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Katy's blog

MARCH 2012

Hello Dear Families,

The month of March is upon us… can it really be that more than half the church year has passed? So much has happened in the last six months – I want to take some time to re-cap the highlights from this year so far:
     The RE program has been visited by a dozen visitors or more, representing different faith traditions: Judaism, Islam, Sufism, Paganism, Confucianism, as well as story tellers, musicians, and dancers who have come and shared their knowledge and talents with our children on Sunday mornings.
     Our new 10:00 service offers an opportunity for families to worship together – it is still an experiment, but is proving to be a worthy one! Children, young adults, and older adults who are drawn to a more alternative perspective are all encouraged to attend.
     The Middle School OWL program got up and running in late October. Each week, a team of dedicated facilitators meets with 15 middle school youth to discuss and learn about human growth, development, and sexuality in a holistic and realistic way.
     The High School OWL program is a vibrant group, meets bi-monthly, and is organized and run in cooperation and collaboration with three other area churches. This interfaith program is ministering to more than 30 youth!
     The RE Committee presented it’s first “Parent’s Night Out,” a night for children to have a safe and fun place to play together so that parents get the chance to go out and play together too! The next Parent’s Night Out is scheduled for June 1st to align with Eugene’s First Friday Art Walk. Get it on your calendar and take advantage of this new opportunity.
     Youth have attended two CONs this year, and are preparing to take part in a third. These youth-led events offer our teens an opportunity to connect to other UUs in the area, build community, explore their spirituality, grow in leadership and self-direction, and develop bonds that last a lifetime.
     Our dedicated teams of RE teachers have explored a variety of religious and spiritual traditions, created beautiful crafts like making paper, stitch-crafts, painting and collage. Take a few moments to visit the rooms down in RE, and you will see classrooms filled with wonderful artwork and crafts that help to make each space unique and interesting.
     Youth are in the process of planning two days of lessons that they will teach to our younger children – they are building up to a celebration of the Indian holiday Holi, planned for the second Sunday in March!
     Children from the RE program are acting as chalice lighters each Sunday morning at the 10:00 service. Worship associates introduce the child, offering congregants an opportunity to get to know our kids in a more meaningful way. If your child is interested in participating, please contact me to schedule the day.
     My new blog is up, and will soon be running, on the website!

As you can see, RE is a busy, vibrant, and active place to be. I realized this month that it was important to me to pause and look back at what has been accomplished so far. While I often feel that there could be more: bigger, better, and brighter, there is truly so much that has already been accomplished this year in RE. I think the growing edge for children’s RE might be about increasing the integration of the program with the other wonderful offerings and programs that are happening at UUCE – what do you think?

I look forward to the coming months and am excited to see what else we are able to create together.
Go well and safely, Katy

 

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February 24th 2012

Hello Dear Families,

The month of March is upon us… can it really be that more than half the church year has passed? So much has happened in the last six months – I want to take some time to re-cap the highlights from this year so far:
     The RE program has been visited by a dozen visitors or more, representing different faith traditions: Judaism, Islam, Sufism, Paganism, Confucianism, as well as story tellers, musicians, and dancers who have come and shared their knowledge and talents with our children on Sunday mornings.
     Our new 10:00 service offers an opportunity for families to worship together – it is still an experiment, but is proving to be a worthy one! Children, young adults, and older adults who are drawn to a more alternative perspective are all encouraged to attend.
     The Middle School OWL program got up and running in late October. Each week, a team of dedicated facilitators meets with 15 middle school youth to discuss and learn about human growth, development, and sexuality in a holistic and realistic way.
     The High School OWL program is a vibrant group, meets bi-monthly, and is organized and run in cooperation and collaboration with three other area churches. This interfaith program is ministering to more than 30 youth!
     The RE Committee presented it’s first “Parent’s Night Out,” a night for children to have a safe and fun place to play together so that parents get the chance to go out and play together too! The next Parent’s Night Out is scheduled for June 1st to align with Eugene’s First Friday Art Walk. Get it on your calendar and take advantage of this new opportunity.
     Youth have attended two CONs this year, and are preparing to take part in a third. These youth-led events offer our teens an opportunity to connect to other UUs in the area, build community, explore their spirituality, grow in leadership and self-direction, and develop bonds that last a lifetime.
     Our dedicated teams of RE teachers have explored a variety of religious and spiritual traditions, created beautiful crafts like making paper, stitch-crafts, painting and collage. Take a few moments to visit the rooms down in RE, and you will see classrooms filled with wonderful artwork and crafts that help to make each space unique and interesting.
     Youth are in the process of planning two days of lessons that they will teach to our younger children – they are building up to a celebration of the Indian holiday Holi, planned for the second Sunday in March!
     Children from the RE program are acting as chalice lighters each Sunday morning at the 10:00 service. Worship associates introduce the child, offering congregants an opportunity to get to know our kids in a more meaningful way. If your child is interested in participating, please contact me to schedule the day.

     My new blog is up, and will soon be running, on the website!

 

As you can see, RE is a busy, vibrant, and active place to be. I realized this month that it was important to me to pause and look back at what has been accomplished so far. While I often feel that there could be more: bigger, better, and brighter, there is truly so much that has already been accomplished this year in RE. I think the growing edge for children’s RE might be about increasing the integration of the program with the other wonderful offerings and programs that are happening at UUCE – what do you think?

 

I look forward to the coming months and am excited to see what else we are able to create together.
Go well and safely, Katy

 

Can it really already be the New Year? The time truly has flown. And in the short time I‘ve been with the RE program at UUCE, I‘ve learned some things I think are worth sharing. So, without further ado...the RE Top Ten: 

10. Learn to use your day planner efficiently. It is worth the time it takes to re-write entries into the larger day-by-day squares provided. Your time is precious, and you will be asked to be in at least three different places at once, so time management is of the essence! And calendar everything, even recurring events. 

9. Time in the RE classrooms (maybe even outside them) is warped and bent – a full hour can feel like only five minutes. So as the children are leaving to go to the playground, or being picked up by parents, look back at the time and the things you didn‘t get to and laugh, knowing that it‘s just a time warp and there‘s nothing you can do about that! 

8. Create art with great, quality, interesting materials – hand and eye appeal means high quality products our kids can be proud of. 

7. Don‘t re-invent the wheel. There are lots of resources available out there – it‘s about finding them early and tweaking what already exists. 

6. Get plenty of rest, eat healthful foods, get lots of exercise, and drink water. It serves no one to run yourself into the ground, even if you‘re having fun while doing it. Long-term commitment means having long-term health. 

5. Take care of personal matters – pay bills on time, return those overdue library books, take the dog, kid, self in for regular check-ups. Even if it‘s inconvenient. 

4. Communication is key. And knowing who to communicate with is even more key. 

3. There is never a slow time in the world of RE. The next big project is just around the corner. So even if you don‘t know what‘s next up, waiting for you, anticipate that it is! 

2. Always accept help when it is offered, even when you don‘t know what you will need the help for. There is always, ALWAYS, something else to be done. (See #3.) 

And the number one lesson is… 

1. Celebrate! Often! Revel in the successes, learn from the failures, and be sure to celebrate them all! 

I‘m sure there will be more learning as time goes by – that is practically guaranteed in this life. And as I look back over this list, I realize that what I‘ve really created is a wonderful list of New Year‘s resolutions. So, I resolve to take these lessons into the New Year here at UUCE and apply them wherever possible! The coming year is shaping up to be filled with many new lessons for all of us. So, if you look over this list, and see some things you‘d like to adopt as your own, go ahead and take ‗em – they‘re free! 

Happy New Year, Katy 
 

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November 8, 2011 

This is my first attempt at populating my newly formed blog, and I'm not sure what to call it.

Children's Corner?

Family Fun Pages?

Re: RE ?

I would love your input!! At this time, Re: RE (said "Ree-ree") is my personal favorite, so we'll go with that for now.

Until next time, go well and safely,

Katy