Family Information for Sunday, May 19th

Hello Friends and Families of Westside!

As part of our partner church focus in May, we are having special guests tomorrow, including two children and two young adults, who recently visited our partner village in Romania. All of our RE classes will spend half of their time in their classrooms, and half of their time in the social hall for this event. Come join the fun! Our guests will also share a Story for All Ages in the service.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1.    WSUU Youth Ministry Conversation: We have a special opportunity to meet with our Regional UU Youth Coordinator, Jennica Davis, next Wednesday, May 22^nd. She lives in Arizona, but will be in Seattle that week and agreed to be available to us that afternoon. Come join an informative conversation from 5:00—6:30pm in the Fireside Room, where she will share information about local, regional and national opportunities and events for high school youth. She will also help us to shape our youth programs for next year. All youth, their families, and anyone who is interested in supporting our youth programs are welcome to join! Contact Betsy with questions.

2.    HIGH SCHOOL OVERNIGHT: June 7-8 (Fri-Sat) our high school youth will have an overnight in the church! See Shelby Greiner or Henry Bennett for more information.

3.    DATE NIGHT JUNE 1, 6-9pm: The RE Council is sponsoring a date night for our WSUU parents to raise funds for two of our youth and a sponsor to attend General Assembly in Louisville this June. Your school-age children (ages 5-12) can have a fun night together in the social hall while parents go out for a nice dinner! $25 per child, $35 for two or more kids. RSVP to Kim Frappier (kimberly.frappier@gmail.com).

4.    BAND REHEARSALS: This Sunday the Youth Band meets from 9:15 to 10:00 – we’ll meet in the preschool classroom again this week. The Uke Band meets next week, May 26th.

5.    MIDDLE SCHOOL: I think everyone is up to speed on our middle school happenings for now! If you have any questions or want more information, please contact me (dre@wsuu.org).

6.    CHILDREN’S CHOIR: To all families of young singers! We are reconvening the kids’ choir to sing for RE Celebration Sunday on June 9th. We rehearsed on May 5^th and we’ll meet again on June 2^nd from 12:00-12:30 in the Fireside Room. Contact Lisa Maynard (l.maynard@comcast.net) or Liz Bucklew (liz.bucklew@becu.org) if you have any questions or if you would like to add your child to this choir.

7.    SOCIAL JUSTICE PROJECTS IN RE: Thank you for wonderful support of our K-5^th grade Heifer International project! Last Sunday our card sales added $263 to our collection! Also, you can continue to send extra change from around the house with your children to their classes on Sundays. This week you’ll hear more about the middle school class and their work with the White Center Food Bank.

THIS WEEK:

Story Time: This week our children will share a story and snack together. Please let the teachers in the class know if your child has a food allergy.

Spirit Play: Our Spirit Play class will start in the social hall with our special guests who will share experiences from their recent trip to Romania and our partner village. Back in their classroom, this week’s story is called “Butterfly Friends,” which is a Green Promise story – “grow by exploring what is true and right.” In this story, three butterflies make friends with red clover, who is not afraid of their differences.

Kindergarten through Second Grade: “Wonderful Welcome”:  Our K-2 class will start in the social hall with our special guests who will share experiences from their recent trip to Romania and our partner village.

Back in their classroom, this Sunday’s session will focus on the gift of spirit, which we give and receive as members of a faith community when we worship together, celebrate together, and support and comfort one another. At its best, a Unitarian Universalist faith community nourishes all members with affirmation of their spirit and acceptance of their unique spiritual paths. 

Third through Fifth Grades: “Love Will Guide Us”: Our 3-5 class will start in the social hall with our special guests who will share experiences from their recent trip to Romania and our partner village.

Back in their classroom, this Sunday’s session will focus on our fifth Source, which “…counsels us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science…,” through Unitarian Universalist Cecelia Payne, the first person to be given the title “astronomer.” We will learn about Cecelia’s love of learning and do a mini science investigation to illustrate that UUs value discovery throughout life and use reason as a source of strength in our faith.

Middle School: “Riddle and Mystery”:  The middle schoolers will spend the first half of class in their classroom, and the second half in the social hall with our special guests who will share experiences from their recent trip to Romania and our partner village.

This week’s lesson is about life as mystery, focusing on the big question, “can we ever solve life’s mystery?” The typical answer will be “no,” but our kids will examine this seemingly obvious answer by revisiting a few of the big questions from previous sessions.

High School: “Our Name is Earl”: Our high school class will spend the first half of class (from 10:30-11:15) in their classroom, and the second half in the social hall with our special guests who will share experiences from their recent trip to Romania and our partner village.

This week’s lesson is “O Karma, Where Art Thou?” – Agents and Prophets. Some of our discussion questions include:

·      Do you believe people, in general, get what they deserve? Why or why not? Can you give an example of a time when you saw a person get EXACTLY what they deserved, good or bad? What about a time when someone didn't get what they deserved, good or bad?

·      How far do you think you have to go to make something up to someone? How much would you sacrifice to make things right?

·      Who or what do you turn to in times of crisis?

·      Can you think of a time when your faith in something or someone was challenged? What did you do? How did you feel?

Youth Group will meet this week in the social hall from 7:00-8:30pm with Shelby and Suki. The next few meetings are important – our YAC members (Mia, Henry and Lewis) will be leading the group through some planning for creating our youth room (starting in a couple of weeks), our upcoming overnight (June 7-8), and visiting other youth groups (this summer).  

See you tomorrow!

Betsy