RE Weekly Newsletter:

May : Thresholds
FIND US ON INSTAGRAM
Follow us here! .
PARENT RESOURCES
Learn more about Soul Matters curriculum guides .
SUBSCRIBE
to our InfoNet here.
A Message From Our RE Coordinator:

Dear Family & Friends!

I wanted to express my gratitude in how many of you have been taking the time to watch our RE videos. Ms. Trish and I work hard to bring these lessons to life and we are both very grateful for your continued presence. Every week, the theme is narrowed down to a subject and we expand them to relate to the youth we teach. There are stories, activities and moments of meditations: just like we have done in class!
So, I thank you all for your unconditional support during these times. Be sure to check out the art box survey so your child can receive one from RE. There are knick knacks and crafts for your youth to do with you or on their own! We would like to get the boxes out within the following week so take less than a minute to complete the questionnaire at the link below and your youth will receive an art box.
Until we see each other again!


Do you mind your child receiving an Art box from RE?
Yes
No (please complete survey below)
WELCOME
UU Friend


We have many calendar connections this month and history highlights to check out. First and foremost, Happy Mother's Day to our Mothers here and are departed.. To our Mothers who have taken in children that were not their own and to mothers who are not mothers, but are fathers who have done and continue to provide love, safety and well-being to the children of the world.

We appreciate YOU.

Take a moment to see our UU history and be sure to click the hyperlinks for more information! Here is what the youth are learning this week. You will learn something new too!

"People of Thresholds .”

Session 2 : The Door of Welcome
Session 3 : The Door of Growing Up
Session 4 : The Door of Courage
Session 5 : The Door of Imagination



The theme of thresholds is perfect for the closing session’s focus on taking what we learned and using it to pass over into a more mature and self-selected UU identity.

"Each month, I feel that this opens up a deep connection to all of you, no matter how much space separates us. May that feeling of "connecting doorways" also be a blessing you encounter this month."
- Katie, DRE for SoulMatters
AG Logo 2020
Caring & Connected Newsletter

We are continuing to send out the e-newsletter  “Caring & Connected”  to help sustain our UUSP community during uncertain times. Click  here  to read it and learn “how can I help?” and "how can I stay connected?” during the church closure. 

from the Communications Team
Learn more about our own UUSP History Here!
Honoring The Creative Youth
Trish with Scogna twins February 9th 2020
RE Comrade Cool Cats Own
Student Mimi Taha, spent some of her quarantine time creating this wonderful piece of work for UUSP RE. She had already created the lovely banner that was paraded by the Unicorn's Class during the RE Service February 9th. Her family is new to the area but has been with UU Churches for many years.

We honor and celebrate the creative, responsive youth who show creativity and exemplify their own individuality through their endeavors. Thank you for being YOU.

"We would be one in building for tomorrow a nobler world than we have known today. We would be one is searching for that meaning which binds our hearts and points us on our way”
Religious Education Virtual Classes K-12th
Ms. Trish's K - 3rd Grade Class

Session Goal:   Explore the ways that we keep the UU threshold inviting for Mother’s Day
The Door of Welcome; All of us are welcome here, all of us are loved.

Wonder Box:  A chalice, the symbol of our faith. Our flaming chalice reminds us of the warmth of love, the light of truth and the energy of action. That warmth of love is what the Door of Welcome is all about.

Meditation for Mother’s Day:   Poem:  “For All the Mothers Blessing” By  Lindasusan Ulrich , Compassion Mantra, sung by Ani Choying Drolma, a Buddhist monk.

Story:  Stella Brings the Family. Stella has two daddies. Who should she bring to school for the Mother’s Day Celebration?
External links for story and previous videos:   
  Story : The Green Man
Activities: Make a Mother’s Day Card and a Mother’s Day Pledge. Make and Decorate a “Door of Welcome.” This can be a drawing, a 3D cardboard house with a door, or a sign for your front door. Use your imagination!

Create a Welcome Walk on your sidewalk with chalk
Play outside!
Session Goal:  Explore the ways that thresholds represent and end and yet a new beginning. Feeling welcomed into the new.

Meditation: Let yourself relax. Take in a nice, slow, deep breath. And then let it out. Breathe in. And out. Deep. Slow. Breathing in. And breathing out. (Pause) Today is Mother’s Day. Here in our congregation, we celebrate all kinds of mothers. We celebrate all kinds of welcoming. Listen to the word of this Unitarian Universalist blessing. Then we will hear a Buddhist nun singing a Compassion Mantra. While we listen, hold the people you know in your heart
Ms. Jeanay's 4th - 12th Grade Class
Story: Synopsis of the movie 'Monster's INC.'

Discussion: How can we offer a hand to partake in an offering. Walking through doors, unsure of what the other side may hold.

Theme Connection: Exploring the ways that we keep the UU threshold inviting for bravery in taking the next step.
Engaging UU Identity
Elements of Merger Day, May 12th, 1961
Here’s an opportunity for a specifically UU Multi-gen Holiday.

Our UU holidays include the Flower Service, Bread Service, and Chalica. Their adoption rate has varied. But as we strive to be a mature faith, we need to celebrate our own history and heritage. Often, we honor our UU history through celebrating individual people - famous UU’s. But it is important to capture the collaborative and creative aspects of our heritage - when groups of people have changed our living tradition.
One example is the women who added our Sixth Source. It is my hope that we add a Seventh Source of our own UU history and heritage, as well as other sources which capture our living, breathing, changing and creative tradition.

The purpose of celebrating the times of collaboration in our faith is to recognize how we, the people, overcame the fear of dissipation and formed our free Unitarian Universalist church, unbound by dogma and creed. These celebrations are needed because they reflect our theology.  Read More...
National Park Service Celebrates Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have a rich heritage thousands of years old and have both shaped the history of the United States and had their lives dramatically influenced by moments in its history. Every May during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and throughout the year, the National Park Service and its partners share those histories and the continuing culture thriving in parks and communities today.

Image credit: Hula performance at the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park's 32nd Annual Cultural Festival (National Park Service).
Jewish American Heritage Month—National Archives

The National Archives and Records Administration is proud to observe Jewish American Heritage Month and to recognize Jewish contributions to American culture, history, military, science, government, and more. (National Archives)

Eddie Cantor, Albert Einstein, Sammy Davis Jr., Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“ Be Yourself. Everyone else is already taken "

- Oscar Wilde , 1854-1900
Healthy Resources
Do you know that a body in motion stays in motion? Click the button above to check out some virtual classes by the YMCA to keep your body moving, even while you are indoors! Who says that you can't your heart rate up indoors? Pilates, Yoga and more!
Let's go!
Kenwood Organic Produce

Kenwood Organic Produce is your local neighborhood source for fresh organic produce. Locally owned by UU's Marcille Powers and operated by your neighbors, shop us first for the healthiest fresh fruits and vegetables. We deliver!

Read more
www.kenwoodorganic.com
Image credit: Hula performance at the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park's 32nd Annual Cultural Festival (National Park Service).
Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg is not affiliated nor a sponsor of the community events posted on our UUSP RE e-newsletters. The information is derived from PeachJar.com, The Parent's Guide Magazine and City of St. Petersburg Events page, PlayLargo.com and various applications for family engagement strictly for informational purposes only. The information posted is not for profit or for monetary gain unless specified to contribute to a fundraiser in whereas the donations are to UU and/or UUA affiliates such as UUSC. If you have any questions or concerns about this statement, reply to this email.
Stay Connected!
If you have any submissions for the RE weekly newsletter, please submit your information to email  the Editor  by noon every Tuesday to have it posted to the newsletter for Thursday's e-print.

This E-Newsletter is put together by Jeanay Johnson, Re Coordinator.
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF ST. PETE |
100 Mirror Lake Drive
Saint Petersburg, Fl 33701
UUStpete.org