Writer & Photographer
What: First Unitarian Church, Children and Youth Enrichment Program
Why: “To exemplify liberal religion in Central Florida by empowering and engaging our youth as a foundational part of their lifelong spiritual growth.” As such, 1U is committed to providing continuity of enrichment despite the changes and challenges brought on by COVID. To do this, at the height of the pandemic, I helped them pivot to online remote learning. New technology and personalized support were combined to keep the congregation's children learning, while also maintaining inclusive pastoral care.
Category: Print, Online
1U RE Lesson kits
First Unitarian Church of Orlando
Welcome to October's Religious Enrichment lessons, where we will explore Cultivating Relationships.
This year our monthly themes invite us to think about not only what values our UU faith calls us to, but also the key actions and skills that our times require of us. The pandemic environment has exposed the need for humanity to change and adjust in so many ways. So each month we will explore and develop a different skill, so that we don’t just return to normal but actually bring about a “new normal.”
This month, we explore the ways in which our times call us to Cultivate Relationships. For our littlest ones, this translates into Making Friends. Just as we grow a garden, we need a whole basket of tools and skills to cultivate and deepen the key relationships around us. We are so excited about exploring this together!
You'll find everything you need to begin this month of exploration either included in this month's package, or leftover from September. A full supply list is included on the next page. We're also including a magnet, listing the Seven Promises of Unitarian Universalism.
And, since it's Halloween this month, it wouldn't be complete without a few jack o'lantern tealights to light the festivities!
As always, we are so grateful you are part of our 1U Family! If you have any questions, please email Emma at RECoordinator@OrlandoUU.org
RE LESSON: The Skill of Rebuilding October 17th 2021
Book: The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
Activity: Popsicle bridge
As UUs, our religion places relationships and our promises to each other at the center of our faith. Since we’re human we sometimes break those promises and hurt those relationships. So apology and repair is necessary and sacred work. What’s one of the ways our faith guides us into cultivating relationships and having friendships? It tells us to “Get comfortable with the work of apology and repair!”
Sometimes we fight with our friends. When we do this, we build fences between us. It happens in families, between friends, at church and between people who don’t know each other. It’s part of being human to make mistakes and break promises whether we mean to or not.
When it happens, we need to dig deep and say I’m sorry so we can still be friends. We need to learn from our mistakes and try to do better. As we apologize and more importantly, when we show others we’ve learned from our mistakes, those fences we made begin to come down, and instead of a wall separating us, it becomes a bridge connecting us.
How have you hurt a friend? When was the last time you had a fight with a friend or family member? How did it make you feel? Did you say sorry? Did they say sorry? Did you feel better after you apologized?
When you next have a fight (and everyone does, it's part of being human) think of some ways to make it OK - really listen to the other person (The Skill of Listening) and think of some ways to say sorry and make it right (The Skill of Rebuilding) and then promise to try and do better next time (The Skill of Promising). You've got this!
Activity - Popsicle Bridge
We're going to make a bridge! In your RE package you will find popsicle sticks, glue, Play-Doh and a Matchbox car.
Let's see if we can construct a bridge that is sturdy enough for a Matchbox car to drive on. Can you make the bridge strong with just popsicle sticks and Play-Doh? Or will some areas of the bridge need extra glue to make it stable? Which of your friendships need extra attention (glue) to keep them strong?
Have fun with this - every bridge will be different and unique, but in general, your bridge will require a stable base and a top piece to keep the car from falling off. Be careful how you put your bridge together, or it might all come tumbling down!
After constructing the bridge, test your design by driving the car over the bridge. Was the bridge tall enough? Stable enough? Big enough? How could you improve the design for next time? What changes would make the bridge even better, even stronger?
Example of weekly RE Lesson
During Covid, Religious Education kits were developed, created and distributed to the congregation's children.
The program was run from my studio, where I wrote and published RE newsletters, RE articles and activity books.
The kits were assembled and then distributed on a monthly basis.
