Saturday, August 24, 2013

Family Information for Sunday, August 25, 2013


Hello Friends and Families of Westside,

Hope everyone has been doing well these past few days!

Contrary to what the eNews said, this week is not a multi-gen service and there will be a class downstairs! Not just any class however, we have a special session this Sunday regarding animal adoption.  Regina Brennan and Joe Nabbefeld will be leading this awesome session with heartwarming adoption tales, some engaging “animal” songs, and some intriguing discussion set to clarify the misconceptions of pet adoption.  

As always the nursery is open for kids aged six weeks to four years. On the opposite end of the spectrum our teens/young adults are always encouraged to come and enjoy the service.  

Have a good weekend, hope to see you Sunday!

Mackenzie 

Announcements:

Teaching and Advising in our RE Programs: We are less than a month away from the start of our fall RE program, and we have open spots on our teaching teams from toddler age to grade five. If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, or if you have an idea about someone we might invite for this opportunity, please see Betsy!
Middle School Con Registration: Families of middle schoolers –  Fall Con registration is open! September 27-29, Vashon Island. I encourage you to register in August to get the cheaper rate. Please make a copy of your registration for Betsy so she has accurate medical information. She will be attending Fall Con with our middle schoolers. Also, contact her directly if you have any questions (Betsy Lowry, dre@wsuu.org410-274-2018). 


OWL Update: We are offering two OWL classes this year, our Junior High OWL for 7th and 8th graders, and our elementary OWL for 4th and 5th graders. The Junior High class will likely begin in October and end in April, meeting from 5-6:30 on Sunday evenings. The elementary class has eight sessions, and will be offered starting in January. OWL is a significantly important experience for our children and youth, and requires a serious commitment on the part of families. We look forward to rich experiences with bonding and community building, trustbuilding, and learning in our OWL adventures this year. Attend an information session to learn more, and see Betsy Lowry (dre@wsuu.org) if you have any questions. Elementary OWL information sessions will be offered in the fall.
Junior High OWL Information Sessions:
·       Sunday, August 25: 12:15-1:00 in the Library on the 3rd floor
·       Sunday, September 8: 12:15-1:00 in the Library on the 3rd floor

Coming of Age Program: Coming of Age (COA) is a program that marks the transition from childhood to young adult. UU’s generally emphasize four areas in the COA experience: pairing youth with adult mentors; discussions and retreats that emphasize self-awareness and confidence-building; service to the church and community; and a culminating affirmation ceremony. We are offering a COA program this year for any high schoolers from grades 9-11 who have not yet had this experience. Our class will start and end with retreats, and will meet on Sunday mornings every other week. We have a teaching team in place who is planning the curriculum and experiences for this program, and we invite youth and families to an information meeting on September 15th from 6-7 p.m. See Betsy Lowry (dre@wsuu.org) if you have any questions.

Teacher Training: Our annual RE teacher training session will be offered on Saturday, September 7th this year, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. New and veteran teachers, please put this date on your calendar! Our alternate date for anyone who is not able to attend on the 7th, is Saturday September 14th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.


Youth Room Seeks Stuff! We are in the process of creating a dedicated space for our youth to gather, connect, learn, share, powwow, congregate, meditate, and otherwise make their own. So far, it is not the beautiful or cozy place they deserve. YOU can help! We are looking for the following items, let us know if you have, or have a line on, any of the following: Please remember to only offer items in excellent condition. (Would you send it to Goodwill or post it on Craigslist? Only Craigslist worthy will do!). If you are, or can provide, a resource for these items, please contact Lorelei Amato at whosthere@loreleiamato.com.

Sectional sofa
Beanbag chairs or large cushions
Microwave oven
Wall-mount option speakers with mini connector (head-phone cable)
Carpet or rug, 5x7 or a little larger

Thank You!
WSUU Youth Adult Committee

Youth Group Kick-Off: Our high school Youth Group getting-to-know-you sleepover to kick off the year is happening September 6-7 at the church! We’ll start at 6pm, and we’ll wrap up at noon on Saturday. Details coming through email to youth and families.

Youth Room Painting Party: Calling all high school youth who are willing to do some serious painting in our youth room! Join the fun on Saturday, September 7 from 12-3, after our sleepover. Contact Betsy or Shelby Greiner with any questions. 

Family Information for Sunday, August 18, 2013


Hey Friends and Family of Westside,

Can you believe this week we are only a month out till the last program? Not only that, this Sunday will be our last multi-generational service for this summer. I just can’t believe how fast summer has flown by!

However do not despair; we still have four great Sundays coming up. Starting with our multi-generational service this week!

A brief summary of the service:

“Congregation Member, Keo Capestany, will share lessons we can all learn from this story of what is different between us, and the assumptions we form. All ages will appreciate Keo’s masterful storytelling and the reflections we gain from the concept of “walking a mile” in another’s shoes.”  

As some of you may know this means no classes downstairs this week. However our nursery will still be open during this time to kids ranging from six weeks to four years old. I know how some kids get restless during the service (no matter what age!), in order to combat this we have grab bags available and pens and papers in every pew.

I personally recommend all families and kids to come and experience this kid-friendly version of a very thoughtful and important message.

Have a good weekend, hope to see you all on Sunday!

Mackenzie

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Family Information for Sunday, August 11, 2013


Hey Families and Friends of Westside,
How is everyone doing on this hot week? Hopefully not melting yet, I know how we Seattleites have a very narrow window of a comfortable temperature zone (can I get a 70 to 75 anyone?).  And well clearly this weather has no idea how to take a hint.
Unfortunately this is not due to change, however the silver lining? We have an exceptionally fun Sunday planned for the kids! Kevin Lane-Cummings, Shannon Day, and your kids (ages 5-12) will be exploring the science, art, and magic of rainbows. Rain or shine -- or both! -- there will be lots of color in the social hall. As you might expect, there will be prisms and several different renditions of "Over the Rainbow," but did you ever think you could hear a rainbow? Come and find out!
For kids younger than five (but older than six months please!), we have our lovely Nursery open. As always I highly encourage teens and young adults to come join us for our service, or if they want, help out with the kids downstairs.
This Sunday we do need a little extra help from the families of the 5-12 group. We currently don’t have enough incandescent flashlights, so if each family could bring one that would be just lovely. Along the same lines if anyone could lend a glass prism that would be fabulous!
Thanks guys, hope to see you Sunday!
Mackenzie

Family Information for Sunday, August 4, 2013


Hi Families and Friends of Westside,
 
Hope everyone is well and enjoying this refreshing cool Friday. 
Lucky for the kids they will get to continue the music theme set up by last week’s service.  This week our guest speaker will be Carmen Ficarra, and our teacher will be Julie Forkasdi.  Carmen and his friend Greg Canote will be playing some old-time music on the fiddle, guitar, and ukelele. There will be interactive songs, and the kids will even have an opportunity to freestyle it and make music that speaks to them as well!
As always the Nursery will be open to kids aged six months to four years. On the opposite side of the spectrum we encourage all teens/young adults to join us for the service, or if they want to, help out with the kids.
Just a quick recap from two weeks ago, I’m trying to set up a more efficient way to sign the kids out. So if you guys would come to the stage (it will be enclosed) to pick them up and sign them out, that would be incredible. For parents who think their kid(s) are old enough to sign out, please come see me.
Have a great weekend and hope to see you on Sunday!
Mackenzie  

Friday, July 26, 2013

Family Information for Sunday, July 28, 2013


Hello Families and Friends of Westside,
 
Hope everyone is doing well this lovely Friday evening, and has enjoyed this magnificent week of sunshine!
 
Just a quick reminder that this Sunday there is going to be a multigenerational service (one of only two this summer). This means there will be no RE class this week, however the Nursery will be open for kids ages six months to four years old. All kids over four are encouraged to attend the upbeat service centered around drumming and rhythm. Below is the description of the service to get a better understanding of what it will be like.
  
"In this multigenerational service, congregation member John Britt, along with the beat of our Westside drummers, will remind us of some simple life lessons from the drum circle in this all-percussion service. Both the individual impulse and the united beat of community fill the cycles of our human experience. In this service, our youngest and our eldest community members will experience joyful rhythms and diverse rhythms together, from different cultures."
 
Hope to see everyone there!
Mackenzie
 
 
Announcements:
Middle School Con Registration: Families of middle schoolers –  Fall Con registration is open! September 27-29, Vashon Island. The registration form is attached here. I encourage you to register in August to get the cheaper rate. Please make a copy of your registration for Betsy so she has accurate medical information. She will be attending Fall Con with our middle schoolers. Also, contact her directly if you have any questions (Betsy Lowry, dre@wsuu.org410-274-2018). 

Teaching and Advising in our RE Programs: We like to say that our children are our future. Well, Westside is making beautiful contributions to the future, as we help our children and youth to navigate their hearts, their self-confidence, their faith development, and their social justice sensibilities. Our children and youth come eagerly to our Sunday classes, to our special events and youth groups, and multigenerational worship and other activities. They blossom – from infant and active toddler size to middle and high school youth – in the safe and nurturing environments of our RE classes and programs. They grow and learn by being in relationship with their adult teachers. WE NEED TEACHERS! We want to offer our best to these precious gems of our community. Come talk with anyone on the RE Council, or anyone who has taught before to learn more about the connections you will make with other teachers and the difference you can make in kids’ lives. Let Betsy Lowry (dre@wsuu.org 410-274-2018) or Julie Forkasdi, RE Council Chair (julieforkasdi@email.com) know of your interest to contribute to our RE ministry.

OWL Update: We are offering two OWL classes this year, our Junior High OWL for 7th and 8th graders, and our elementary OWL for 4th and 5thgraders. The Junior High class will likely begin in October and end in April, meeting early on Sunday evenings. The elementary class has eight sessions, and the time of year will be determined with the teaching team and parent input. OWL is a significantly important experience for our children and youth, and requires a serious commitment on the part of families. We look forward to rich experiences with bonding and community building, trustbuilding, and learning in our OWL adventures this year. We now have solid teaching teams in place, and we will offer informational meetings for families in August. See Betsy Lowry (dre@wsuu.org) if you have any questions.

Coming of Age Program: Coming of Age (COA) is a program that marks the transition from childhood to young adult. UU’s generally emphasize four areas in the COA experience: pairing youth with adult mentors; discussions and retreats that emphasize self-awareness and confidence-building; service to the church and community; and a culminating affirmation ceremony. We are offering a COA program this year for any high schoolers from grades 9-11 who have not yet had this experience. Our class will start and end with retreats, and will meet on Sunday mornings every other week. We have a teaching team in place who is planning the curriculum and experiences for this program, and we will invite youth and families to an information meeting in August. See Betsy Lowry (dre@wsuu.org) if you have any questions.  

Family Information for Sunday, July 21, 2013


Hello Friends and Families of Westside,
 
Good evening everyone, hope you all had a fantastic week. And if not, well at least it's the weekend!
 
Speaking of, we have a great Sunday session for the kids group (ages 5-12). Tom Townsend and Amy Hance-Brancati will be teaching about an organization called Wild Burro Rescue, which as the name implies rescues wild burros (aka donkeys) from Death Valley National Park. Our own Tom worked for them for two years, where he was deeply impacted by the burros' gentle nature and intelligence. His lesson for Sunday is to relay his passion for the organization and the animal through a cool PowerPoint, art, and some games!
 
For kids aged 6 weeks to 4 years the Nursery will be open. All teens are encouraged to come, and can either help out downstairs (for service hours!!), or enjoy the service. This weeks service we'll hear from Marcus Green about finding heroism in an ordinary man's extraordinary actions, rather than an extraordinary man's (think Superman, Black Widow, Capitan  America) unrealistic actions. Should be quite interesting!
 
Hope to see you then!
Mackenzie

Family Information for Sunday, July 14, 2013


Hey Friends and Families of Westside,
Hey everyone this week is going to be super fun! Thomas Terence and Jeanette Hitch are going to lead our multi-age (usually 5-12) group in some adrenaline pumping and teambuilding games!! Through the games and Thomas and Jeanette's guidance they will learn more about the Unitarian values of acceptance, support, and feeling love from the community just the way you are.                                                                                                                                                                                
For children ages 6 weeks to 4 years old we also have an amazing nursery open. However all youth are encouraged to attend our service, which is about how Unitarian Universalists discern our own beliefs about spiritual, ethical and theological issues under an umbrella of shared principles.    
Hopefully we'll see you Sunday!
Mackenzie

Family Information for Sunday, July 7, 2013


Hello Families and Friends of Westside!

Hope you're all enjoying this beautiful, sunny, July 4th weekend.  

This week in our RE program, our children and youth ages 5-12 will learn about Seal Sitters, a volunteer group dedicated to protecting marine mammals in our urban, Puget Sound habitat. Karin Cumming, a committed member of this group, will share her experiences with seal pups and the work that Seal Sitters does. And we'll watch some videos to see it in action!

Just a reminder that our Nursery is open for children ages 6 weeks to 4 years old. Our older middle and our high school youth are invited to enjoy our service. This week in our service we'll hear about "Summertime Spiritual Practice" from Kevin Lawson, a UU ministry candidate.  

See you on Sunday!
Mackenzie

Family Information for Sunday, June 30, 2013


Hello Families and Friends of Westside!

I am Mackenzie Murphy, your new RE Summer Coordinator, and I'm looking forward to meeting more of you in the coming months! 

We have a super fun class planned this week for our kids ages 5-12. Keo Capestany will be our guest speaker, to share the story of Plumitas about a purebred canary that could not sing, and how it was that we discovered its reason for not being able to do it.  We're going to learn about why dogs and cows do not have to learn their "language," and we're going to learn about why Cuna natives from Panama do not want to be called "Cuna" anymore!! Lots of interesting things to talk about, connected to several of our core UU principles!

Just a reminder that our Nursery is open for children ages 6 weeks to 4 years old. Our older middle and our high school youth are invited to enjoy our service. This week we'll hear from Peg, our Board President Joe Rettenmaier, and Lewis Brancati and Henry Bennett about their General Assembly experience in Louisville. 

See you on Sunday!
Mackenzie

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Family Information for Sunday, June 23, 2013


Hello Friends and Families of Westside!

Happy summer, and happy summer solstice to all of you! Such a beautiful time of year.

We are in the second week of our summer program at Westside, and Mackenzie Murphy (our RE Summer Coordinator) and I are happy to invite your children to enjoy our fun morning class each Sunday. Children ages 5-12 are invited to engage with guest speakers from our congregation who are sharing what they are passionate about as Unitarian Universalists. Our summer line-up includes music and arts, Seal Sitters, gardening, and celebration.

Tomorrow, Julie Forkasdi and Mackenzie Murphy will celebrate the summer solstice with our kids, singing and doing sun salutations. Tomorrow is a good day to wear comfortable clothing for our yoga together!

Our Nursery is open for little ones ages six weeks to 4 years old. Middle and high school youth can help Julie and Mackenzie with their class, or enjoy the service.

Just a reminder that there is no regular Youth Group meeting on Sunday evenings in the summer.

I am enjoying GA in Louisville this week, meeting UUs of all ages from all over the country!

Have a fabulous Sunday with Mackenzie and Julie!
Best,
Betsy

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Summer at WSUU!


Thank You! Thank you to all who participated in our beautiful RE Celebration Service last Sunday, and thank you to all who received it with such warmth! It’s a gift to work in a community where our children and youth are so cherished and beloved!

Teaching and Advising in our RE Programs: We are filling our rosters with fabulous teaching teams for next year, and we invite YOU to consider the possibility of playing a role in bringing our rich Religious Exploration ministry to life! In addition to joining a teaching team, there are other opportunities to support our varied RE activities through the year. Bring all of your curiosity and questions and interest to Betsy (dre@wsuu.org) or Julie Forkasdi, RE Council Chair (julieforkasdi@email.com)!

Westside’s Summer RE Program: June 16th will be the first Sunday of our RE Summer Program! As with last year, we will offer an engaging multi-age class for children ages 5—12 in the Social Hall. Each week we’ll have a guest speaker share a topic they are passionate about, linked to our seven UU Principles. Our RE teacher each week will lead our kids through the rituals of chalice lighting, check-in, community building, energizers, and wrap-up, and we’ll have music, art, and movement activities infused. The Nursery will be open for children from 6 weeks to age 4, and youth over the age of 12 are invited to participate in the service (unless they have arranged with the Summer RE Coordinator to assist with the RE class). Check our RE blog for updates on our topics and activities each week! (www.wsuureligiousexploration.blogspot.com)

Mackenzie Murphy, Summer RE Coordinator: Please welcome Mackenzie Murphy, our RE Summer Coordinator for 2013!  Mackenzie will join Betsy Lowry, our DRE, and a team of dedicated RE volunteers to coordinate WSUU’s summer RE program from June 9th through September 8th. You’ll see her greeting families on Sunday morning, and ensuring that our littlest Nursery babies through our high school youth are welcomed and included in engaging weekly sessions.

Recently out of high school, Mackenzie is currently a nanny for two families. She adores her jobs and even more so, the kids she works with. Mackenzie has dedicated her time to children and youth as a camp counselor, babysitter, and nanny for the past nine years. Watching them flourish is something she’s deeply passionate about. Mackenzie will continue to follow this passion as either an au pair or an assistant ESL teacher abroad next spring. She is very excited about this new position and getting to know the Westside community where her parents, Patti Hooper and Larry Murphy, are members. Feel free to approach her at any time with questions or concerns, or just to say hi!



Summer Youth Activities: Our Youth Group will not meet regularly during the summer. They will plan periodic gatherings and events, which will be shared with families through email, posted on the RE Blog, and announced in the eNews and our weekly Order of Service. 

Looking Forward to Fall: As we ease into our summer schedules, we can relax knowing that fabulous programs will be offered next fall as a part of Westside’s ministry for children and youth. In July, families will hear more about orientations and information sessions for OWL offerings (including our year-long junior high OWL class for 7th and 8th graders), Coming of Age (offered for all of our high schoolers who have not yet been through a COA class), and our middle and high school youth groups. Our RE program will offer music and art opportunities for kids of all ages, and multigenerational events for families. And our middle and high school youth have fall Cons to attend!

Friday, June 7, 2013

RE Celebration Sunday Recap - June 9th


Hello Friends and Families of Westside!

Just posting some details for you to know for our RE Celebration service this week – a very cool mulitigenerational service you won’t want to miss!

First, the Nursery will be open with Julie Vance and Lewis Brancati. Our Story Time class for toddlers is closed for the summer, and our Story Time teachers will join us in the service on Sunday. Parents of toddlers are welcome to keep them in the service, or take them to the Nursery (or to try a little of both!).

Second, we will need time on Sunday morning before the service for final rehearsals, reviewing the flow of the service, and sound checks. If your child is in the Uke or the Youth Band, please have them at the church by 8:45 to tune their instrument and prepare for our 9:00 rehearsal.

Our Children’s Choir will meet in the Fireside Room at 9:45 a.m. for rehearsal.

If your child is participating in the service with a speaking role, please arrive by 9:45 for a review of their parts, and a sound check.

Finally, if you have any questions about the Bridging Ceremony, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

This will be fun!
See you Sunday,
Betsy