Summer is upon us and of course gardens are blooming. When I think of religious education in our Unitarian Universalist congregations I don’t usually think of desks, chairs, books and lessons. But I do dream about cultivating the spirits of children and youth in the sense of preparing the site; planting seeds of relationships, ideas, support, and nurturing; and then harvesting friendships, wisdom, compassion, and maturity.

As I recently re-read Transforming Liberal Congregations by Roy Phillips, I noted that William Ellery Channing, the ‘father’ of American Unitarianism also used the metaphor of a garden, saying that Self-culture (or cultivating the spirit, soul or Self) was our purpose in life and was the purpose of religion. He said, “I do not look on a human being as a machine, made to be kept in action by a foreign force, to accomplish an unvarying succession of motions, to do a fixed amount of work, and then to fall to pieces at death, but as a being of free spiritual powers, and I place little value on any culture but that which aims to bring out these, and to give them perpetual impulse and expansion.”

Channing, who also influenced Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalists, rejected Calvinism’s idea that we are born sinful and depraved. Channing said that humans have a sacred potential for growth that is positive and in constant process. Phillips suggests that the role of any congregation is to prepare the soil or cultivate the environment in which such growth is possible. As a gardener I learned just that—feed the soil, not the plant—which I take to mean you plan, you find the right tools, you invite others to help, and you supplement with just the right nutrients. I hope that’s what we can do here at this church.

Late spring and summer are the times when the RE committee and DRE start the important planning (planting?) and dreaming for the coming church year. We decide on curricula to use. We invite people like you to be the gardeners of spirit (RE teachers and youth advisors). We find ways and resources to supplement growth and formation. Please consider that holy service of teaching in RE—consider how nurturing others will influence your growth.

It is as William Ellery Channing so eloquently wrote: “The great end in religious instruction is not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own; Not to make them see with our eyes, but to look inquiringly and steadily with their own; Not to give them a definite amount of knowledge, but to inspire a fervent love of truth; not to form an outward regularity, but to touch inward springs.”

Have fun gardening and see you in church,

Benette Sherman
Interim DRE

Summer Day Camp—Me and The Universe is the theme of the day camp (for K-6^th grades), which will be offered from August 9-13 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the church. Deadline for registration is July 15^th. Contact Benette Sherman for more details at dre@uulosalamos.org.

Fall RE start up—September 12^th

“Ministry…is a quality of presence we bring that is grounded in our liberal faith. Singing and preaching, teaching and leading, caring and justice work, are all ministries. It is what we do when we gather in community.” — Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed from Canadian Unitarian, Fall 2002

What would it feel like and be like if everyone engaged in shared ministry? Many of us who are religious educators have multiple perspectives on ‘church-life’. We’ve been, or are parents. Many of us were members of our Unitarian Universalist congregations before we became religious educators. We’ve served on many church committees. Finally, we become a staff person. Our perspectives and experiences help us see the challenges and the successes of any congregation more clearly.

I’ve seen Directors of Religious Education become very frustrated when they think they have to do everything in a Religious Education program. I’ve seen congregations expect that DREs take responsibility for everything that concerns children and youth. I’ve seen DREs who excel in and enjoy doing everything.

But who profits from any of these scenarios? I suggest no one really does. Shared ministry implies that leaders will still lead and still offer direction and support, but also that the entire congregation makes the magic happen and grows the energy.

This is especially important in children and youth ministries. Children and youth need to have experiences with more than their birth or adoptive family. They profit from gaining perspectives of older people, certainly their RE teachers or youth advisors, but also from others who they don’t see as frequently.

Instead of just the RE committee or the DRE planning and implementing the Special Friends program, or Easter Egg Hunt, or other special events, what would it look like or feel like if we had circles of people of all ages planning and implementing these? What kind of magic would happen? Who would profit? I suggest we all would.

CIRCLES: Community, Inclusive, Enriching Circles of Lifelong Enthusiasm for sharing of Self. Consider a CIRCLE of children, teens, young adults, and adults planning and leading the winter solstice celebration, for example. Think of the rich stories the older members could offer about past winter celebrations, or the novel ideas that might be generated from a teen or young adult. Think of the whimsy and sense of possibilities a child could offer. Picture this CIRCLE getting to know each other, practicing chants or playing drums together and then celebrating their accomplishments together. Multiple perspectives within several generations offer the richness and depth many of us yearn for in our congregations.

Within the next few months, the RE committee has the important job of designing a job description for your new DRE. I hope as they do so, they’ll draw the circle wide to include the concept of shared ministry. The new DRE could collaborate on planning, implementation, energizing, evaluating, and supporting these potential CIRCLES. He or she would share in the joy and work of all ages coming together in the creation of life-affirming events and activities.

Blessings,
Benette Sherman, Interim DRE

May 2: Youth Sunday—I hope many of you will attend services to witness and support the youth as they offer their thoughts and presence.

May 2 and 9: RE Sundays—Stop by the RE table in the solarium to ask questions of RE committee members, state concerns, look at next fall’s curricula, review and update children and youth registration forms, register for summer day camp, or sign up to teach children or youth.

May 16: Last day of RE classes

May 23: Flower Communion—Join others in this lovely Unitarian Universalist tradition during the intergenerational services. Bring flowers to share.

May 23: Bridging of graduating high school seniors—Honor and celebrate the graduating seniors who have been an important part of the congregation.

May 23: RE teacher recognition—It’s time to recognize the devotion and energy of the RE teachers who have given so much time to the children and youth this year.

May 30: Switch to one service—Childcare for children (nursery through 6^th grade) offered all through the summer months.

April—a delightful month of emergence—new buds on trees, flowers peeking through snow, and longer days of freshness and light. I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church and every Easter I had to wear a pretty, but stiff and scratchy new Easter dress to church where there was clearly a sense of celebration and gratitude for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The music was majestic and the hymns spoke of new life and victory over death. Well…years have passed, and I left that religious model behind. But, I have tried to refashion the story of Christ’s resurrection into a broader one that includes all life being reborn in the spring. I can even stretch this story to include the work of those involved in religious education—the ideas that are percolating, the wishes that have been expressed, and the strong desire to resurrect our best intentions.

In many of our religious education programs April is RE month during which the work of the RE committee is highlighted, where the coming church year’s program is unveiled, where teachers offer testimonials about their positive experiences with the children or youth. The RE committee and I couldn’t quite have our emerging ideas ready for April, but we will highlight the RE program for the first three Sundays in May.

On these Sundays at the RE table by the front entry, the coming year’s curricula will be available to examine, committee members and I will be available to answer questions or hear concerns, people can find out what it means to be a RE teacher/youth advisor, and parents can update their childrens’ registrations. We hope many of you will stop by the table and find out what will emerge for the next year’s RE program.

See You on Sundays,
Benette Sherman
Interim DRE

DATES TO REMEMBER
April 3: Easter egg dyeing from 10 a.m.-noon in the Hearth Room
April 4: Easter Intergenerational Service (children in the service for the full hour)
April 17: Youth Ministry Workshop from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Robinson Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend, but it’s especially important that parents of 5^th-12^th graders attend this workshop to learn more about youth ministry in general and to make comments, ask questions, and add to the vision and purpose of youth ministry at the church. Please mark the date in your calendars and let me know if you require childcare.

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”—Anonymous

More than a month has passed since the visioning weekend. I hope many of you had an opportunity to participate in what I construed as very energetic and productive process. Even though I supervised the childcare and helped in the kitchen for most of the day, I made sure I heard snippets of conversation and could feel the warmth and energy that was created.

The unveiling of the mission and vision statements and the affirmation of both signifies a commitment to the future of the congregation and its growth (perhaps in numbers but certainly in depth of purpose and intentionality). The goals that were generated by participants at the visioning day clearly indicated support for Lifespan Faith Development (LFD) or Lifespan Religious Education as it’s also called. Additionally, many ‘dots’ voted for Young Adult RE, Adult RE, and Youth Retention—all topics within LFD.

On March 21 during the forum time, 10-11 a.m., I hope to offer more definition and clarification about Lifespan Faith Development, a relatively new concept and approach within Unitarian Universalism for what we have long called Religious Education/Exploration. This is an important topic for the RE committee as it deliberates how LFD might be structured and implemented.

Deciding on this change, not just in a name, but also in philosophy will affect the job description for the settled Director of RE. It would definitely affect the committee’s work. Vision often implies and sometimes pushes for change. Lifespan Faith Development is more than children’s or youth RE, it’s more than adult RE—it’s a change in how one thinks of ‘church’ and what is expected from the experience of ‘church’.

I hope to see many of you at the forum and welcome your thoughts, concerns, or questions.

See You on Sundays,

Benette Sherman
Interim DRE

RE NEWS
March 14: No RE classes, but childcare offered
March 21: Regular RE classes
March 28: No RE classes, but childcare activities are offered for preschool-6^th grades
April 4: Easter Intergenerational Service (children in the service for the full hour)