Greetings Everyone,
I hope you all had wonderful holiday times with friends and family! As the old year wraps up at BUF, my attention is turning to the New Year. We have some curriculum changes and activities coming up that I want you to be aware of.
Read on to learn more about:
- Spirit Play: Continue with Principles and Sources
- Primary Elementary Curriculum: Love Will Guide Us
- Intermediate Curriculum: Toolbox of Faith
- Middle School Update
- Youth Group Update
- Parent Potluck and Chalice Circle/Kid Movie Night, 1/4
- Children's Chapel, 1/6
- Coming of Age Workshop, 1/13
- Social Action Sunday, 1/20
- Open House for Parents and Children in Grades K-5, 1/23
- Coming of Age Social Action Project, 1/27
Spirit Play: Continue with Principles and Sources
The Spirit Play class serves children in grades K-1. The class will continue with their structure of stories or lessons followed by work time and a feast. In the fall all of our stories supported our 7 principles (promises, as we call them in Spirit Play). This winter we will continue to share some principle stories but also add in some UU History and appreciation of our sources. For more information about this curriculum visit: http://www.spiritplay.
Primary Elementary Curriculum: Love Will Guide Us
Children in grades 2-3 will meet separately in room 2 and will be using a curriculum called Love Will Guide Us. The curriculum explores our sources in the context of constellations in the night sky. Love is our North Star! For more information about this curriculum visit: http://www.uua.org/re/
Intermediate Curriculum: Toolbox of Faith
Children in grades 4-5 will meet separately in room 3 and will be using a curriculum called Toolbox of Faith. This curriculum looks at qualities and skills that keep us going during difficult times and puts them in the context of "tools" for living. The hammer represents power, the Compass represents integrity, the level represents atonement.... For more information about this curriculum visit: http://www.uua.org/re/
Middle School Update
The middle school class is for youth in grades 6-8 and meets right at 10:30 a.m. in the loft accessed in the back of the sanctuary. They have been (and will continue) working with a curriculum called Riddle and Mystery. This curriculum helps them address the big religious questions that we all must face-- where did we come from, why are we here, what happens when we die, what makes a meaningful life.... They will also be actively supporting the youth in their midst who are participating in Coming of Age by attending different faith communities and learning about various religious traditions. For more information about the formal curriculum visit: http://www.uua.org/re/
YRUU: High School Youth Group Update
Our youth group will be meeting at BUF every Sunday in January from 2:00 to 5:30 p.m. to watch one movie and play games. Meetings take place in the loft unless otherwise specified. Youth who bring snacks will have a special place in heaven reserved just for them... well, maybe! Contact Alicia Alford at alialf4@gmail.com or Michael Light at Michael.light@yahoo.com for more information about our youth group!
Parent Potluck and Chalice Circle/Kid Movie Night
Friday, January 4, 5:00 dinner-- 5:30 formal gathering
"Parent's" Chalice Circle/Discussion Gathering Potluck. All interested BuF families, including those most new to BUF, are encouraged to attend.
Please join us for a Parent's Chalice Circle that will be forming in February. This chalice circle has been open to all interested folks during the fall. We will meet once more as an open chalice circle in January and then the group will become a formalized chalice circle of a closed group of membefs who will commit to meeting monthly every month with the same group the first Friday evening if the month at 5:30.
Concurrently, we will hold a less formally facilitated spiritual parenting discussion group that will be open to all who wish to attend on a month to month basis, that will not require the commitment to attend every month. This group will always be open an open group and welcome all families, include our newest BUF guests. We will meet at the same time, 5:30 first Friday of each month.
For both groups, there will be a 5:00pm taco bar dinner option preceding these gatherings. This will allow us to accommodate most dietary restrictions out there. Those who can commit to being there by a few minutes before 5:00 pm that month can sign up to bring an ingredient. We will alternate each month on an 'as able' basis.
Childcare will be provided for those who RSVP to the church office by 3 days prior or on an as space available basis. Your RSVP helps us to ensure that we enough care providers present so that we need not turn anyone away.
The children will share in the meal, then gather for an activity or a G-rated Movie that is consistent with UU spiritual parenting values. (We welcome your film suggestions as even some G-rated movies are not quite appropriate for the very young).
Please direct any questions to Roz Reynalds, mama@mamafoo.net or Kathleen Malnor, malnorfamily@gmail.com
We hope to see you there,
-Kathleen and Roz "
Children's Chapel
Sunday, January 6, 10:30, Flex Room
Children and Youth in grades K-8 begin in the Flex Room for a special time of worship. This Sunday our theme will be New Year's Resolutions! We always take a collection that we save until the spring and vote on a charitable recipient. Last year we gave our offerings to the Bellingham Food Bank. Please send your son/daughter with a bit of money to add to the collection. It is especially meaningful if the money is theirs-- or they find it between couch cushions, or you save change or penny's together for this purpose....
Coming of Age Workshop
Sunday, January 13, 6:30-8:00
This workshop is for participating youth and mentors. The theme is Spirituality: Rituals and Worship. Youth will learn about various spiritual practices, rituals and the essential elements of creating a worship service. Later in the spring the CoA youth will lead the Children's Worship service using the tools they learn in this workshop.
Social Action Sunday
Sunday, January 20, 10:30 a.m.
After beginning in the sanctuary, children in grades K-5 will learn about justice and be invited to work on a service project. Our theme will be inspired by the celebration of Martin Luthor King Day.
Open House for Parents and Children in Grades K-5
Wednesday, January 23, 7:00 p.m.
Parents, children, and religious education teachers are invited to come see what we are up to on Sunday mornings. We will just be beginning our new curriculum but we will have samples of lesson plans and some some projects to look at. This will be a great time for parents to talk with teachers about how things are going....
Coming of Age Social Action Project
Sunday, January 27, 11:45, BUF Kitchen
Coming of Age youth are encouraged to participate in several social action/service projects. This week we will bake cookies for coffee hour! Baking supplies will be provided!
That's it for now-- Happy New Year Everybody!!!
