Religious Education nUUs
May/June 2013
Jeffrey Melcher, UUCM Director of Religious Education
Summer schedule usually starts after the year-end potluck, which is June 9th this year.
But then on Sunday, June 16th, is an intergenerational service. Irene is talking about some paper folding activities that bring us into collaborative visioning of world changing action.
On June 23rd I will be in the pulpit. sharing visions of Religious Education: The 1, 3, and 5-year vision for children, youth, and families.
May 26: Intergenerational service “ Cosmic Walk” with Irene Sefanko. Kids will have action parts.
June 2: YRUU Bridging Ceremony. All new YRUUers (post-COA) should attend if possible.
June 9: RE teacher and Volunteer recognition Sunday. All Church Potluck. Yummm.
June 16th: Creative intergenerational service led by Irene Stefanko.
Program Notes
- I work through the end of June, then have a summer break. I will be back to work August 19th.
- RE classes move into parent co-op mode June 23rd. (You should talk to each other about this.)
- Some YRUU programing will continue this Summer. Sue Gauthier-Pin will help coordinate.
- No Nursery Care Provider will be available after June 30th. The nursery will be open for parents to sit in with their kids and play, read books, art and snack.
Nursery/Pre-K/K: Due to growing numbers of infants showing up, we are now attempting to schedule two assistants per week. Expect a signup sheet for parent rotations next year.
Grades 1-3: Parent co-op style beginning June 23rd.
Coming of Age: Three volunteers led this year-long process with eleven youth flying up to YRUU.
YRUU: Intern Minister, Irene Stefanko, has been the Lead YRUU Advisor this year. 4-5 adult volunteers and guest speakers also helped with the group. The search for a replacement took more than a year. The new Lead YRUU Advisor, Sue Gauthier-Pin was hired on May 1, 2013. Thanks to the RE Enhancement Fund, Sue will be working through the summer with a 17 member YRUU contingent. We are accepting teens into the group from non-member families. Do you have a friend you can invite?
OWL 5-6: Another successful Our Whole Lives program with 5 kids. One of our goals for next year is to organize OWL classes for three levels: K-2, 4-5 grade, and 8-9 grade. These classes will be open to friends and neighbors. Do you know someone who might want their kids in this spectacular program?
Retreat: The Nursery Care Provider was hired to run Pre-K – 6th programing. We had the new Lead YRUU Advisor on-site, brought high numbers of youth 7-12 grade to the retreat, and helped run an overall successful youth and children's program. See selected photos on the UUCM Facebook page.
Safe Congregations: UUCM helped host a Safe Congregations workshop on-site May 18th. Monique and I attended. (Ask us about it.) We are working toward re-screening all teachers and volunteers by the end of this church year. Best practices recommends this be done every three years.
Curriculum Mapping: A process begun with the OWL classes, we will map and recommend classes that will round out our children's religious education. The goal is to strive for consistency and basic competency in a liberal religious education Pre-K through 12th grade. Thomas Lundbaek, who just got his teaching credential (yeah Thomas), will be helping me with this project. Are you interested in long-term planning and implementation?
Some RE Committee Goals Set Out for '13-'14:
1. To host a Spaghetti Feed Fundraiser and Talent Show October 2013.
2. To organize three OWL groups: K-2, 4-5 grade, and 8-9 grade.
3. To help design UU Revival 2014 for greater children and youth inclusion in the main event.
4. To research and revise curriculum map for pre-K through 12th grade.
5. To continue to attract new families to join UUCM.
6. To develop more ways for our children/youth to provide service to the wider world.
7. To work to build intergenerational connections within our congregation.
8. To strengthen the RE Committee and RE culture of cooperative community and family support.
9. To offer “Neighboring Faiths” curricula to the 5-7 graders.
10. To host a Wine & Cheese clean-out of the Wright Room closet.
The RE Committee - We want to thank Nani Ranken for another stint on the RE committee. Thank you Nani for your institutional memory, cheerful spirit, and ready helping hands.
Current Chair: Monique Webster
2012-2013 Members: Susan Mathews, Ann Gronvold, Nani Ranken (retiring), Mikey Songster, Thomas Lundbaek (new), and ex-officio, DRE Jeffrey Melcher.
Board Liaison: Mikey Songster
