We are celebrating Earth Day differently this year at UCM: our spring multigen will be held on May Day because the calendar has given us the gift of May First on a Sunday, but I want to share a way you can affirm the sacred waters that surround us here on the island of Montreal and in this water-blessed country. For Earth Day 2011, the UU Ministry for Earth has challenged congregations to celebrate the sacred waters that sustain us, and to commit to 40 days of actions that will make our world more just.
Last week on April 17th , the kick-off Sunday for those 40 days, I brought a tray of some seemingly disparate objects to show the children during Time for All Ages, asking “What do a brick, a toothbrush, and a plastic and metal water bottle all have in common?” The children correctly guessed “water,” (though not everyone understood at first that the brick was to put in a toilet tank!) and we talked about the water saving practices each represented: I went on to encourage them to see how quickly they could count up their own 40 water-saving acts.
Question for parents and other adults: do YOU turn off the water while brushing your teeth or applying shampoo in the shower? Remember that “Water is a human right, not a luxury” (from my daughter Evalyn Parry’s “Bottle This!” –you can listen to it on her website, www.evalynparry.com). Check out http://uuministryforearth.org/ for more information.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Talking to children about Easter as Unitarian Universalists
Dear RE families and helpers,
We will be having a Spirit Play lesson this Sunday about the story of Easter, told through a set of 12 props placed inside hollow plastic eggs, and making a big connection to the cycle of life-death-rebirth, and we will be sharing several Children's Bibles plus a great little UU book called Meet Jesus, all of which can be borrowed for the following week.
In case you have been thinking about talking to your own or others' children about Easter as UUs, here's a wonderful short spiel from a DRE in Houston, TX, who has saved me the time to write something similar --enjoy!
Have you wondered what to tell your children about the holiday we celebrate
this Sunday? If you are a Christian UU, celebrate Jesus’ resurrection
joyfully. If the story of Jesus’ resurrection has become slightly
problematic for you, in that you may have a more symbolic understanding than
that he rose from the dead in a literal sense, know that you are not alone
and share your sense of wondering with your children.
Then again, perhaps you will find something more helpful in what Michelle
Richards wrote in her parenting blog on April 18. Take a look at
http://blogs.uuworld.org/parenting/
Perhaps you will have to admit to your children that this is a mystery; that
people have been trying to make sense of life and death for a very long
time. Tell them that Easter is about life: about life coming from eggs, from
seeds, from mommies and daddies, and in all sorts of stories. Tell them
that mystery is exciting; that what they feel in their hearts is precious;
that what they think is important and that they can think and feel about
life and be glad.
We will be having a Spirit Play lesson this Sunday about the story of Easter, told through a set of 12 props placed inside hollow plastic eggs, and making a big connection to the cycle of life-death-rebirth, and we will be sharing several Children's Bibles plus a great little UU book called Meet Jesus, all of which can be borrowed for the following week.
In case you have been thinking about talking to your own or others' children about Easter as UUs, here's a wonderful short spiel from a DRE in Houston, TX, who has saved me the time to write something similar --enjoy!
Have you wondered what to tell your children about the holiday we celebrate
this Sunday? If you are a Christian UU, celebrate Jesus’ resurrection
joyfully. If the story of Jesus’ resurrection has become slightly
problematic for you, in that you may have a more symbolic understanding than
that he rose from the dead in a literal sense, know that you are not alone
and share your sense of wondering with your children.
Then again, perhaps you will find something more helpful in what Michelle
Richards wrote in her parenting blog on April 18. Take a look at
http://blogs.uuworld.org/parenting/
Perhaps you will have to admit to your children that this is a mystery; that
people have been trying to make sense of life and death for a very long
time. Tell them that Easter is about life: about life coming from eggs, from
seeds, from mommies and daddies, and in all sorts of stories. Tell them
that mystery is exciting; that what they feel in their hearts is precious;
that what they think is important and that they can think and feel about
life and be glad.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
First I saw snowdrops, then this afternoon, crocuses!
By the time you are reading this, I believe the weather is going to be delightfully warmer than when I was writing this on Wednesday. I have been thinking about many aspects of spring this week, as I work with several volunteers on scripts and story boxes for seasonal Spirit Play lessons, one about May Day and Pagan or Wiccan beliefs; one about the Easter story. That thinking brought to mind some lovely lines of a Rilke poem to share with you: [from “Threshold of Spring”] Harshness gone. All at once Caring spreads over The naked gray of the meadows… May your personal “meadows” feel the warmth of caring –-and of the burgeoning season— this week. I am so grateful for the warmth of this congregation and the many caring hands and hearts that help in Religious Education!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
French Religious Education Program A brief overview and request for UCM families’ input
This is the introductory letter from the questionnaire I sent out to all Religious Education families and RE leaders and helpers as of 3/23/11. If you would like to complete a copy of the extended questionnaire, please contact my office and we will send you one: dre@ucmtl.ca
The French RE programme is nearing the end of its third year as an integral part of the Religious Education programme at UCM. Lessons have been offered six times a year. The first year, the curriculum was centered around the seven UU principles. For last year and this current RE year, we have been exploring First Nations culture and spirituality.
Originally, the French RE project, which has now created the first French UU RE curricula ever in the world, was started by the Francophone Group and the MUUQ (Mouvement unitarien universaliste au Québec). Its purpose was to attract more francophone families to the UCM, as well as to UUism in general, internationally. In order to have children pilot the lessons, the curriculum was integrated into our RE programme here at UCM.
While our children certainly can benefit from a linguistically and culturally enriched RE programme, with the addition of French lessons created with a francophone audience in mind, the original purpose of the project should be kept in mind. There are several questions to consider when evaluating this programme, such as:
Do we want our children to benefit from an enriched programme, linguistically and culturally speaking—specifically focussing on that of the larger community we are a part of here in Quebec?
Do we feel that this is a way we can participate in outreach, as a member of the UU community?
Do we feel that our children are benefitting from this particular programme, as it stands?
We have prepared the following pages of further questions for which we would love your detailed response, but we would appreciate any of your thoughts on these matters. Please take some time to go over the following questions (or those that feel relevant to you) with your children, and return the questionnaire to us (either by email or paper copy). Some of these issues will come up at the March 27th Conversation with our Minister and Director of RE –we hope to see you there!
We thank you most sincerely for your input in these matters!
The RE and Francophone Committees
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Happy St Patrick's Day!
I hope you are enjoying the current March warmth and brightness! Maybe you have even been wearing some green for St Patrick --or have seen some glimpse of green grass. On my just-over Toronto trip I did see lots of yellow willow tree and red oosier dogwood branches, giving suprising colour to the end-of-winter scenery.
As I have mentioned before, there are some terrific parent resources for helping crying infants sleep, managing toddlers tantrums, fostering adolescent success, building emotionally resiliant children, etc, including some new free teleseminars, to be found at: www.handinhandparenting.org/ - I have known of the work of this organization for many years and will be happy to share more about it with anyone interested.
The last yoga session planned for this year for Spirit Play, featured a story about Ganesha, the elephant headed god of Hinduism. These special winter movement sessions have gone so well we are considering offering yoga-with-stories once a month next year –comments welcome!
Appropos of next year, please remember our annual « RE Conversation with the Minister » that will take place March 27th at 9 am –it will be a special breakfast, followed by childcare fun for the children while you share your thoughts about RE programming and your family’s needs. We are interested in feedback about French RE, children's choir timing, and Spirit Play in general [to learn more about the latter, checkout http://www.spiritplay.net/
As I have mentioned before, there are some terrific parent resources for helping crying infants sleep, managing toddlers tantrums, fostering adolescent success, building emotionally resiliant children, etc, including some new free teleseminars, to be found at: www.handinhandparenting.org/ - I have known of the work of this organization for many years and will be happy to share more about it with anyone interested.
The last yoga session planned for this year for Spirit Play, featured a story about Ganesha, the elephant headed god of Hinduism. These special winter movement sessions have gone so well we are considering offering yoga-with-stories once a month next year –comments welcome!
Appropos of next year, please remember our annual « RE Conversation with the Minister » that will take place March 27th at 9 am –it will be a special breakfast, followed by childcare fun for the children while you share your thoughts about RE programming and your family’s needs. We are interested in feedback about French RE, children's choir timing, and Spirit Play in general [to learn more about the latter, checkout http://www.spiritplay.net/
Thursday, March 3, 2011
From RE families and helpers letter for Friday March 4th
Happy March (I actually love the pun of tomorrow's date --will any of you be marching forth?) and hurrah for the lengthening days!
Last week I published the blogs of two of our RE families, as I announced the launch of this one –Please « meet » Laurel Tidman, mom of Clara and Leo, at http://clarabandleo.blogspot.com/
And check out Gail Schwartz’s thoughts about parenting at http://www.twodykesandaboyby.blogspot.com/, She is partner to Lucie Gagnon and mom to baby Alexi.
And, I asked RE families to send me THEIR OWN URLs, to circulate, so we all get to know each other a bit better! So now here are two more people’s blogs who are part of our RE community :
1. Yoga leader Eliza Moore can be found at :http://www.elizamoore.com/ . . . She performed her music during our services last year, and is the mother of baby Xavier. She also says that she and her husband “jeremy are about to release a single on feb 28th for our new band "JE". www.myspace.com/weareje --we are really excited about this project!! The itunes link is: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/magic-single/id422115984
2. Ariel Hunt-Brondwin is the CUC National Youth and Young Adult Programmer whom some of you may have met during the Eastern Regional Gathering in November. She writes a blog about the work she’s doing, which you can see at Gather the spirit, harvest the power http://www.yayacuc.blogspot.com/
Finally, a word about the stairwell bulletin boards –I have agreed to let the new Art Committee take over the stairwell, and although I am sad to lose those areas to share material relevant to our programs and the opportunities to have had some visual fun doing so, it means I might spend a bit less time here, AND we’ll get to see some great professional art shows –first opening will be May 6th, so watch for it! However, I would really love some feedback about whether any of you have any time to read what we put up? I seldom see people looking at any of the boards (and there are still two, one outside the Nursery and one on the lowest level, outside the Chapel), and would really appreciate response about what you do notice or would like to see posted . . . ditto for the RE pages of the website.
Last week I published the blogs of two of our RE families, as I announced the launch of this one –Please « meet » Laurel Tidman, mom of Clara and Leo, at http://clarabandleo.blogspot.com/
And check out Gail Schwartz’s thoughts about parenting at http://www.twodykesandaboyby.blogspot.com/, She is partner to Lucie Gagnon and mom to baby Alexi.
And, I asked RE families to send me THEIR OWN URLs, to circulate, so we all get to know each other a bit better! So now here are two more people’s blogs who are part of our RE community :
1. Yoga leader Eliza Moore can be found at :http://www.elizamoore.com/ . . . She performed her music during our services last year, and is the mother of baby Xavier. She also says that she and her husband “jeremy are about to release a single on feb 28th for our new band "JE". www.myspace.com/weareje --we are really excited about this project!! The itunes link is: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/magic-single/id422115984
2. Ariel Hunt-Brondwin is the CUC National Youth and Young Adult Programmer whom some of you may have met during the Eastern Regional Gathering in November. She writes a blog about the work she’s doing, which you can see at Gather the spirit, harvest the power http://www.yayacuc.blogspot.com/
Finally, a word about the stairwell bulletin boards –I have agreed to let the new Art Committee take over the stairwell, and although I am sad to lose those areas to share material relevant to our programs and the opportunities to have had some visual fun doing so, it means I might spend a bit less time here, AND we’ll get to see some great professional art shows –first opening will be May 6th, so watch for it! However, I would really love some feedback about whether any of you have any time to read what we put up? I seldom see people looking at any of the boards (and there are still two, one outside the Nursery and one on the lowest level, outside the Chapel), and would really appreciate response about what you do notice or would like to see posted . . . ditto for the RE pages of the website.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
From RE families and helpers letter for Friday Feb 18th
Dear RE folks --Here’s a couple of chewy thoughts which I hope you’ll find interesting:
First: Today I was “outed” at the Midweek Meal by a senior church member who thought everyone should know I am the parent of Richard Reed Parry, member of the award-winning band, the Arcade Fire, so I thought I’d tell all of you . . .yep, it’s true, exciting, and rather strange. [thanks to all those who sent congrats].
On the one hand, we all naturally take pleasure in the successes of our children, but on the other hand, I really question our celebrity culture. I keep being amazed by people’s “awe” and wondering why we can’t be as enthusiastic about different achievements or even non-capital-A achievements. For instance, I really love our unsung hero/heroine awards here at UCM. I don’t have a lot of answers to my ponderings, though of course I am proud of the boy who was terrified to audition for music at Canterbury, the Ottawa arts high school, so did creative writing instead . . . And I know I did a lot to nurture his creative spirit, as I see many of you doing as loving parents or partners or buddies here, too. So I salute all of you, sitting perhaps with a homework-overwhelmed or coughing and wheezing child, or a friend who is upset and needs your support. Know that your patience, love, and encouragement DO make significant differences in the world, and that we ALL deserve Grammys!
Second: when I was in Ottawa last week, I did something that I thought would be very challenging and not very pleasant –I went to see my MP, who happens to be the Conservative John Baird whom I dislike, about problems with the new draft Copyright law, as seen from the Writers Union perspective. To my surprise, he was receptive and not only asked intelligent questions, but affirmed the effort I had made to go into the Parliament buildings and meet with him. I think he listened to our points, and I felt energized, in the end, NOT drained by doing my “duty” as a citizen. Apparently, these days, visits count for a heck of a lot (as letters sent electronically mean less and less). So I want to lift up the worth of that simple bit of the political process, and if you are thinking about working on some piece of social/political change yourself, I encourage you to GO SEE your MP!
First: Today I was “outed” at the Midweek Meal by a senior church member who thought everyone should know I am the parent of Richard Reed Parry, member of the award-winning band, the Arcade Fire, so I thought I’d tell all of you . . .yep, it’s true, exciting, and rather strange. [thanks to all those who sent congrats].
On the one hand, we all naturally take pleasure in the successes of our children, but on the other hand, I really question our celebrity culture. I keep being amazed by people’s “awe” and wondering why we can’t be as enthusiastic about different achievements or even non-capital-A achievements. For instance, I really love our unsung hero/heroine awards here at UCM. I don’t have a lot of answers to my ponderings, though of course I am proud of the boy who was terrified to audition for music at Canterbury, the Ottawa arts high school, so did creative writing instead . . . And I know I did a lot to nurture his creative spirit, as I see many of you doing as loving parents or partners or buddies here, too. So I salute all of you, sitting perhaps with a homework-overwhelmed or coughing and wheezing child, or a friend who is upset and needs your support. Know that your patience, love, and encouragement DO make significant differences in the world, and that we ALL deserve Grammys!
Second: when I was in Ottawa last week, I did something that I thought would be very challenging and not very pleasant –I went to see my MP, who happens to be the Conservative John Baird whom I dislike, about problems with the new draft Copyright law, as seen from the Writers Union perspective. To my surprise, he was receptive and not only asked intelligent questions, but affirmed the effort I had made to go into the Parliament buildings and meet with him. I think he listened to our points, and I felt energized, in the end, NOT drained by doing my “duty” as a citizen. Apparently, these days, visits count for a heck of a lot (as letters sent electronically mean less and less). So I want to lift up the worth of that simple bit of the political process, and if you are thinking about working on some piece of social/political change yourself, I encourage you to GO SEE your MP!
from RE family letters sent out before Valentines
[In mid-February I sent out a lot of info around our Mystery Friends' program and how those Friends would be revealed on February 13th, at a special potluck lunch for the entire RE community. We also had many craft materials set up for making valentines, which was a very popular activity!]
Knock-knock!
Who’s there?
Olive…
Olive who?
O-live you!
2/2/11 update re February 13th plans for Mystery Friends’ Lunch
Dear RE families and helpers --so it is Groundhog's Day, and blizzarding outside, with the Year of the Rabbit starting the Chinese NY tomorrow, and this is about Valentines plans! Whew!…
Anticipating Valentine's Day, here's an old rhyme: Somebody loves you, deep and true --if I weren't so bashful, I'd tell you who!
Knock-knock!
Who’s there?
Olive…
Olive who?
O-live you!
2/2/11 update re February 13th plans for Mystery Friends’ Lunch
Dear RE families and helpers --so it is Groundhog's Day, and blizzarding outside, with the Year of the Rabbit starting the Chinese NY tomorrow, and this is about Valentines plans! Whew!…
Anticipating Valentine's Day, here's an old rhyme: Somebody loves you, deep and true --if I weren't so bashful, I'd tell you who!
From the January 26th RE families letter :
Were you here for Diane’s sermon about Superheroes? If so, you saw me flash in as “Super DRE!!,” and here’s a photo [apologies for poor quality --we need photographers for RE, if you are interested!] of me later with some of the Jr Youth who had slept over the night before.
Being the DRE, or Director of Religious Education is a role I enjoy within the limits of my 20 paid hours, but the truth is, we’d like more help to do all we manage to do in RE. You only have to make everything right in the world and stand up for all those who are hurting, wronged or oppressed . . .Joking aside, there are small and bigger tasks you could enjoy doing here, and we’d love to see you! And the mentoring, sharing, supportive relationships Diane spoke of are easy to build as we work together.
Being the DRE, or Director of Religious Education is a role I enjoy within the limits of my 20 paid hours, but the truth is, we’d like more help to do all we manage to do in RE. You only have to make everything right in the world and stand up for all those who are hurting, wronged or oppressed . . .Joking aside, there are small and bigger tasks you could enjoy doing here, and we’d love to see you! And the mentoring, sharing, supportive relationships Diane spoke of are easy to build as we work together.
Of interest : The UUA Bookstore and Skinner House Books are pleased to announce the launch of Skinner House eBooks. For a complete list of Skinner House eBooks and purchasing links, visit the UUA Bookstore website at www.uua.org/bookstore
Blessings on your snowy weeks, Caroline
p.s. I made up this haiku while out skiing briefly in a local park last Sunday evening [then got into a tangle of falling down and couldn't get my skis OFF for at least ten minutes!! Dratted release!!]:
Turquoise evening sky,
dark domes of cold church towers;
frozen sunset hour.
From Families letter for Weds 19th Jan 2011
This Sunday the 23rd is our monthly French RE all-ages group, and we’ve been discussing what we do there a lot. The program is open to 5 through 12 year olds, generally speaking. However, Garden room children aged 3, 4 or 5, unless they are fluent French speakers, will probably prefer a special program in the nursery using our big puppet stage this week.
I have just written my DRE “piece” about our unique French program here at UCM for th next nUUwsletter, and I am including the last two paragraphs below, for those interested in advance of February’s issue. Any feedback about the program –or my thoughts-- that people care to send the RE office is welcome.
Recently we have been finding the Jr Youth prefer to have their separate group rather than the all-ages French class, which has caused us to do some significant “soul-searching.” I want to affirm how important RE Committee feels it is to offer at least this much French at UCM [6 out of 38 Sundays in the “RE year”], and to thank all those who participate and who make it possible.
In addition, I want to underscore the precious opportunities these sessions provide for children to hang out with different ages far more than they are able to at school or (for most, with few if any siblings) at home. It interests me that being in a “big/little brother or sister” relationship seems not only unfamiliar to many, but possibly uncomfortable. After all, we are promoting something that is quite counter-cultural for many of our young people who are generally put in ”segregated” age groups at school. And so I also want to lift up and appreciate the wonderful ways this congregation takes interest in and enjoys our Time for All Ages each week, and our occasional multigenerational services. We are modeling a way of relating across the years that may be unfamiliar for some, but is nonetheless very vital to the well-being of our entire community.
I have just written my DRE “piece” about our unique French program here at UCM for th next nUUwsletter, and I am including the last two paragraphs below, for those interested in advance of February’s issue. Any feedback about the program –or my thoughts-- that people care to send the RE office is welcome.
Recently we have been finding the Jr Youth prefer to have their separate group rather than the all-ages French class, which has caused us to do some significant “soul-searching.” I want to affirm how important RE Committee feels it is to offer at least this much French at UCM [6 out of 38 Sundays in the “RE year”], and to thank all those who participate and who make it possible.
In addition, I want to underscore the precious opportunities these sessions provide for children to hang out with different ages far more than they are able to at school or (for most, with few if any siblings) at home. It interests me that being in a “big/little brother or sister” relationship seems not only unfamiliar to many, but possibly uncomfortable. After all, we are promoting something that is quite counter-cultural for many of our young people who are generally put in ”segregated” age groups at school. And so I also want to lift up and appreciate the wonderful ways this congregation takes interest in and enjoys our Time for All Ages each week, and our occasional multigenerational services. We are modeling a way of relating across the years that may be unfamiliar for some, but is nonetheless very vital to the well-being of our entire community.
From the families letter for Jan 9th
Dear RE folks— here’s a round to start us off well in 2011 (do ask me to sing it for you whenever we meet!)
Ring it in, ring in the new year!
Bells are ringing; bells are ringing.
Peace and love throughout the new year—
Joy, Joy, Joy!
Hope you have had good, satisfying holidays, and here’s an RE update:
Maria Gacesa gave birth to a little boy on December 28th, not long after she played a “perfect” Maria in our Posadas procession. Mom, Dad Anthony Lemke, their daughters Maggie and Lara, and young Dane Ahren himself are all doing well –congrats, everyone!
Swap and Chat, Sunday, January 9, 12:15 - 1:30 pm, Senior Youth RoomDo you have outgrown infant and children's clothing? Are you looking for bigger sizes in infant and children's clothing? Do you have baby equipment and perhaps toys that are sitting around? Well, this event is for you. Clothing and equipment can be dropped off in advance and left at the metal clothing rack found on the lower R.E. level at the bottom of the stairwell. Leftover items will be given to a local charity. [At the same time, Krin Haglund and Chris Sweetnam-Holmes (parents of baby Ole) would like to discuss the possibility of starting a babysitting/child care swap with interested parents.] Light refreshments will be provided and child care will be available in the nursery. This event is organized by the Membership Committee and the Religious Education program. For more information, please contact me or Krin Haglund at 514-562-8122.
DON’T FORGET SLPPERS OR INDOOR SHOES TO GO WITH THE WEATHER OUTDOORS. We put the children’s outdoor boots in a blue bin by their room doors so that if there is a fire (or fire drill), the children can go straight outside and the leaders bring the bins, so they can put their boots on out there. Please help us facilitate this.
Ring it in, ring in the new year!
Bells are ringing; bells are ringing.
Peace and love throughout the new year—
Joy, Joy, Joy!
Hope you have had good, satisfying holidays, and here’s an RE update:
Maria Gacesa gave birth to a little boy on December 28th, not long after she played a “perfect” Maria in our Posadas procession. Mom, Dad Anthony Lemke, their daughters Maggie and Lara, and young Dane Ahren himself are all doing well –congrats, everyone!
Swap and Chat, Sunday, January 9, 12:15 - 1:30 pm, Senior Youth RoomDo you have outgrown infant and children's clothing? Are you looking for bigger sizes in infant and children's clothing? Do you have baby equipment and perhaps toys that are sitting around? Well, this event is for you. Clothing and equipment can be dropped off in advance and left at the metal clothing rack found on the lower R.E. level at the bottom of the stairwell. Leftover items will be given to a local charity. [At the same time, Krin Haglund and Chris Sweetnam-Holmes (parents of baby Ole) would like to discuss the possibility of starting a babysitting/child care swap with interested parents.] Light refreshments will be provided and child care will be available in the nursery. This event is organized by the Membership Committee and the Religious Education program. For more information, please contact me or Krin Haglund at 514-562-8122.
DON’T FORGET SLPPERS OR INDOOR SHOES TO GO WITH THE WEATHER OUTDOORS. We put the children’s outdoor boots in a blue bin by their room doors so that if there is a fire (or fire drill), the children can go straight outside and the leaders bring the bins, so they can put their boots on out there. Please help us facilitate this.
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