Family Ministry at Saltwater

The Teachings of the Buddha and the Joy of Being Alive

2012-01-31T14:53:00.000-08:00

Many English speakers are familiar with the Sanskrit word karma. It is often used to encapsulate the idea that "what goes around comes around." This explanation does not contain the entire story. A more complete understanding of the word is brought to life in the stories known as the Jataka Tales, which tell of the 550 lives of the Buddha before he reached Enlightenment. Each story contains a life lesson, often told with humor, and a reminder that one's karma is bound to one's actions. While karma is sometimes used interchangeably with "fate" and "destiny," it is not quite the same. If someone has led a life filled with kindness and generosity, they will have earned good karma, and be rewarded in their next life with comfort or ease. If they have been miserly, cruel, or greedy, they may find it will take several lives of hardship and many lifetimes of kindness and generosity to pay back the debt to their karma.

(From Picture Book World Religions, by Katie Tweedie Erslev)

As part of our study of Buddhism, Treasure Hunters and Explorers learned two Jataka tales this week. The Treasure Hunters heard the story of the Brave Little Parrot. A small parrot worked tirelessly to put out a fire that was harming the homes and lives of others. The king of the gods is inspired by his valiant efforts and sends the rain. We may underestimate our ability to help others, but our efforts may inspire greater forces to come to our aid.

Treasure Hunters show off their brave little parrots

Buddhism considers all of life to be evolving toward higher consciousness. Buddhism considers non-human life to be Divine just as is human life. All of life is seen to be one. According to this conviction, to harm any living thing is to do injury to the One Eternal and Divine Life. In the Japanese culture, association with animals is seen to be a very important experience for children because it teaches them the joy of protecting innocence. Imagine what would happen if all the children of the world found happiness in graciously protecting life, preserving freedom, and delighting in the happiness of others. Children who are raised with such a loving and protective attitude towards animals are seldom cruel to them as adults, and thoughtfulness and kindness spill over into their interaction with all of life.

(From Picture Book World Religions, by Katie Tweedie Erslev)

The Explorers Class heard the story of the Banyan Deer. The Buddha, during a lifetime as king of a herd of deer, sacrifices himself to save the life of a pregnant doe. His selflessness inspires the king of the humans, who have been hunting the deer, to call off the hunt, not only for the deer, but for all living creatures.

Explorers with their model of the stockade in the story of the Banyan Deer.

As Unitarian Universalists, we believe in protecting and honoring life, and doing what we can to help to heal the world. We also believe in celebrating together, to have fun and to share the happiness of being alive.

Today the Discovery Class danced together to different kinds of music. It was a very joyful experience!

The Discovery Class dances to share the joy and happiness of being alive

A Busy Morning in the Lighthouse

2012-01-24T11:23:00.000-08:00

It was a busy morning in the Lighthouse! Here are some of the things we did in our classes today.

The Treasure Hunters heard the story of Tenzin's Deer from the Buddhist tradition and then enjoyed acting it out.

The hunter attacks the deer.

Tenzin discovers the wounded deer.

Tenzin learns the most important lesson.

In the nursery, babies and toddlers enjoyed reading stories, playing with trains, and in the play kitchen.

Reading books in the nursery.

Good friends.

The Explorers class learned about the 4 Noble Truths of Buddhism and the Wheel of the Law.

The wheel of the law.

Drawing images of suffering.

Talking about the four noble truths and the wheel of the law.

The Discovery Class had a lesson on the importance of asking questions, and enjoyed experimenting with building designs.

Making designs with marshmallows and toothpicks.

We wondered what we could build with these things.

The Story Time and Spirit Play classes met together today. Here are some of the things we chose to work on during our worktime.

Building a temple.

The story of how solstice began.

Collaging and painting.

Exploring colors.

In addition, the Youth Group made plans for upcoming field trips, the grades 4-6 OWL class had their first meeting with parents and children, the 7-9 OWL class also had a session, and volunteers met together to learn more about active ideas for the classrooms. It was a very busy day!

Our Dreams

2012-01-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

For our village class this Sunday, we heard the story of two heroes: Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and their efforts to make a more peaceful, fair, free world.

After the story, we talked about our own dreams--dreams for others, dreams for the future, dreams for ourselves.

My dream is a monster hiding in a cave.--Jack

A monster snowflake that hurts the meany heads.--Max

My dream is to have a pony when we get a farm.--Lexi

My dream is that everyone will be nice to everyone else.--Sasha

Last night I dreamed I was in outer space and a comet went past. Out of nowhere a star appeared in front of me, and all these little stars around it.--Izzy

A big snowflake falling on the ground and the sun came up and melted it away.--Aidan

My dream is that police officers will stop killing innocent people. No more guns!--Crissy

My dream is that people will use garbage instead of gas to power their cars.--Jonathan

My dream is people playing together.--Luis

Lighthouse Chapel Celebrates Chinese New Year

2012-01-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

We light candles of Joy and Sorrow during our worship together, as a way of sharing what is important to each of us in our lives.

At our Lighthouse Chapel for children and youth this past Sunday, we met with our teams to work on projects. Then we joined together for worship. We learned about the Chinese New Year, and enjoyed our own dragon parade!

The Loving Hearts team prepared birthday cards for children and youth with winter birthdays.

The Helping Hands team made a special announcement about Shelter Box, which we will support with the collection taking during Lighthouse Chapel .

Please support Shelter Box.

The Open Minds Team created a dragon for the message of the morning.

Our dragon!

Holiday crafts

2011-12-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

Our youngest children and our youth enjoyed making holiday crafts last Sunday. The Discovery Class (preschool and kindergarten at 9:30) made festive candle holders and the youth group (grades 6-12 at 9:30) made holiday greeting cards using rubber stamps.

December 11

2011-12-12T12:55:00.000-08:00

The Treasure Hunters class make clothespin dolls to act out the story of Savitri.

The Discovery Class shows off their creations during a lesson on using our senses.

The Explorers class cooked "Something Wonderfuls" and learned about Hindu family worship.

The Wise People and the Elephant

2011-11-13T16:06:00.001-08:00

The Storytime class hears the story of the Wise Men and the Elephant.

Today’s story comes from our third source, lessons from theworld’s religions. We learn from manycultures. This story is from thereligion of Buddhism.

Long, long ago there was a great teacher who toldstories. The name we give this teacheris Buddha. It means enlightenedone. We call him that because hisstories can help us see things more clearly. It is as if these stories bring light into a dark room.

One day the Buddha said “Truth! Truth is like this!”

There was a monarch who often wondered about the greatquestions of life who decided one day to set up a test. An elephant was to bebrought into the throne room.

After the elephant was brought to the palace and into thethrone room the monarch gave a second order: the five wise people who taught atthe gates of the city were to be brought to the throne.

Each of the wise people happened to have been bornblind. The monarch had each wise personplaced near a different part of the elephant’s body. The first wise person was stood next to theelephant’s ear.

The second wise person stood by the elephant’s tail.

The Monarch had the third wise person stand holding theelephant’s tusk.

The monarch stood the fourth wise person right in front ofthe elephant holding onto the elephant’s tusk.

The monarch then had the fifth and last wise person standtouching one of the creature’s legs

Then the monarch issued the challenge. “You are each holding what we call anelephant. Now tell me what an elephantis like.”

The first wise person who was holding one of the elephant’slarge ears said, “An elephant is like a banana leaf.”

The second wise person was holding the elephant’s tail andsaid, “No. No. No. Anelephant is like a paint brush.”

The third wise person was holding onto the elephant’s tuskexclaimed, “They’re all wrong! Anelephant is like a plow made of metal, and sharpened to cut through the earth.”

The fourth wise person who was in front of the elephantholding its’ trunk said, “Hear my words. An elephant is like a great snake.”

The fifth and final wise person who was holding one of theelephant’s legs declared, “I tell you an elephant is like the trunk of a gianttree.” Before long the five blind wisepeople began arguing with each other calling one another “Fool” and “Crazy.”

They fought and fought crying “An elephant is like atree.” “No it is like a fan.” “Any person with sense knows that an elephantis like a plow.” “They are like paintbrushes.” “Elephants are like snakes.”

“This,” said the Buddha, “Is what truth is like.”

I wonder why each wise person named something different todescribe an elephant?

I wonder what they each thought when the others gave adifferent answer?

I wonder if the elephant could be all these things?

I wonder what he meant…”this is what TRUTH is like”?

I wonder what TRUTHmeans to you?

Members of the Spirit Play and Creativity classes invented an animal-themed game following the story of the Wise Men and the Elephant.

More Lessons from Hinduism

2011-11-13T13:55:00.001-08:00

This month, the Explorers and Treasure Hunters classes have been studying about the Hindu religion.

The Treasure Hunters made art using rice flour, inspired by Hindu Rangoli designs.

The Explorers did a photo scavenger hunt through books on Hinduism.

Facing Fears at Halloween

2011-11-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Halloween is a special holiday with ancient roots. The ancient Celtic people believed that thiswas the time of year when the spirits of the dead were closest to the spiritsof the living. It is a time to honor ancestors and to celebrate the end of theharvest. It’s a time for honoring the darkening days and for enjoying thingsthat are spooky and scary. On Halloween, we make a game out of being afraid,and maybe that helps us to deal with our fears during the rest of the year.

Sometimes something can seem scary or not scary depending on how we think about it. Children at the 11:00 class made Halloween masks that show thetwo sides of something scary. Each child picked something that might be scary—like a spider or a tiger or the dark or a zombie. On one paper plate, we drew that thingas a really scary, vicious thing. On another paper plate, we draw thatthing thinking of it as not scary at all, just a part of the naturalworld, or a fun made-up thing.

These two-sided masks can remind us that the face that people are seeing on the outside isdifferent than the one you are seeing on the inside. Maybe some of the things weassume are scary and dangerous don’t really have to be that scary at all—andmaybe we need to be careful about our assumptions about people and things wedon’t really know.

Halloween Party

2011-11-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

The youth prepare to scare

Making beaded spider bracelets

Black cat scratch art

The haunted room held scary surprises

BINGO!

Spook-tacular costumes

Rangoli Designs

2011-10-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

A Rangoli is a colourful design made on the floor near the entrance to a house to welcome guests. At Diwali, Hindus draw bright Rangoli patterns to encourage the goddess Lakshmi to enter their homes. This Sunday, children in the Treasure Hunters and Explorers classes began their study of Hinduism. The children made these beautiful patterns as part of their lesson.

The Salmon Pageant

2011-10-18T16:05:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday's intergenerational worship service enacted the lifecycle of the salmon and drew a connection between that cycle of life and our own. A big thank you to all of those who worked on the pageant and to everyone who shared personal reflections.

Following the pageant, a group of us traveled to Soos Creek watch the salmon who had reached their journey's end, and the place where new lives will soon begin.

Celebrating Me and My World: Our Hands

2011-10-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

The Discovery class (preschool and kindergarten at 9:30) explores what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist by celebrating what makes each of us wonderful and then extending outward to see the world is a wonderful place as well. Today the children explored their hands. From the curriculum, Celebrating Me and My World: "As Unitarian Universalists, we believe that we should keep on learning and growing. Young children learn about the world by manipulating things with their hands--to explore, to discover, to play, and to make beautiful things." The children played games using their hands, talked about some of the things we can do with our hands, and made paintings of their hands. Unitarian Universalists believe that we should always keep on learning about our world and ourselves. We use our hands to help us learn. What are some things your hands have helped you to learn?

Lighthouse Chapel Teams

2011-10-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

Lighthouse Chapel teams are a chance for children and youth to work together on a project benefiting our church or community. On each chapel Sunday, children and youth can choose from one of three teams.

Open Minds: Creates things for our classroom and chapel space, helps with planning chapel worship, or makes props to be used in intergenerational worship services.
Today our Open Minds team created salmon puppets for the "salmon pagent" worship service on October 16.

Loving Hearts: Reaches out to people in our church community by making cards or small gifts of support or celebration. Today our Loving Hearts team made "thinking of you" cards to be used by the Caring Team.

Helping Hands: Works for social justice through service projects and raising awareness about needs in our community or around the world. Today our Helping Hands team made posters advertising the Trick or Treat for Unicef collection on October 30.

Forgiveness Sunday

2011-10-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Today the children and youth joined the adults in the sanctuary for our annual forgiveness ritual. Afterwards, the children at 9:30 met together to do some forgiveness-themed crafts.

The forgiveness tokens can be given to someone to help in making an apology, or as a token of forgiveness, or as a reminder to carry around of the importance of making amends with others.

This honey pot was inspired by the Jewish tradition of dipping apples in honey to celebrate the new year, Rosh Hashanah. Apples and honey are a traditional treat on Rosh Hashanah, symbolizing the sweetness of a new year.

Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the new year, is followed ten days later by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. During these ten days, the Days of Awe, Jewish people work to set things right in their relationships with others and with God.

Here are some possible uses for this honey pot your child has made. Maybe you will think of others:

At dinner time (or another time when you are together as a family) pass the pot around. Have each person take an apple and share a wish with everyone for the coming year. Encourage wishes for the good of the family as a whole.

You and your child could use the apples to talk about things you are sorry for or want to forgive someone for. Each apple represents a member of your family. Take turns considering each apple and the person it represents. Is there anything you need to do to set things right with that person? (Is there something you’d like to apologize for, or something you’d like to forgive them for?)

The most important custom of the Days of Awe is to apologize to others for things we have done to offend them in the past year. The desire to have a fresh start and to repair relationships is universal. Like our Jewish friends, we Unitarian Universalists believe in forgiving others, and in trying to right the wrongs we have done.

The Flaming Chalice and Covenants

2011-09-26T22:15:00.001-07:00

Classes at 11:00 have been learning about the Flaming Chalice, our primary religious symbol of Unitarian Universalism. The older children heard the story of Jon Hus, an early Christian reformer who taught equality and religious freedom.

Our flaming chalice is like a big cup. It represents our community. We put a candle in our chalice because the flame is mysterious and beautiful. It can remind us of the spirit of love and mystery that some people call God. It can remind us of the importance of knowledge and of learning about our world. It can remind us of the power we have to change ourselves and the world for the better.

One of the things we do together as Unitarian Universalists is to create covenants. Covenants are agreements about how we will be with one another and in the world. With our children, we explain that a covenant is a promise. We make promises with one another about how we will treat each other and the world. Here is the covenant that our preschool and kindergarten class wrote together this past week.

World Religions--First Stop: Judiasm

2011-09-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

Classes at 9:30 this year are learning about World Religions. This week our elementary age classes studied about Judaism.

On Wednesday, one of the most important Jewish Holidays, the Jewish new year Rosh Hashanah, is celebrated.

Rosh Hashanah is a time of introspection and prayer, as well as celebration. It is a time to ask forgiveness of others who we have wronged during the year and to do good deeds.

2011-09-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

Today in the Explorer's Class (grades 4-5 at 9:30) children talked about the religions they will be learning about this year and some of the holidays we will be celebrating together. We shared jokes from around the world and went outside to play a tag game played in another part of the world (Blind Man's Bluff). We learned that the over-arching theme will be "Under the Sky All People Are One Family." We talked about things we'd like to do in class.

Big Questions and Tough Stuff

2011-06-15T10:36:00.001-07:00

These are books and resources related to the topic of our final two sessions of our parenting group. Most of these titles are available in the Lighthouse to view or borrow.

Big Questions and Tough Stuff: Religion
Hide and Seek With God
”Where one might find God differs from religion to religion; in fact, answers to this question may well be a part of what differentiates one religion from another. Jews might say they find God in historical actions of freedom and justice; Christians might say God is revealed in the love found in the life and person of Jesus; and Muslims might say they find the one God in the words of the Quran. God is found in everything that is: earth and sky; light and dark; people's caring actions; within ourselves; and even in the not knowing. For if God is a symbol for ultimate reality, values, and mystery,one's unknowing can be considered one's ultimate reality. This metaphor in which God hides and humans search is supported by the UU Principle which urges us to affirm and promote a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We search in all of our Sources: our own experience, the `words and deeds of prophetic women and men,wisdom from the world religions, Jewish and Christian teachings, and humanist teachings.” This storybook contains 29 enchanting tales that portray God in many different forms--as transcendent mystery, the mother and father of life, peace and silence, light and darkness, and more. These delightful stories offer children the beginnings of a religious language for talking about God.

Let’s Talk About Interfaith Families: This booklet is designed to help us explore how we live our lives as UU people who embrace a pluralistic and inclusive faith. It will help us to think about and to discuss the concept and the reality of interfaith families. The booklet begins with a discussion of faith structures and practices and how we integrate different faith stances into family life. It then suggests ways to build bridges of understanding and create interfaith ceremonies and celebrations for UU families.

Parents as Resident Theologians includes 6 sessions and 12 readings to help parents and kids explore together their beliefs about God, prayer and other religious issues.

Bridge Magazine: Online magazine dedicated to a coexistence in a world made up of billions of unique individuals who all deserve the right to live as they choose. Includes resources for interfaith families.

Unitarian Universalism is a Really Long Name by Jennifer Dant
This one-of-a-kind picture book is a colorful introduction to Unitarian Universalism for children ages five to nine. Simple language and appealing illustrations offer children accessible answers to commonly asked questions such as: Who are we? What do we believe? How do we worship? Who leads us? Do we read the Bible? What is our religious symbol? Do we pray? What is Sunday school? How do we celebrate? "This appealing book answers children’s basic questions about Unitarian Universalism with friendly words and charming pictures—an excellent resource

Meet Jesus: The Life and Lessons of a Beloved Teacher by Lynn Tuttle Gunney
Meet Jesus is a picture book that introduces young children (ages 4-8) to Jesus and his lessons of love, kindness, forgiveness and peace. Meet Jesus emphasizes the humanity rather than the divinity of Jesus, giving the story broad appeal for liberal or progressive Christians and non-Christians alike. The text includes Bible references with corresponding Bible passages in the back of the book.

Big Questions and Tough Stuff: Life Issues
OWL parent guides A session-by-session guide to what children will learn through the OWL curriculum. Helps parents answer children's tough questions about sexuality issues.

Badger’s Parting Gifts by Susan Varley. A gentle book about death and the gifts our loved ones leave behind.

The Tenth Good Thing about Barney by Judith Viorst When a young boy’s cat dies, his parents help him to deal with his grief by holding a funeral for the cat. They ask him to think of ten good things about his cat, and after talking about death with his father, the boy is finally able to think of the tenth good thing: his cat is in the ground helping to grow flowers.

What Every 21st Century Parent Needs to Know by Debra Haffner
Addresses the big questions, including drinking, drugs and teen sex. Utilizing what she calls the Affirming Parent style, Haffner offers a number of viable solutions to common problems, ranging from Internet use to over-scheduling. An ordained Unitarian minister, Haffner’s tendency is to interpret the stats about children and youth from the bright side. readers will appreciate her just-the-facts-please approach.

The Shelter of Each Other by Mary Pipher An honest appraisal of the pressures on families. Phipher doesn't blame parents for everything. She gives many examples of the way in which outside pressures and the lack of a supporting culture can tear families apart. She offers principles and practical guidelines to help families bond and shelter each other while still giving each other room to grow.

Taking it Home: Families and Faith These booklets were written for congregations and families to use at home and in community to support them through life transitions and spiritual/ethical challenges. Topics include marriage and committed relationships, divorce and broken relationships, families and loss, and the time/money balance. http://www.uua.org/religiouseducation/families/20092.shtml

Resources Relating to Our Principles

2011-04-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

Our most recent parent group meeting focused on sharing our seven Unitarian Universalist principles with our children. Here are some resources you might find helpful related to this topic:

UU & Me "Like Unitarian Universalism itself, these stories are diverse in content and style but share a common grounding in the search for truth, beauty and love. Read them aloud and discover what thoughts and feelings they uncover for your family. Use them as a tool for learning more about our faith heritage. Or simply leave them on the bedside table of a young reader in your life. The child you give this collection to is sure to discover what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist kid.” (from the introduction). This book is a collection of stories that were originally published in the World magazine. More of these can also be found as archives here

Welcome: A Unitarian Universalist Primer (also available as an e-book)is a basic introduction to what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist for adults and teens, including the principles, sources, music, readings, and reflections on our basic practices.

Sunday and Every Day: My Little Book of Unitarian Universalism is a basic introduction to what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist for children, including the principles, sources, music, readings, and history of Unitarian Universalism.

Everybody is Important: A Kids’ Guide to our Seven Principles (new!)features two stories for each Principle, inviting children to think about how the characters in the stories can use the Principles to help them decide how to treat each other, what to love, and what to hope for ourselves and all living things.

UU Theme Book Lists Organized by Roberta Altamari (disc)contains lists of children's books related to the 7 Principles and other themes. A great resource for tracking down a book related to opening conversation on a particular topic.

Families: Weave a Tapestry of Faith is the four-page, full-color insert in every issue of UU World magazine. Each themed insert brings home stories, activities, and reflections adapted from Tapestry of Faith lifespan faith development resources.

More Parent Group Resources

2011-03-17T14:54:00.001-07:00

These are resources that tie in with the topics discussed at our most recent parent group: Family Rituals, Traditions, and Spiritual Practices

The Book of New Family Traditions Full of meaningful, creative ideas for family life, this book guides you through simple steps that help families fully cherish special moments and milestones, help heal wounds of trauma and loss, and strengthen the indomitable spirit of identity within a family.
How to Bury a Goldfish offers more than 100 new traditions and rituals to commemorate and honor special moments and milestones.
A Cup of Light is written for young children and explains the symbolism of the flaming chalice.
A Child’s Book of Blessings and Prayers a treasury of graces, poems, and prayers from around the world.
Circle Round: Raising Children In Goddess Traditions is a terrific resource for pagan families
Full Circle: Fifteen Ways to Grow Lifelong UUs is drawn from interviews with people who were raised Unitarian, Universalist, or Unitarian Universalist and who have remained active in our faith as adults

The following are some music resources we have available in the Lighthouse:
May This Light Shine: A Songbook for Children and Youth
Let Your Heart Sing: 24 Joyous Songs for Intergenerational Singing (and CD)
Now Let Us Sing: Songs for Children of All Ages
Family ValUUes: Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church
Wake, Now, My Senses: The Musicians of the First Unitarian Church of Oakland (CD)
The Fire of Commitment: Music of Jason Shelton (CD)

Parent Group

2011-02-13T00:09:00.000-08:00

Our monthly parent group is up and running! Each month, on the second Sunday, a group of Saltwater parents meets to discuss parenting from a Unitarian Universalist perspective.
Today's session focused on determining what we ourselves believe as the first step in teaching our children about religion, and finding and using "teachable moments" to help enrich our children's spirituality.
I will be posting here a list of resources that I find and others in the group suggest that relate to each session's topic. For today's session:
Tending the Flame: The Art of Unitarian Universalist Parenting includes information about developmental stages, suggestions for incorporating spiritual practices into family life, teaching the Principles in age-appropriate ways, answering difficult questions on religious matters and dealing with religious disagreements. We will be reading and discussing chapters from this book each month within our parent group.
Phil's Little Blog on the Prairie A blog written by the Lifespan Program Director of the Prairie Star District. Phil's post on "The Complete Family Ministry Toolbox" contains many useful links, including to some resources for having "Caring Conversations" with our children.
Is Your Bed Still There When You Close the Door? provides suggestions for opening the door to deeper, more meaningful and thought provoking conversations with children. Although written from a secular perspective, it has great tips on getting meaningful conversations started and asking thought-provoking questions.
Nurturing Children and Youth provides information about children's stages of development, including moral and faith development, and ways for parents and other adults to offer children support at each stage.
The Gift of Faith illustrates how religious community plays an integral role in deepening the faith of parents and offers ways to foster spiritual awareness in the home and includes practices for marking the many events in children's lives as religious occasions.
Parents as Spiritual Guides offers six sessions which aim to bring spiritual growth into the home, where the communion and rituals of family life can support the "dynamic process of faith development."
Religious Education at Home includes information on Unitarian Universalism, communicating about spirituality, worship and meditation, and doing religious education.
(All print resources are available to view or check out from our Family Ministry library in the Lighthouse building at Saltwater Church.)

Our Faithful Journeys Clubhouse

2010-11-07T20:19:00.001-08:00

Our Spirit Play Class (grades 1-3 at 11:00)formed a Faithful Journeys Action Club that welcomes all to join and will take on a justice or service project. This month we are putting our orange promise into action "Offer Fair and Kind Treatment to All." This is us in the clubhouse we built together. It is big enough to have space for anyone who would like to join.

Passover Seder

2009-03-31T15:02:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, Rabbi Amy Rossel from synagogue Bet Chaverim joined our children at 9:30 to share with us about the Jewish holiday of Passover. We enjoyed singing songs and hearing the story of the holiday.

We then shared a special meal, including some of the ritual foods from the Seder Plate. A Seder is a special meal where the story of Passover is told, using special foods to represent different parts of the story.

Each Seder plate includes a shank bone, a roasted egg, haroset (a mixture of apple, nuts and wine), horseradish, a second bitter herb (often romaine) and parsley (or other greens). Each of these items has a ritual significance in the story of Passover. Many modern Seder plates also have an orange and/or olives. Click here to find out why!

For a flash presentation to learn more about Passover, see http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/flash/flash.html. chabad.org has several really interesting videos.

After the Fire

2009-02-26T17:48:00.000-08:00

Welcome to March! It's been nearly two months since I've posted here. As so often happens in our busy lives, many things have gotten away from me and I'm slowly trying to get caught up again.

We are recovering well from the fire in our Religious Education building on January 25. The renovations and repairs are progressing on schedule, and we expect to be back in our large classroom by mid March. I am so impressed with the resilience of our community, and how well we have come together to meet the challenges of loss of space.

On the Sunday following the fire, our two youngest classes met together. Steve lead the children in sharing their concerns and worries about the fire, then had them act out being fire with their bodies. They all drew pictures of the fire, complete with images showing them roasting their favorite foods over the blaze. I wish I had taken some photos to post here! The Discovery class has continued to share their space with the Treasure Hunters class, and some Treasure Hunters have joined with the Explorers class. There are important lessons here about hospitality--our children and their teachers have demonstrated how welcoming we can be, especially during difficult times.

The Spirit Play class, despite losing all of its materials in the fire, has continued to meet as well, in its temporary home in room 3. The teachers contributed donations of materials and time, and we quickly gathered the basics needed to continue running the class. The children have adapted well to the space as well. Last Sunday they strung beads representing the creation and evolution of the universe, and their own life journeys. Again, I wish I had photos to share!

We have some exciting events planned this month (see the "events" box, to the left). I hope you will consider attending. I look forward to seeing you soon!

Growing Community Together

2009-01-07T11:28:00.000-08:00

Do people ask you why you bother going to church? With so many things we could be doing, why set aside time for church attendance? Perhaps you've asked this of yourself, especially on mornings you'd rather stay in bed (or your children would).

This question is really about the purpose of church. For me, being part of a religious community like Saltwater challenges me to focus on why I am here and what I am called to do in the world. Connecting with other Unitarian Universalists reminds me we are all connected with one another and all of life. Talking with our children helps me remember that each of us is a unique gift of creation. Singing together and hearing inspirational words helps me sustain hope. Being with others who care deeply about life helps me find hope despite more suffering in the world than I can address on my own.

For our children and youth, coming to church regularly communicates that faith and religion are central to our lives, not something extra that is tacked now and then. It allows them to connect with the community, and to feel more comfortable at church. It teaches that attending church is a spiritual practice, something we do over and over again, as a way of helping ourselves feel connected to something larger than ourselves.

What about mornings when it doesn't seem worth the effort? Perhaps we were up late the night before, or have too much to do before Monday, or are feeling more worn out than usual. Why come to church when we aren't that excited about the day's sermon topic or the focus of the religious education class? Because, on any given Sunday, there is someone here who needs a smile, a hug, or a word of encouragement. Someone who needs to see that others are working for justice in our world, or to hear voices raised in song, or to talk about their search for truth. Someone who needs to be reminded that we are part of something larger than ourselves. We need one another, as community. And we cannot build that community by attending only when it is convenient.

Of course there are times when we have to miss church. Regular attendance does not have to mean perfect attendance. What it does mean is, on most Sundays, you come to church. It's your routine, it's what you do religiously, it's a spiritual practice. With the emphasis on practice—no one is expecting perfection.

Starting this month, we will acknowledge commitment to regular attendance. Each Sunday children and youth will record their presence on our "growing community" wall. Every three Sundays, each will receive a temporary tattoo representing an aspect of our faith community. I hope this will be a fun way to visibly reinforce some of the religious values we share, while reminding us of the importance of showing up.

I encourage you and your family to commit to regular attendance. For most of us, that will mean three or four Sundays a month. For some, due to family configurations, work commitments, or other factors, this may be once or twice a month. Whatever your situation, consistently showing up will benefit you, your children, and our community.

Kwaanza Celebration

2008-12-29T14:39:00.000-08:00

This Sunday our children celebrated the holiday of Kwaanza, an African-American celebration of family, community, and culture. We discovered that the seven principles of Kwanza, called Nguzo Saba, are very similar to our seven Unitarian Universalist principles:

Umoja (Unity)
To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other business and to profit from them together.

Nia (Purpose)
To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity)
To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani (Faith)
To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Ask your child about the principles and how they apply in your lives. If your child was at our celebration, read together the booklet they made.

Youth Cook Up Souper Lunches

2008-12-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday the junior and senior youth contributed their cooking talents to create a hearty soup lunch of vegetarian and meaty chili for all to enjoy following the congregational meeting. Donations collected for the lunch went to benefit the Guest at Your Table program, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. If you have not already picked up a box to have on your dinner table at home, please do so, and continue to donate until the new year!

The youth of Saltwater will continue to provide lunch as a service to the community on the first Sunday of alternate months. The next lunch will be the annual sub sandwich sale in February. Watch for order forms in January.

Diwali Celebration

2008-11-30T12:56:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, Dolly Mangla and her husband Sanjay, who moved here from India a few years ago, visited the Lighthouse to help us share the celebration of Diwali.

Dolly explained that Diwali is a 5-day festival celebrated all over India. It's like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all rolled into one. People give thanks to the gods for the food they have and pray for good fortune in the coming year. They give each other presents, buy new clothes, make special foods, and shoot off firecrackers.

Dolly introduced us to Lakshme, goddess of fortune. Diwali is called a "festival of lights", because people light candles and hang lanters, so Lakshme finds her way to their house.

During the class time, children made paper lanterns to hang at home, and clay lamps (called "diyas") that are put at the altar. They also made sand paintings called "rangoli", which are decorations in the house to welcome Lakshme.

After the diyas were done, we took a break from crafts to assemble the altar. Dolly showed us how to do "pooja", which is a ritual honoring the gods. We lit candles and incense, and put an offering of food on the altar, to represent being grateful for what we have, before we eat. Then Dolly put a red dot on the foreheads of all the gods at the altar, and on her own forehead. That demonstrates honoring the gods, and giving the same honor to ourselves. We played special, joyful music and moved a candle in a circular motion around Lakshme, while everyone clapped.

After pooja, we had a special snack. It was an exciting day! Thanks to all the extra adults who helped us manage a very busy class!

Diane Schairer,
Teacher, Treasure Hunters Class

Creating the Universe

2008-11-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

Our Spirit Play class has been exploring stories of creation from different times and cultures. The story in the photo comes from Northern Africa. In this story, Nana Buluku, the Great Mother, created the world. Her twins, Mawu and Lisa, were the sun and the moon. They were mother and father of all the other gods--seven pairs of twins. Each pair was given a piece of the earth to rule and care for. Mawu-Lisa took care that none of the lesser gods were ever seen by people. That is why people speak of the sky as a spirit, and storms and lightening as spirits too.

Ask your child to tell you about the creation stories we've shared in class. Why might so many ancient cultures told creation stories? How are the stories similar and how are they different? How do you think the earth came to be?

This week, we explored a scientific story of the creation of the universe. Ask your child about the great blast of heat and light, the particles, the exploding volcanoes, and the first raindrops that fell to earth helping to cool the crust and prepare the planet for the coming of life.

Next week (November 30) we'll be doing experiments to help illustrate the big ideas from this story. Come join us if you are in town!

The Sounds of Discovery

2008-11-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

The world seen through the eyes of a preschooler is full of wonder ready to be discovered! Our Discovery class have been exploring how we experience life through all of our senses. By connecting with teachers and classmates who know and care about them they are growing spiritually. Today the children took a listening walk around the church and shared what they heard. Then they made shakers filled with beans and played music together. We learned that "if you are so quiet that you can hear your own breathing, you are being quiet enough to pay attention to the other sounds around you." We experienced the joy of making music together.

Ask your child what we heard on the listening walk. Take a walk around your home and discover what you can hear when you are quiet enough to listen. Enjoy playing some music together.

Savriti

2008-11-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

The Treasure Hunters class learned the story of Savitri, about a princess who becomes a heroine because of her mind and heart, not her beauty. The children acted out the story as a play during their class time as part of their study of Hinduism.

The story of princess Savitri is one of the best-known and best-loved tales of India. It appears within the Mahabharata, India's great national epic, which is much like an Old Testament to the Hindus. This epic, written down at around the time of Christ, had already been passed on orally for centuries. It arises from a time when legends were born--an age of walled cities, of sun and fire worship, and of woman far more independent than later Indian culture allowed. (From the book, "Savitri, A Tale of of Ancient India" by Aaron Shephard.)

Ask your child to tell you the story as they remember it. Talk about what makes a good hero or heroine.

Day of the Dead

2008-11-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, the children's classes at 9:30 celebrated Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Together we created an alter commemorating loved ones who have died. We also decorated skull masks.

Ask your child about the alter and the items on it. You might want to have a conversation about departed family members or friends, especially those who died before your child could remember them.

If your child is struggling with the idea of death, or with the loss of a loved one, sometimes celebrating a ritual like Day of the Dead may be helpful. If you find you or your child need resources for dealing with death or grief, let me know. Also, check out the resources on dealing with death and grief posted under the resources section to the right.

2008-10-19T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today the elementary age classes (Treasure Hunters and Explorers) enjoyed a visit to the Sukkah in our courtyard while learning about the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot. This harvest festival is celebrated by the building of little booths, which families decorate with fruits and vegetables, and then eat meals in the Sukkah (and sometimes even sleep in them) during the festival. Melissa from Bet Chaverim showed the children how the Sukkah is decorated with fruits of the harvest, with the ceiling left partly open so that the stars may be viewed through the top. We ate our snack in the Sukkah and talked about ways that we share with others in our daily lives. The children helped to decorate the Sukkah and each made a Lulav. As part of the blessing of the Sukkah, the Lulav is waved in four directions, to show that God is everywhere.

"Some rabbis say that the different types of greenery in the Lulav represents different types of people. They say that the different kinds of leaves are tied together to teach us that all the different people of the world must work together in peace. Building a Sukkah reminds Jewish people of their history. Long, long ago there was a time when the Jews were slaves in Egypt. They wandered in the desert for 40 years, and built little huts for shade and rest. Today, Jewish people build little huts. They want to remember that not all families live in peace and comfort and safety." (From the Holidays and Holidays curriculum).

Talk with your child about what your family does to celebrate the harvest or Thanksgiving. What can your family do to help people who may not have permanent housing or enough to eat this season? What are some ways, small and large, that you encourage sharing within your family?

We're All In This Together

2008-10-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a new church year! I'm a little behind getting my posts up, but hope to be more on top of things from her on out. My plan is to post once a week, so check back to see more about what is happening with children, youth, and families at Saltwater. I'll included information about the different classes, ideas of things to talk about or explore further at home, and updates and reminders about special events. If there are other things you would like to see here, let me know.

Things are off to a great start in the Lighthouse. We kicked off our church year with our annual field day event. Here is a photo of some of our children helping to clean up afterwards. It really does take everyone's contributions to make our church community the best it can be for all of us, as James was reminding us a few weeks ago. Many thanks to all who are pitching in.

Our classes in September were mostly focused on group building and getting to know one another. Here's a few highlights from each:

Discovery: Our preschoolers have been learning about many ways that we're all different and yet all the same. This is a big concept for little ones, and very important to our UU principles. On September 21 the children learned about hands. Ask your child about what hands do. Are everyone's hands the same? What are some special things your child can do with his or her hands?

Treasure Hunters: Our primary class has put the democratic process to work! For years this class has been called the Wumps. This year the children voted to change their name. "Treasure Hunters" fits well with our other class names, and captures the purpose of this class. We are hunting for treasures, as we explore world religions, we are searching for pieces of truth and discovering that all religions have something to teach us about the big questions in life.

Explorers: Our older elementary class has begun their study of world religions by learning about Islam and Sikhism. On September 28, the class talked about the Sikh holiday Diwali. Ask your child about Rangolis.

Jr. Youth: Our middle schoolers have brainstormed a list of the many faith traditions they hope to explore this year, and their advisers are busy lining up field trips to various houses of worship. Parents are encouraged to attend with their youth on October 19, to finalize plans and discuss logistics for class field trips. Some of our middle school youth attended a district UU youth conference on Vashon Island recently. Ask them to tell you about what they experienced there.

Sr. Youth: Our high schoolers began the curriculum Popcorn Theology by watching Back to the Future and talking about how our choices affect the future. They also cooked a delicious and simple soup lunch on October 5th. Watch for more of these soup lunches on future Sundays, and more thought-provoking movies to come.

Spirit Play: So far we have heard two stories about the creation of the world, and will be sharing several more in the following weeks. The children have been engaged in a wide variety of art responses to the stories, and also in some deep wondering about the stories. Ask your child about the story tellers who told the first stories around their campfire, and the creator who brought all living things to life from the roots of a great tree. We will be holding a parent orientation soon, and will invite anyone who wants to learn more about this new approach to religious education.

Creativity Club: This class is very excited to be creating with Legos! Soon we will be ready to begin programming robots. The class has also created rubber band cars and paper planes, and have been playing a lot of active group games. Ask you child about what they and others have been creating.

Welcome to my blog!

2008-08-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping this will be a useful resource for Saltwater families and volunteers in the religious education program. The teacher's manual is mostly posted now in the links section, as well as the registration form for the upcoming middle school conference, and information about our religious education classes for the coming year. If there are resources you would like to see here, let me know what would be useful to you! The next thing I'm planning to post are some titles of new books in our Family Ministries library that are available to borrow. I'll also be sharing more about what is happening in our classrooms and providing further information and ways to extend the religious exploration at home.

I'm excited for the upcoming church year, and looking forward to seeing you at Water Communion, if not before.

Things to Come

2008-04-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

A teacher I admire, Aline Wolf, said that teaching “is a vocation to help bring about a better world.” As a community concerned with the religious education of our children, it is important that we hold this truth at our core. By teaching children and youth to empower themselves to become active, engaged citizens in the world, we are helping to shape the future.

Teaching religious education classes is a ministry, an important contribution to our community. It is also a way to explore your spiritual path, a source of personal enrichment and spiritual fulfillment (as well as intellectual stimulation). Sometimes people feel that they can’t teach religious education because they don’t “know” Unitarian Universalism well enough. It is much more important that teachers encourage questioning and foster a sense of community than that they be well versed in theology or church history. We engage the bodies, minds, and spirits of our children and youth in developing their own faith identity. By encouraging a sense of wonder and in guiding them to consider how the curriculum is relevant to their lives, we help them to discover what it means to be members of our religious community.

This summer, the children’s class will have an environmental focus, building on what they have been learning in the village class this year. We will examine some of the ecological issues facing our world, and ground that learning in exploring the forest and the living things on our church grounds. Water play, science experiments, the annual dedication of the animals, and field day will all be part of our exploration and celebration of our relationship with the environment.

In the fall, classes at the first service will center on world religions. In our diverse community, it important to have some understanding of our neighbors’ religious beliefs. We need to exercise the ability to hold an open mind, gain comfort with multiple belief systems, and to make connections about how the big ideas of different religions relate to Unitarian Universalism. We will celebrate holidays central to a variety of religions, visit other houses of worship, and invite people of varying faith traditions to share their spiritual practices. Classes at the second service will focus on a creation theme. Older children will examine the moral and spiritual implications of being creative forces in the world through designing Lego robots and other creative projects. Younger children will explore creation stories from different parts of the world and scientific teachings about evolution. In addition to Sunday morning classes, middle school youth will have the chance to participate in a Coming of Age program. Each participant will investigate their personal spirituality and UU heritage with the support of an adult mentor.

“An education capable of saving humanity,” wrote Maria Montessori (another teacher I admire), “involves the preparation of young people to understand the times in which they live.” I hope that each of us will discover a way to contribute to our shared educational ministry—as a teacher, classroom assistant, youth adviser, Coming of Age mentor, in sharing a special skill or passion, or by providing behind-the-scenes “backstage support.” For yourself, for our children, for our world—take this opportunity to get involved!