March 20, 6:30 PM @ FUSS. Childcare is available. To sign up please contact Barb at bnorton46@nycap.rr.com or call 377-0205.

Living the Love: Exploring a Practice-Based Unitarian Universalist Faith. Lisa Temoshok will run an experiential UU class using movement, art, deep listening and discussion. Class will meet every other Saturday for four Saturdays: March 19, April 2, 16 and 30, from 9AM -12 noon at FUSS. Sign up with Melissa at fussdre@nycap.rr.com or call 387-9373.

 

JUUnior Youth Overnight

JUUNIOR YOUTH OVERNIGHT!!

for 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders

@ First Unitarian Universalist Society Albany

405 Washington Ave, Albany NY 12206

From 12 noon Thursday, April 21-

10AM Friday, April 22

Includes: youth service project, games, duct tape workshop, evening youth worship.

Cost: $20

Sign up required by March 15.

Contact Melissa @ 387-9373 or FUSSDRE@nycap.rr.com

with questions or to sign up.

A People So Bold: Theological Roots, Part One

This Sunday, following Sundae Sunday, we'll begin an Adult RE discussion of Unitarian Universalist theology with respect to social justice work. We will work from the book, A People So Bold. There are copies available to purchase and we'll discus from the book beginning with the third session. The video clips are great and provacative, the book is even better.

For the first two session all you need to do is show up, watch and discuss. If you can't attend, or if you want a sneak peak, start with the You Tube link above. We'll watch and discus "Theological Roots" and "Theological Wings." In the posted You Tube videos they are broken up into parts, so you need to scroll through to click on and watch all of them. But, really, I hope you'll join Priscilla and I and our FUSS community in a powerful and important discussion about social justice work and Unitarian Universalist theology.

Service as Our Prayer

Many committees and councils have been working together to create a special worship service January 30th. There are six projects you can read brief descriptions of and sign up at mysignup.com/fussinaction. Welcoming Congregations will have a card writing station for you to write your legislators in support of marriage equality.

The Religious Education Council is collecting items to make welcome bags on January 30th for adults and children coming into Sojourn House, a homeless shelter for women with children, and Bethesda House, a drop-in center for homeless people. See the column on the right for supplies we are collecting.

There are many ways you can participate. You can bring donations for the welcome bags. This Sunday there will be box in the back of the Great Hall to collect any donations. You can simply come for the worship service on the 30th and be part of the energy and charge to practice service as our prayer. You can stay a few minutes after the service and write a postcard with Welcoming Congregations. You can stay for a luncheon to benefit our Soup Kitchen work. You can stay through all of this and then go choose a project to do with other FUSS congregants.

MLK JR /Non-Violence/Non-Violent Communication

This weekend is Martin Luther King Jr weekend. It is a time to celebrate his life and reflect on the meaning of his words and wisdom.

Both Children's Chapel and our adult worship service will explore his wisdom. We'll start together in the Great Hall. Everyone will hear the story of The Good Samaritan and we'll consider, "who is our neighbor?"

In Children's Chapel will explore MLK Jr's legacy of non- violent resistance. One approach I'll take is to ask, Have you ever wondered why people fight? Have you been in a fight yourself? How did you feel? Were you angry?

We'll explore ways to practice being peaceful and how what we say matters: the power of words as a way to peace.

A first, important step that we can all do is to learn to communicate in a way that is non-violent. Marshall B. Rosenberg PhD has a lot to offer in his work on non-violent communication. For children, here is an excellent site with free e-books that are inspired by the work Rosenberg has done and are geared for children.

Happy New Year! Adult RE in January!

The Art of Unitarian Universalist Parenting.

January 9 and 23, 2011. 5- 7:00 PM. Potluck with childcare.

Sharing our personal religious and spiritual beliefs with our children is not indoctrination. It is offering the wisdom and insight that they eagerly seek from us-just as they look to us for guidance when choosing between right and wrong courses of action. If we are vague and ambiguous when our children ask us theological questions, we lose our opportunity to have a positive influence on them in this area. Eventually, they'll stop asking us religious questions and look for answers elsewhere.-from Tending the Flame

Please join our discussion on raising Unitarian Universalist children and supporting both our children and ourselves in deepening our own understanding of Unitarian Universalism as we live out our faith. We'll start from the book of the same name: Tending the Flame: The Art of Unitarian Universalist Parenting, by Michelle Richards.

For both sessions, children in childcare will be provided with opportunities to create some of our UU symbols with various art projects. Please register for this so we have enough material on hand.

Copies of the book are available for $12.70 from Melissa MacKinnon, Director of Religious Education. To request a book or register for childcare, contact Melissa at melissa.dre@gmail.com or 387-9373.