Rev. Dan’s Writing
From the Associated Minister of RE – Rev. Dan Harper
- From the Associate Minister of Religious Education – November, 2019 November 7, 2019
Parents regularly ask if UUCPA has a discussion group for parents of children and teens. For many years, there was such a group, called “Parent Journey.” This group was organized and facilitated by parents, and it faded away a couple of years ago when the parents who organized it moved away.
The Children and Youth Religious Education (CYRE) Committee and I would like to revive some kind of parent discussion group because we think there’s a need for a forum where parents can come together and talk about issues of mutual concern. And we’re going to start next month.
I’d like to invite all parents of children and teens to join me on Sunday, December 8, from 11 to noon, for a parent discussion group. We’ll start the way most of our small groups at UUCPA start, with a “check-in,” that is, with a time to talk about what’s been going on in your life recently. Then I’ll present a topic and we’ll have time for conversation on that topic. Finally, we’ll spend five minutes at the end talking about how the group could be organized on an ongoing basis.
I’m giving you a month’s notice so you’ll have time to plan join me for this parent group. And I’ll mention three things that might make it more attractive for your family:
- There will be child care available on the playground during the parent group.
- You can attend Story Time, led by Maricia Scott, with your child from 10:35 to 11:00, just before the parent group meets.
- You and your family can go to Second Sunday Lunch, an inexpensive, kid-friendly meal, which is served at about 12:15.
I hope you can join me for this parent discussion group. If you have an idea for a topic for the first meeting, please let me know. And think about whether you might want to help organize this group (reserving the room, sending out reminders), or facilitate this group (keep the conversation moving during the meetings).
See you soon,
Dan Harper - From the Associate Minister for Religious Education September 28, 2019
We have been delighted to welcome a number of new families to UUCPA’s CYRE program. With that in mind, it’s worth mentioning that one of the nice things about UUCPA is that if you’re a parent, and you see another parent with a child or children about the same age as yours, we think it’s just fine to go up and introduce yourself. Unitarian Universalist parents share some strong values, so it’s not like you’re talking to a total stranger. And while it is true that many of us at UUCPA are introverts, one of the reasons most of us show up on Sunday mornings is to be around people who share our values. Our parent community tends to be quite welcoming — so if you see another parent, take a chance and talk with them.
With the new families that we’ve been seeing this fall, it’s possible that we might see growth on the order of 5% — which, if it happens, is a nice, comfortable rate of growth. It would be a real benefit to see a few more children because it makes it more likely that each child can find a friend or two at Sunday school. After all, our most important goal for Sunday school is “have fun and build community”!
See you soon,
Dan Harper - From your Associate Minister of Religious Education August 30, 2019
Usually we don’t have Sunday school on Labor Day weekend, but since I’ll be at UUCPA this Sunday I’ll lead a session like our Summer Sunday School, with a fun activity for all ages. I’m planning to do jello painting (if you’ve never done it, it’s a lot of fun), and we’ll probably sing a song or two related to Labor Day.
A few words about our CYRE staffers: Grecia Uribe returns from her maternity leave this Sunday — please greet her when you see her and tell her how glad we are to have her back. And for my part, I am continuing my recovery from a pulmonary embolism a year ago; while my health is fine, I tire easily, which means I can’t work more than 40 hours a week — which in turn means that I may be slow replying to email, etc. (I don’t like talking about my health, but I wanted to let you know why I’m working more slowly than my usual breakneck pace.)
See you soon,
Dan Harper - From your Associate Minister of Religious Education – 2019-2020 Overview July 31, 2019
With so many great things happening in our children and youth religious education programs this year, I’d like to give you a quick overview of what’s coming up.
We’ll be offering the Our Whole Lives (OWL) comprehensive sexuality education curriculum for three age levels this year: gr. 4-6 and gr. 7-9 beginning in January 2020, and gr. 10-12 beginning in September. Parents must attend parent orientations before sending their children to OWL classes, so watch this newsletter for dates of parent orientations.
Navigators, our bias-free scouting program (doesn’t matter if you believe in God or what gender you are), will be starting up again next month. Ed Vail and other parents run this fabulous fun program twice a month on Sundays at 11.
As always, we keep refining our Sunday school programs. Several curriculums have been revised this year, most notably Neighboring Faith Communities for gr. 6-8, which includes more excellent video resources (including more on non-Western religions), and completely new field trips this year.
Our popular Coming of Age will be offered again this year.
M. Scott, who has been researching storybooks that reflect UU values on social justice and religion, will share some of her favorite books each second Sunday during Story Time.
See you soon,
Dan Harper - Summer Sunday school schedule June 29, 2019
Summer Sunday school is more like summer camp than Sunday school, with fun activities that often emphasize being part of a cooperative group. All ages from gr. K-8 are invited to join in. Middle schoolers make take on leadership roles by helping the lead teacher. High school students are always welcome to participate as co-teachers with the lead teacher. Summer Sunday school is a great way for kids to meet other kids of all ages, and it helps us towards one of our four major educational goals of building community.
Here are the planned activities that we’ll do in summer Sunday school:
June 30: Edie Keating will lead charades and other fun games.
July 7: Edie Keating will take everyone on a field trip to Mitchell Park (permission forms required, as we will be going off campus).
July 14: Kids help Edie Keating and other adults make Second Sunday Lunch.
July 21: Edie Keating, assisted by Dan Harper, will show how to decorate jars to make an attractive container.
July 28: Paul Kostka, assisted by Dan Harper, will teach kids how to make using paper and masking tape. Then we will launch the rockets using compressed air at Mitchell Park (parents join kids at Mitchell Park for the all church picnic; permission forms required, as we will be going off campus).
August 4: To be determined.