R.E. News
June 2013
Multi-age Religious Education Programming for Kindergarten – Grades 8, 9:30 am ONLY this Summer
Summer R.E. will run from June 16 - September 1.
Anyone not entering Kindergarten in Fall, 2013 should attend childcare.
High School youth are encouraged to attend service. High School Youth Group will begin meeting again in September.
Volunteer Scott Taylor will be assisting with developing a vegetable garden on the eastern edge of the church property for the children and youth to grow and harvest produce to be sold during coffee hour. All proceeds will then be given to the Central Iowa Shelter for meal assistance. Scott has been called a modern day Johnny Appleseed, spreading his love of plants to others through jobs, volunteer environmental projects, and leading school groups on wetlands and wildflower walks. Scott is an ethnobotanist and collects many rare strains of vegetables from around the world. He grows and maintains garlic and squash collections in Iowa and North Carolina. He is also an active member of the Ames Community Garden and the Des Moines Park and Recreation Community Garden. He has worked with many indigenous groups in the Americas and Hawaii preserving native plant habitat and reducing nuisance weeds and invasive plants in the landscape. Scott has an interest in helping foster the next generation's connection with the natural world and in educating the public about the benefits of growing your own food- and will do so this summer with the children and youth at First Unitarian Church of Des Moines. Garden enthusiasts should contact Tracy Beck at dre@ucdsm.org to assist with gardening duties each week, and help guide our children and youth through this process.
The class will also be engaged in some lessons from the Picture Book World Religions Curriculum and sUUper Plays – short dramas about Unitarian Universalism. Summer RE will run from June 16 – September 1. Please email Tracy Beck at dre@ucdsm.org to volunteer to teach or assist.
Families of youth entering 7th or 8th grade in 2013-14:
Communications will be coming in regards to Coming of Age 2013-14. I need commitments from families about your youth’s participation. Class will be held on Wednesday evenings, from 6 - 7:30 pm at the church. The first Chalice Circle retreat will be held the weekend of October 18-20. Classes will run from the middle of September through the middle of May. A more detailed calendar will be included in forthcoming communications.
If you are certain your youth with be participating, please let me know as soon as possible.
Please email or call with any questions. Tracy Beck dre@ucdsm.org
The absolute heart of a thriving RE program is its adult volunteers. They provide the knowledge, guidance, passion, and caring patience that help our children grow in their community and faith. The RE Council and I are asking you to commit your time and your loving attention to the youth of our church. Specifically, (RE Assistant) Natalie, the RE Council and I would like teams of three volunteers per class to commit to teaching every third Sunday for three months. We will have three 3-month sessions; for example, the first will be September, October and November for teaching teams to commit to. Additionally, if you are a parent with a child attending RE we are asking for a commitment of assisting one Saturday or Sunday per session. We need teachers for all age levels, including Spirit Play and – new next year – Building Bridges, the UUAs new middle school approach to a World Religions curriculum. Mentors are needed for the Coming of Age classes. If you have two Wednesdays a month to spend with a youth, please let me know. We need assistance with thanking and feeding our volunteers – on August 24, there will be a kick off dinner for all RE Volunteers to learn about the program together – if you do not wish to teach, I ask that you cook! It takes all of us. So what do I imagine? I imagine a program that includes YOU. Click here for a list of the class descriptions for the 2013-2014 church year.
Sincerely,
Tracy Beck, Director of Religious Education for Children and Youth
dre@ucdsm.org
Sunday, June 2
R.E. Classes at 9:30 am
Annual Meeting at 11 am with childcare and lunch provided for all children & youth
Sunday, June 9
NO Religious Education Classes -
Intergenerational Flower Service
Sunday, June 16
Summer R.E. begins, 9:30 am ONLY
Sunday, June 23
Summer R.E., 9:30 am
Sunday, June 30
Summer R.E., 9:30 am