Social Action Sunday and Labyrinth Rededication

RE THIS SUNDAY:

PreK/K meets in their classroom


Grades 1-5: Social Action Sunday with our UUSS Social Action Council!  Children will learn about CAPPS, the Schenectady-based Companion Animal Placement Program. They will have an opportunity to make toys for the animals during RE too. Adults can donate to the organization during the third Sunday collection in worship.

Walking the labyrinth, offering good wishes by blowing bubbles.

Labyrinth Re- Dedication. Judy Clough will lead the labyrinth rededication with the children. Learn the story of its creation. Look for information sheets to learn more.

Grades 6/7, JUUNIOR youth meet in their room in Waters House.
Coming of Age, grades 8/9, meets in their room in Waters House.
Senior Youth, grades 10-12, meet in senior youth lounge.

RE for the Fall and Coming of Age Orientation Sunday!

This Sunday marks the official beginning of Fall! Religious Education classes meet for all ages.

Children in preK/K start in their classroom, next door to the nursery.

Grades 1-5 start in Children's Chapel, located now on the second floor in Waters House. We will be talking about our Seven Principles, AKA our Promises. After children's chapel children go with adult guides to different activities. There is always an outside option so PLEASE have children dressed to go outside. Religious Education can be messy! Save your best clothes for multigenerational worship. There is also always an indoor art and library option too. This is our second Sunday with this new programming and we are still figuring it out. If you have questions, if you are interested in helping out in the different areas, see any RE council member (they are wearing bright green t shirts) or see Melissa.

Also Sunday, there is a Coming of Age orientation after worship. It will run from approximately 12 noon to NO LATER THAN, AND HOPEFULLY EARLIER THAN, 1:15 PM. There will be childcare available in the nursery. There will be pizza, salad and drinks at Waters House. Or please feel free to support Green Sanctuary's locavore meal and bring your meal to Waters House.

Religious Education for children and youth begins Sept 15!

Religious Education (RE) programming for children and youth starts this Sunday!  We will begin together in the Great Hall, Sunday morning at 10:30. We usually start with singing, for anyone who wants to join in, around 10:20 -10:25.

For general class descriptions and information, see an earlier post, August 20,  or look for our new RE brochure.

The RE council and I have been working on some significant changes for this upcoming year's programs.  We are very excited about the different approach we are taking to organizing religious education. It has been at least two years in coming. This week, volunteers have been working re-organizing Waters House to create a dedicated art space and nature space!  We also have a dedicated Children's Chapel space on the second floor of Waters House. 

Sunlight streaming onto Waters House backyard.

Here are some highlights...

The PreK/K (ages 4-6 year old) class will be led by Joel Best, Tina Dell, Jeannine Jacobs and Sharon MacNeil! They meet on RE Sundays in the classroom next to the nursery.

Grades 1-5: Elementary Explorers, will see the most significant changes. This Sunday they will be introduced to the new spaces in Waters House. We have spaces dedicated to Children's Chapel, art and nature. Sept. 22 they begin together in the Water's House Children's Chapel. 

Outside, children will be introduced, or re-introduced, to our labyrinth and we will clean it up in preparation for our Labyrinth Rededication on Sunday, September 29. We will also have games and snacks too.

JUUNIOR Youth (grades 6-7) will be together on the second floor in Waters House. They will be working with their advisors, Jennifer Edgar-Johnson, Amy Khuzwayo, Abby and Steven Winters-Bona. Together they will plan a year of film- making. They will also have have time together exploring "Neighboring Faiths." The Neighboring Faiths calendar will be out later in the fall.

Coming of Age (COA), our year-long rite of passage RE program for 8th and 9th graders, begins September 29! COA is being led by Gary Feinland, Scott Horgen, Lisa Temoshok and Melissa MacKinnon. There is RE for grades 8/9 September 15 and 22. September 22, 12 noon -1:30 there will be a parent/youth information and orientation session for COA. Contact Melissa MacKinnon at melissa.dre@gmail.com for more information.

Check out the new RE Waters House library! We are working on a lending area for books that are current on UU history, parenting, contemplative practices, seasonal themes and world religions.

FREE books available in Waters House foyer. We are doing some housekeeping and looking to move out a number of books. We still need the boxes, but feel free to come over and take some books!

Looking ahead...

There's a heart shape at the center of our labyrinth.

Sunday, September 22 is our first, regular RE Sunday. Children begin in their RE spaces and the programs run 10:30 -11:45 AM. Children in grades 1-5 start in Children's Chapel, located on the second floor of Waters House. Children should dress for playing outside most RE Sundays.

September 29 is our first RE Social Action Sunday with our UUSS Social Action Council!  Children will learn about CAPPS, the Schenectady-based Companion Animal Placement Program. They will have an opportunity to make toys for the animals during RE too. Adults can donate to the organization during the third Sunday collection in worship.

Also on Sept 29, we will have our Labyrinth Re- Dedication during RE. It seems fitting to combine an inner contemplative practice, like labyrinth walking, with more outwardly focused social action work. I think the two compliment each other and have deep roots in our religious tradition.

Teaching As Spiritual Practice: A CRUUNY RE workshop

Join Melissa MacKinnon and Leah Purcell

for

Ways to make your time volunteering with children and youth deeply meaningful to you.

Ways to support your connections with other teachers.

An opportunity to strengthen ties between our congregations and to grow Unitarian Universalism.

All those who have taught Sunday school- and those interested in teaching in the future - are welcome for this time to pause, connect and be renewed.

Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013

10:00 am to 3:00 pm – lunch provided

This Workshop for the four CRUUNY Congregations will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Saratoga Springs

624 N Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

To register, request childcare onsite or for more info  contact

Leah at dre@albanyuu.org or 

Melissa at Melissa.dre@gmail.com.

Money is available for you to pay your babysitter at your home. Let Melissa or Leah know if you’d like childcare provided onsite.

Religious Education Programming for Children and Youth 2013-2014

Religious Education programs for children and youth start September 15, 2013. Registration forms will be available @ FUSS starting September 8 and online. Every child and youth must be registered. There is no fee for the programs, with the exception of Coming of Age.

Religious Education programs are run on a cooperative model. Parents of children and youth are asked to volunteer in areas that speak to their strengths. Because we are an intentional, committed, faith community, and not a service provider,  parents are expected to participate in the life of the congregation and must remain onsite while their children are in RE classes.

Our youngest, children ages three and under, are cared for by paid nursery attendants. The nursery is set up intentionally with age appropriate toys and books that acknowledge and honor and value different kinds of people and families. Our goal is to provide a safe and loving space for our youngest to become comfortable in our community.

2013-2014 Religious Education program offerings:

Grades PreK/K. Creating Home and Love Surrounds Us. Children ages 4-6 meet in a room next door to the nursery. They are led by a committed team of adults who have experience with our religious values and practices, the curriculum, and children.

Grades 1-5. Workshop Adventure. Children ages 6 - 11. Children begin together at Waters House for a short, interactive worship (approximately 20 minutes) focused on a wisdom story or ethical tale that teaches Unitarian Universalist values. Singing, sharing, mindfulness practices, curiosity, and movement are all part of a children’s chapel worship.

After group worship, the children head out with their adult guide to a designated workshop room. Room themes include outdoor explorations in nature, movement and art. Workshop leaders guide the children through an experience that helps children explore the worship theme or story as Unitarian Universalists.

There will be 2-3  groups with combined ages which will depend on the number of children registered in each age group.

Grades 6-7. JUUNIOR Youth: Building Bridges. Children ages 11-13. Adults and youth will work together continuing an exploration of film media. Working with adults, youth will plan, film and edit 2-3 short pieces. Youth will also travel off site to visit other faith communities including the Grafton Peace Pagoda,the Sikh Temple in Niskayuna, and a synagogue.

Grades 8-9. Coming of Age. Youth ages 13-15. A modern Rite of Passage that is welcoming, affirming, and connects across the generations of our FUSS community. Coming of Age meets 2-3 times monthly for workshops, UU pilgrimages, ropes course, social action and more. The Coming of Age program includes mentored learning, values clarification and physical challenges, ritual for both group and individual, and celebration.

Because of the scope and depth of the program, parents and youth must sign a commitment form in order to participate. There is a fee for this program. There will be an introduction to the program in September. Please contact Director of Religious Education Melissa MacKinnon at melissa.DRE@gmail.com or call 387-9373 for more information.

Grades 10 - 12. Senior Youth Group. Youth ages 15-18.

Our youth group meets Sunday morning beginning at 10:30 AM in the Youth Lounge (the basement of the main building). Youth group is open to the youth of our congregation and their friends. Our advisors work in collaboration with the youth. Youth group focuses on social action/justice, worship, fellowship, learning, and leadership opportunity. Members may also participate in district and continental events, including District Youth Conferences (Cons) and the Youth Caucus at General Assembly. Cons are held throughout the year at various UU congregations throughout our district. These weekend youth retreats offer opportunities for friendship and spiritual reflection in addition to workshops, worship, dances, shared meals and communal living.

*** NEW THIS YEAR ***

Water House library. Waters House, our religious education building, houses a small church library. The library is meant to offer lending resources on religion, theology, social justice, history, parenting, environmental stewardship. It is also a quiet space during RE times Sunday morning for children to sit and read, listen to a story with headphones and explore spiritual practices such as finger labyrinths and mandalas. It is meant for the child who wants or needs quiet time Sunday morning. There will be a volunteer adult in the room.

End Poverty Schenectady

I remember vividly the morning last fall when I opened the local newspaper to learn that in the city of Schenectady 50.8% of its children live in poverty. Schenectady ranks 13th in the nation for highest childhood poverty rates among cities over 65,000 people. Most of the children in our city live in poverty. Most...of...them. Such is my privilege that biking and driving in and around this city, I did not realize the extent to which this is the experience of most of the children around me. Since then, this has been like a drumbeat for me, always there, reminding me what we are called to do NOW. 

While I believe we have an obligation to be part of solving this problem, I do not believe we have the answers. How could we? The answers come from the ground up. The answers, what to do, comes from working together with those who care in this community. Lots of people care. Importantly we need to work together, rich and poor, all races, all religions, together. This is interfaith work.

Recently I attended  an event by the Schenectady County Human Rights initiative, End Poverty Schenectady. End Poverty Schenectady hosted a panel of youth and young adults from Schenectady to share their insights on poverty. It was very eye-opening. First, I appreciated that End Poverty Schenectady realized the importance of a youth perspective. The youth and young adults talked about a culture of hopelessness that helps create drug dealers and prostitutes at a young age. They talked about how we needed to discus race, because that was part of it. They talked about how much quicker people are to offer sports to low income youth rather than innovative, more academically- oriented programs. End Poverty Schenectady will next meet on Saturday, September 21. They have a Facebook page that has information on their upcoming meeting dates too.

FUSS will host one of their upcoming meetings. I want to encourage all of us to be part of this current conversation at all the meetings. What might we do in this community together? 

Mission trip to Guatemala

Our fabulous youth and adult advisors left last night for their mission trip to Guatemala! In Guatemala City they will work with the organization Safe Passage for a week. Safe Passage is located in the slums adjacent to the Guatemala City garbage dump. It's mission is to provide a way out of poverty through education. Safe Passage is not a school, it is a support center that helps children with their schooling and works with parents as well.

The group of 17 have spent nearly a year preparing. Meeting monthly they: created a covenant, learned about Guatemala, raised funds, and planned lessons for their time in the children's classes. They are being led by a really wonderful group of adults: Mindy Whisenhunt, Randy Jennings, Roz Dahl, Dan Mackay, and Jon Marr. Mindy, Randy, Roz and Dan are also senior youth advisors, so they really know the youth they are traveling with well. Mindy, Roz and Jon traveled with the group on their last mission trip to Guatemala two years ago.




They are all representing FUSS (soon UUSS) and our Unitarian Universalist faith out in the world. I have no doubt that they will represent us with joy, kindness and compassion. They will be changed by this trip and they will change others too; this I know from personal experience.

A little history: This is the third time our congregation has helped send youth on a mission trip to Guatemala. Our connection began on a beach in Maine, UU retreat center Ferry Beach, when Mindy Whisenhunt learned about Safe Passage. Mindy has worked tirelessly maintaining a connection to Safe Passage, traveling there on her own and leading these three trips.