Family Information for Sunday, May 5, 2013

Hello Friends and Families of Westside!

Woo hoo – we’re in the sun! It’s easy to feel the gratitude on these bloom-filled, sunny, warm spring days! So, in that spirit of gratefulness, I want to share that it felt really great to me to return to our congregation from a dynamic regional assembly in San Jose. We rock, and in really fantastic ways. There is such good spirit in our community. I am truly grateful to be here!

NOTE:

Grades 3-5 parents, your children have a very special art project this Sunday – they will be making textured and stamped acrylic greeting cards to sell during social hour to raise funds for their Heifer International project. See below for information about their clothing with acrylic paints.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

1.    BAND REHEARSALS: This Sunday the Youth Band meets in the social hall from 9:15 to 10:00. The Uke Band meets next week.

2.    MIDDLE SCHOOL CONS: See information at the bottom of this message. Registration for the June 7-8 overnight at Northlake needs to happen by June 2, but there is limited space. So please let me know if you want me to reserve a space now for your youth!

3.    MIDDLE SCHOOL FUN NIGHT: Friday, May 19^th from 6:00pm-8:00pm in the social hall – calling all middle schoolers to come join the fun for a night of community, pizza and hide-and-seek adventure! RSVP to Betsy (dre@wsuu.org). A donation to help cover pizza costs would be much appreciated!

4.    CHILDREN’S CHOIR: The Children’s Choir will sing again for our RE Celebration Sunday on June 9^th. Rehearsals are this Sunday, May 5^th, and June 2^nd. All K-5^th graders are invited to participate, and older youth who are interested are also welcome to join. The kids will meet with Lisa Maynard and Liz Bucklew this Sunday in the Library Room on the 3^rd floor from 12:00-12:30.

5.    YOUTH ADULT COMMITTEE MEETING (YAC): This meeting was amazing – lots of momentum for our senior high youth ministry! We now have co-chairs for our YAC – Mia Shaughnessy and Lorelei Amato. Other YAC members (youth were voted in, and adults were invited by the youth) are Henry Bennett, Lewis Brancati, Shannon Day, Mike Cox, and our lead youth advisor, Shelby Greiner. I am an ex-officio member. We have three immediate projects: visiting other youth groups in our district; creating our WSUU Youth Room on the 3^rd floor; and planning an overnight event in June. Our youth are also committing to support the ongoing Orion Center dinners organized by Marissa Ohoyo.

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: This week our Spirit Play children will focus on all of our seven promises (UU Principles). In our remaining weeks before the summer program begins, we will revisit some of our favorite stories and themes.

Kindergarten through Second Grade: “Wonderful Welcome”:  This Sunday’s session will focus on the gift of acceptance, a particularly important gift because it makes sharing other intangible gifts possible.

Children can relate to the idea of "acceptance" on a personal, concrete level through their experiences of feeling accepted and accepting others. The simplicity of a child's understanding is not superficial, but deeply rooted in our Universalist heritage that includes the belief in a divine force which accepts each of us as we are. Built into our faith, too, is the belief that acceptance of others begins with acceptance of self.

Third through Fifth Grades: “Love Will Guide Us”:  This week’s session, “Give Love” focuses on the second Unitarian Universalist Source, "Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love," expressed in children's language as "the women and men of long ago and today whose lives remind us to be kind and fair." Our children are experiencing the gift of giving love as they spend time growing funds to provide a family with an animal to sustain them through the Heifer International organization.

This Sunday our 3^rd-5^th graders will make textured and stamped acrylic greeting cards in class – a special project with Alice Britt. Acrylic paints will not stain hands, but they may stain clothing. The kids will also be handling tissue paper that can bleed onto clothing and hands  -- it will stain.

PARENTS -- Our children will each be given a smock or covering for this project, but we suggest that you send them in clothing appropriate for this art activity. Thank you!

Middle School: “Riddle and Mystery”:  This week, as our middle school youth continue to move their White Center Food Bank social action initiative forward, their teachers will weave in key themes from recent curriculum sessions, including interconnectedness, and truth telling. Look for upcoming information about a visit to the White Center Food Bank.

High School: “Our Name is Earl”: This week’s episode addresses Forgiveness and Blame. Unitarian Universalists believe in the interconnected web of life (Principle 7) and in taking care of the community in which we live (Principle 6). We believe that we are all connected to one another – through the air we breathe, the earth we share, food we eat, and the deeds we do. In this way, Earl is very much a Unitarian Universalist. Even though Earl doesn't know it, UUs often believe that if we do good in our lives, our lives become better. Perhaps it is because of Karma, or perhaps it is just because taking care of the community we live in makes the world a better place for everyone to live in. Earl's community is so small that, as he crosses items off of his list, he really does change it for the better in a very direct and immediate way. Our community as Unitarian Universalists includes the entire world, and our deeds are often directed toward living ethically, using the Principles to guide our actions toward ourselves and others, and making the world a better place.

Youth Group will meet this week in the social hall from 6:30-8:30pm with Shelby and Suki. They will start by sharing Pho for dinner.  

Have a fabulous Sunday!

Betsy

Middle School Cons:

1) Middle School Overnight Event -- June 7th and 8th at Northlake UU Church. It's a mini middle school con for local congregations! The space will go fast, so please let me know if your 6th-8th grader would like to attend. And parents, we need a couple of adult sponsors -- let me know if you're interested! You can submit them to me -- I will sign, and send them in altogether. Even before that, if I know you're interested, I'll call to reserve space for us. 

2) Middle School Fall Con -- Here is the fall con announcement:

Middle School Conference 2013!

·      September 27-29, 2013 at Camp Sealth on Vashon Island.

·      Join 70 other UU 6^th, 7^th and 8^th graders from around the Sound as they enjoy a weekend of fun, sharing and living our UU Principles.

·      Sponsored by Liberal Religious Educators Association’s Puget Sound Cluster.

·      Cost $120 before August 31 or $135 after August 31 -- includes meals all day Saturday, breakfast & lunch Sunday, lodging, all camp activities: Archery, Boating, Talent Show!

·      For more information please contact your Director of Religious Exploration or Lori Fernholz-Hartman at dre@tuuc-wa.org or 253-476-2799.

·      Final registration deadline Sept. 6, no exceptions.

·      Half-scholarships are available for early birds only.