Religious Exploration/Education
May's Theme is Story
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Hello Families,
I love this month's theme. Stories are so powerful, so universal and so personal. I hope that we can share some stories with each other this month. And I really hope that many of you will join us for our collective story project! See below in the "Soulful Connections" section for details.
And this week is one of my favorite holy-days: Beltane. I love the joyful spirit of dancing the may pole, and the celebration of fertility and new life. I hope you join me in celebrating Beltane this week. Let me know if you do!
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Sunrise Dance for May Day! |
May I present to you, The Ladies of the Rolling Pin! This is a group that I have danced with for more than ten years and my favorite day is when we dance at dawn on May Day. This is a tradition in the world of Morris Dance, dating back to the 15th century. Traditionally, the dances were performed to wake up the fields and bless the land for a year of fertility and healthy harvest.
You are Invited! This Saturday, May 1st at dawn, 5:42am at the fountain next to the Towers in Narragansett. We will be performing our newly choreographed socially distanced dances! If you arrive a little early, there is often the most glorious colors in the sky before the actual sunrise.
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See if you can find Lee dancing in this video (hint: look for the orange scarf!) and also David Floyd is there playing the banjo! |
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We have so many beloved stories in our world! I hope you enjoy these below, and I hope you continue to share your favorite stories (both in picture book form, and stories from your own life) wit your kids. Enjoy! |
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The Snail's Spell, by Joanne Ryder. This is an incredibly illustrated book, with so much detail of the natural world. It invites us to imagine we are as small as a snail, sliding through the world. |
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These Hands, by Margaret H. Mason. This book brought tears to my eyes. It's so simple and powerful, showing a conversation between a grandfather and grandson, noting what their hands can do, and what the grandfather's hands were not allowed to do. |
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I Can Write the World, by Joshunda Sanders. This is the story of a girl from the Bronx starting to write the stories she sees all around her, create her own, more true version of her beloved neighborhood. |
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Let's tell a story together!
This is an ambitious project, but I think we can do it! The idea is that I will start a story in writing and also record myself telling it. Then I will email it to another family and they will add onto it in writing. Everyone will have the option of making a video of their part of the story. Then at the end, we will have a whole story in writing. I will put it together in a video, with video clips from families and I will narrate the parts without video.
Sign up here to take part! Or just send Lee an email to participate. |
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This is one of my favorite celebrations of the year. While I love the solstices and equinoxes, I find Beltane to be one of the most meaningful and special of the pagan holy days. It's a celebration of fertility and the waking up of the natural world. I just love all the little green shoots and unfurling leaves and of course the burst of color from the flowers. It's so rejuvenating and such a balm for the heart after a long winter.
One of their suggestions is making a little personal May Day pole:
- Find a stick that is comfortable to use as a wand
- Tie colorful ribbons to the top, taking time to think about what the colors remind you of
- Dance through the yard and garden, whisking your tiny May pole around, watching the ribbons tangle and dance around the pole.
- Take time to offer blessings to the many new growing things, including yourself!
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FIRST SUNDAYS, 10am: Multi-gen Service. Click here to join the service on Zoom. We have decided to not offer RE at 9am on the first Sunday of the month, because we are putting our efforts into creating a beautiful service for all ages on this day. So please join us for our Multi-gen service this Sunday!
2nd-last SUNDAY, 9am-9:30: Kid Circle Time. We have a lovely, simple time together, sharing Roses/Buds/Thorns, singing a song and doing an activity, scavenger hunt or movement together.
THIRD SUNDAYS, 9:30-10am: Adult Sharing Time.
LAST SUNDAYS, 9:30-10:30: CartUUns! Last Sunday we watched this short film and had a wonderful discussion about being different. We talked about how each of us feels different and how we feel the same as those around us. It was a great conversation! Please join us next month!
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The seeds are sprouting! And the flowers are here. |
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DL and Mimi have so many baby plants! Here is a sunflower sprout from the seeds we handed out this month. And in the background are some baby tomatoes! |
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The peas are up in the raised bed outside of RE! Feel free to visit them and sing them a song for their growth! |
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This is Sylvan and my Beltane mandala from last year. We'd love to see yours this year! If you make one, send us a picture! |
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