Sunday, 1/26: Everyone will begin together in the Great Hall. Following the Story for All Ages, K/1 Children will be led by their teachers to their classroom in the church hallway. Children in grades 2-7 and 10-12 will meet in the church entryway and be led across the street to their Waters House classrooms. Coming of Age youth will attend the service as their Religious Education for the day.
The Nursery is available for children five and under during services. As always, all Children and Youth are welcome to attend worship services.
Coming of Age Spaghetti Luncheon–February 2nd–aka SUUperheroes Cabaret Sunday! February 2nd has a lot in store for us! In between the service, the dessert auction, and the SUUperheroes Cabaret(!), there will be a delightful spaghetti luncheon sponsored by our 8th and 9th grade Coming of Age participants; they’re working to raise funds for their upcoming heritage trip to Boston. Gluten-free and vegetarian options will be available. We hope you’ll stop by to the dining hall and enjoy a delicious lunch, while also supporting our youth in their rite-of-passage trip to the home of so many things UU, Boston, MA! Cost of lunch is your free-will donation.
Highlight on our 6th-7th Grade Building Bridges Religious Education Class: From the Building Bridges Teaching Team: Mati Grieco-Hackett, Morgan Myatt, and Mark Vermilyea
We may not have completed a bridge, but we certainly laid the foundations–as we did with the Mt. Olivet Missionary Baptist Church and Congregation Gates of Heaven in recent months. This past Sunday, 12 of our class visited the AnNur Islamic School in Schenectady. We were graciously hosted by several welcoming adults and about 13 of their students in the same age range as ours. The adults included the principal of the school (she has two grandchildren in the school!), the Imam, and the school administrator Lamyaa, who served as our tour guide. We spent 90 minutes learning about Islam’s background, the school’s operation and how and what the students learn there, the background of the Koran, and more. Please ask the children about it!
In coming months, we plan to visit a Mormon church, discuss Buddhism, and cover many other of the world’s religions. The students will have to study hard for the final exam in June! (just kidding 🙂 but we will be working with them to develop their own individual compilations of what they’ve learned this year, and how it can help inform them on their own spiritual journeys).
River Rising!: Registration is open for CER’s (Central East Region’s) 2020 River Rising Youth Immersion Experience! Last year 27 youth attended River Rising (the UU Society of Schenectady was one of the host churches!). Through covenant, collaborative leadership, skill building, games, silent reflection, personal challenges, spiritual practices and many magical moments both planned and not, everyone grew more strong, resilient and capable of facing the future. This year’s River Rising experiences will take place:
July 5-11 at the UU Church of North Hills, near Pittsburgh, PA, and July 27-August 2 at Main Line UU Church, near Philadelphia, PA.
There will once again be matching scholarships available for CER residents. For more information and to register, visit https://www.uua.org/central-
Director of Lifespan Religious Education Robin Ahearn will be out of the office Monday, 1/20-Thursday, 1/30. Phone calls and email will not be checked during this time but will be checked upon her return, 1/31. If you have an urgent RE matter in the meantime, please contact Congregational Life Coordinator Kristin Cleveland at clc@uuschenectady.org or contact one of the co-ministers.