RE Weekly Newsletter:

May : Thresholds
FIND US ON INSTAGRAM
Follow us here! .
PARENT RESOURCES
Learn more about Soul Matters curriculum guides .
JOIN OUR RE FACEBOOK PAGE
Here .
Yet we do not wish to keep others out. This shelter is open to all who wish to be part of what it is we do here.
Our windows and doors are open.
The path to our house is clear and welcoming. All who follow the yellow brick road to our doors can come in. Our missiology (mission or purpose) is to make space for everyone who chooses to cross this threshold. We make space for multiple expressions of the divine.
We allow for multiple cultures and people to coexist. We want to make room for those who have made different choices in the past. We offer ministry and support for all. This is still not an easy thing to do. Can we welcome blindly those who would cause us harm? Those who would enter only to tear down our walls? Wouldn’t that defeat the safety and shelter of our house?

Theme Message : The thresholds in our UU house are meant to invite others in and for us to go out.

They are welcoming thresholds.
Please complete this survey. It takes all of 1 minute. Survey will close on May 20th.
Do you mind your child receiving an Art box from RE?
Yes
No (please complete survey below)
WELCOME
UU Friend

We are coming into the final stretch of the school year. I know it has been a challenge so I commend you parents for learning the new way the kids do math to help them out!

“We travel together on a search for meaning, having come from many different places and bringing many different gifts to share for the journey. Bless those who bring the gift of courage. Bless those who bring the gift of love. Bless those who bring the gift of curiosity…. "




"People of Thresholds .”


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!
Religious Education Virtual Classes K-12th
Ms. Trish's K - 3rd Grade Class

Session Goal:   Reflecting on the many ways we transition through our life.
Wonder Box : a tape measure, to remind us of our growth as time passes.

Meditation : Go Boldly By Jean M. Olson. Follow up to the Meditation: take a minute to reflect.

Story : “The Day You Begin.” By Jacqueline Woodson 

Theme Connection : Entering a guarded threshold is hard yet the day you find the courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone, is the day the door might become a welcoming door.

Growing Up in the Congregation : Note transitions of growing up : Coming of Age, Bridging into Adulthood, Weddings, Child Dedications, Memorials

External links for story and previous videos:   
   Story: “The Day You Begin,” by Jacqueline Woodson
Activities : Measuring How Tall They Are: Create a measuring wall to show how tall each child is, a taped strip of paper on the wall. Mark each child’s height with their name (and age, optional.) Add decor on the edges of pictures of plants and flowers.
Session Goal: Reflecting on the many ways we transition through our life.

Meditation: Our meditation is from some of the words which are part of the Door of Growing Up into adulthood. We use them for the Bridging Ceremony for the Seniors who are graduating high school. This Door of Growing Up is a time when the congregation speaks its deepest hopes for those youth. 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.
Ms. Jeanay's 4th - 12th Grade Class
Story: Old Joe & the Carpenter: An Appalachian Tale of Building Bridges

Discussion: How a doorway can seem like a bridge, connecting one side to the other.

Theme Connection: They wanted a fence, a protective threshold, but she built a bridge, creating a welcoming threshold. What are the architectures of our own relationships with fences and bridges?
Calendar Connections
"It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union."

-Susan B. Anthony

Having invited all  women’s suffrage  societies in the  United States  to become  auxiliaries  of the NWSA, the group increased its ranks considerably by the time it reunited with its sister organization, the  American Woman Suffrage Association , in 1890. Read More....
National Women’s Suffrage Association founded - May 15, 1869
National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), American organization, founded in 1869 and based in  New York City , that was created by  Susan B. Anthony  and  Elizabeth Cady Stanton  when the  women’s rights movement  split into two groups over the issue of suffrage for  African American  men. Considered the more radical of the two, the NWSA gave priority to securing women the right to vote, and the group often stirred public debate through its reform proposals on a number of social issues, including marriage and divorce.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, case - May 17, 1954

The  U.S. Supreme Court  ruled unanimously (9–0) that  racial segregation  in public schools violated the  Fourteenth Amendment  to the  Constitution , which prohibits the states from denying  equal protection  of the laws to any person within their jurisdictions. The decision declared that separate educational facilities for white and  African American  students were inherently unequal. It thus rejected as inapplicable to public  education  the “separate but equal” doctrine, advanced by the Supreme Court in  Plessy v. Ferguson  (1896), according to which laws  mandating  separate public facilities for whites and African Americans do not violate the equal-protection clause if the facilities are approximately equal.
U.S. Supreme Court: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
A mother explaining to her daughter the significance of the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka; photographed on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., November 19, 1954.
New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-127042)
Although the 1954 decision strictly applied only to public schools, it implied that segregation was not permissible in other public facilities. Considered one of the most important rulings in the court’s history, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka helped to inspire the American  civil rights movement  of the late 1950s and 1960s.
Malcolm X w as an African American civil rights leader prominent in the Nation of Islam. Until his 1965 assassination, he vigorously supported black nationalism.

Pictured Muhammad Ali & Malcolm X
Malcolm X's Birthday
May 19th, 1925
Malcolm X was a minister, human rights activist and prominent black nationalist leader who served as a spokesman for the Nation of Islam during the 1950s and 1960s. Due largely to his efforts, the Nation of Islam grew from a mere 400 members at the time he was released from prison in 1952 to 40,000 members by 1960. 

The fiery civil rights leader broke with the Nation of Islam shortly before his assassination in 1965 at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan, where he had been preparing to deliver a speech.


“May you be brave enough to expose your aching woundedness and reveal your vulnerability…”
Healthy Resources
Marcile Powers and Keevy McAlavy run Kenwood Organic Produce. What began as a brick and mortar has become a booming mobile business, offering local produce directly delivered to your door. Offering seasonally appropriate locally grown produce and a variety of organic produce, Kenwood Organic Produce is a great alternative for those looking for less potential contact. You can order one time boxes, Monthly and weekly subscription boxes are available. 

Eat healthy and getting regular exercise. But if burpees aren’t your thing, don’t worry. As long as you’re getting 30 minutes of movement a day you’re set — dance parties in your kitchen totally count. Whatever brings you joy, make time to practice it regularly. It’s even better if you can turn your self-care into a long-term project — like finishing a jigsaw puzzle or reading an entire series of books.

 Doing a little bit each day is a great way to stay healthy. Dr. Feliciano recommends doing something called “chunking.” It means focusing on a bite-sized piece of a challenge that feels manageable.

“Whether that be 5 minutes, a day, or a week at a time—find what feels doable for you,” she says.

Please review this website for your local food locations for Pinellas County Schools. Schools are providing food pick ups until the end of the school year May 29th! Click on the flyers below to expand.
"I have used this program with my daughter and it has helped with her behavior tremendously. I strongly recommend this program for any parents that simply need a hand with better understanding their children." - Jeanay
Community Health Centers of Pinellas will be offering free COVID-19 testing at the Lealman Exchange, 5175 45th Street N, St. Petersburg, FL 33714 on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. starting this Monday, May 11th. Everyone will be tested regardless of exhibiting symptoms. They will take drive-ups and walk-ins, but they highly recommend scheduling an appointment. For more information please call 727-824-8181 and select option "0".
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 Friday'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