We Are Going!
Faith Development Newsletter
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May we have eyes that see, hearts that love, and hands that are ready to serve.
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This Week: Halloween Parade!
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Sunday, October 27
: A Halloween parade to the Cathedral Square Assisted Living Center!
All ages are invited to join the YUUth Group and Children's faith Development to spread some autumnal cheer! The residents are expecting us to bring a little bit of Halloween fun right into their home.
Come in costume!
Bring some extra wings, crowns, capes and hats for those who forget their own.
We're headed out right after the Reflection for All Ages and then back in time for a seasonal snack in the Whitney Young, Jr. Room at 11:15.
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This outing will replace our normal Sunday morning programming for kids in Kindergarten through seventh grade. Parents who want their children to join us on this .8 mile round trip walk down Church and Cherry Streets must sign a permission slip -look for Erika and the rest of the Faith Development Team with clipboards on Sunday morning.
We are asking that children preschool and younger be accompanied by an adult.
Parents can reconnect with their children upstairs in the Whitney Young, Jr Room, where we will be having cider and cider donuts upon our return.
Any kids who choose not to come along are welcome, as always, to stay in the Sanctuary and the Nursery will accept children of all ages as well, just be sure to sign them in!
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Attention
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the theme for November
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I walked out of a diner with my family this week, after finishing a meal that marked the halfway-point of a long car trip; my son beside me, my mother and sister a few feet behind.
The late afternoon sky contained a brilliant row of golden clouds, and I said, "Oh, Max, look, the sky!"
"Wow, that's beautiful!" he exclaimed.
Then behind us, we heard the same exchange; my mother drew my sister's attention to the sky, and my sister reacted with awe.
Mom stepped ahead to repeat it to us and was a little offended when met by laughter.
Confused, she said, "But, have you seen the sky?"
Beauty is often all around us, if we only choose to notice it. As parents we have a lot of power to direct our children's
attention to the beauty and abundance around us, to make gratitude and thanksgiving a family tradition.
Thanks, Mom!
And so often our children repay the favor, drawing our eyes towards beauty in the midst of our hectic lives, reminding us there is reason for joy even on the saddest days.
-Erika
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There are many ways our UU Faith directs our attention:
- Attention to our Inner Self (Prayer)
- Attention to Needs Beyond Our Own (Helping)
- Attention to the Now (Mindfulness)
- Attention to the Beauty and Abundance Around Us (Gratitude and Thanksgiving)
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To pray is to offer attention to the our inner selves, and it helps us turn our attention to gratitude for the abundance around us. The table grace at the opening and the one below are offered as a way to bring this theme of attention home to our families:
The silver rain, the shining sun,
the fields where scarlet poppies run
and all the ripples of the wheat
are in the breads that we do eat.
So when we sit for every meal
and say our grace we always feel
that we are eating rain and sun
and fields where scarlet poppies run.
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The Real Story of Thanksgiving
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“When we avoid talking about difficult or ugly moments in our history, we are preserving a culture that sees Native Americans as invisible. When we expose our children to only racist and simplistic depictions of Native Americans, we are perpetuating the idea that they don’t matter as a population with diverse cultures and contributions. We are also underestimating our children’s intelligence and capacity for thoughtful compassion.”
Pick out a few details of the real story. Suggest that Thanksgiving could mean a “Family Memory Holiday” rather than an untrue story about Pilgrims and Indians. We take time to pay
attention to the wider gifts around us with gratitude, those gifts from life itself of goodness and grace.
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Please help our 10/27 parade be a success by bringing extra easy to put on costume pieces, so that everyone who wants to dress up can!
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Our Spirit Play I class would like to make mind jars.
Do you have any suitable jars to donate? Ones with smooth sides for easy visibility would probably work best. Small children so pint size or smaller, please.
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The first Sunday of each month we switch things around; instead of starting in the Sanctuary, families are invited to begin their worship together in the Community Room. Children light the chalice, sound the chime, share the readings, and their own joys and sorrows. After chapel parents can join the service in the Sanctuary while children and teachers begin their classes.
Next Chapel: November 3rd
Theme: Attention
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Saturday, November 16!
5-8 pm in the Community Room
Come join UU families and friends for Game Night!
We will have games out to play and you're welcome to bring a favorite, too. Because any gathering is more fun with food, it's also a potluck, so bring a dish to share. Homemade or store-bought is fine; don't stress! And you can skip the plates and utensils-we've got that covered!
Come for a little bit or the whole time; bring all your ages (and your inner child, too) and play an old favorite or learn a new game; our new Ping-pong table is also open and ready for play!
Childcare staff will have kids' games out or just play in the Nursery, whatever's needed to make the night fun for all!
We look forward to having you join us!
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Oct 27:
10:20-11:15
Halloween Parade, cider donut party!
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Nov 3:
10:00- Family Chapel, theme: Attention
10:20 Children's faith Development Classes
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Nov 10:
10:20
-Children's faith Development Classes
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Nov 17:
10:20
-Children's faith Development Classes
11:00-Auction and Soup Lunch Fundraiser
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Nov 24:
10:20
-Multigenerational Thanksgiving Service
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