A Message from the Director of Spiritual Development (DSD)
March 3, 2022
Greetings families, friends & visitors of Accotink UU Church!
The time has finally come for the children and youth of Accotink to once again return together in-person on March 13. We couldn’t be more excited to see you all. Hooray! I know it’s going to be challenging to get those legs motivated and moving again after 2 years away from church, but I hope the significant changes over the next few months will encourage your children and/or youth to want to share their Sunday mornings with us again. Please take a moment to look over the following information.
Sunday Mornings
Sunday mornings for children & youth will look a lot like it did before Covid. Families will gather each Sunday morning in the Sanctuary for shared worship during the beginning of the service. After a Time for All Ages, children and youth depart for Religious Education classes which meet downstairs. Check in with one of our greeters if you need assistance. The children & youth will head downstairs to their classrooms. Signs will be posted outside the doors, and they will be directed to their rooms. You are welcome to step out of service to walk your child downstairs if they are not yet comfortable doing so on their own. Classes run from approximately 10:15-11:15am.
Before the church service begins, either Olivia Tuggle, the Chair of the Children’s Spiritual Development Committee (CSDC), or I can give you a short tour downstairs and show you your child’s classroom. If you plan on visiting AUUC more than three times throughout the year, we ask that you complete a registration form, available online, from one of the greeters, or from me. We highly recommend you register your child so you will receive our RE communications and announcements. Registration will also help with contact tracing in the event of a Covid outbreak.
We have created a new SPRING Event Calendar for children, youth, and families! The calendar lists dates for all the activities up to June 2022. I will do my best to stick to the dates listed on the calendar but may need to make changes based on the availability of volunteers and health issues. If you have an event or program you would like to add to the calendar, please let me know.
Religious Education Classes
Starting March 13, AUUC’s Religious Education classes will be held 2 times each month. As more volunteers step forward, we hope to resume RE 3 times each month. Our focus for children and youth of all ages will be on opportunities for fellowship and reconnecting. Religious Education will take the form of outdoor and indoor team bonding activities, multi-generational worship services, collaborative art projects, social emotional learning, play, games, silliness, and social justice projects as well as resources to bring RE into your family life. These opportunities for fellowship and connections will help us as we move towards re-building/re-gathering with thought and meaningful intention. We will try to get outside as often as possible, so please have your child dress appropriately for outdoor activities and possibly making a mess. In the fall, we will plan to incorporate some more traditional RE classes including curriculum/lessons and the long-awaited OWL classes.
Volunteers Needed
For all these wonderful events and activities to take place, we need several more volunteers. I have already reached out to our talented and highly dedicated team of volunteers who have helped in the past, but we are still in need of more hands to support our in-person programming for this upcoming year. We look forward to our religious education program becoming robust, active and vibrant again, but can’t do this without a dedicated group of volunteers. Please consider sharing your talents with AUUC’s Religious Education program by filling out this volunteer form. At this time, we are requesting volunteers to only help once a month, but are happy to accept any support you can offer. The children and youth always enjoy hands-on projects, so if you have a special craft or trade you want to share, please let me know.
Safety
AUUC has implemented a universal mask requirement for all indoor church activities, including Religious Education. Each RE classroom downstairs has its own dedicated air purifier, new, easy-to-open windows, and the church has increased the frequency of our cleaning services. The comfort and safety of our teachers, facilitators, and participants is our first consideration in determining how we move forward with our Religious Education program. Please let me know if there is anything else we can do to support you and your family. Any changes to the mask or vaccination policy will be communicated to us by AUUC’s Board of Directors. Updates will go out directly from Accotink and notifications of any RE changes will be communicated by me as well.
Please reach out to me or any member of the Children’s Spiritual Development Committee with any questions or concerns. We also welcome your ideas for future programming. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Sincerely,
Ali Mills, Director of Spiritual Development, [email protected]
Olivia Tuggle, Chair of the Children’s Spiritual Development Committee, [email protected]
At AUUC, we are committed to nurturing the spiritual growth of people of all ages through shared experiences, ministering to each other, and education.
Our cooperative lifespan religious education program is a key way we minister to the children, youth, and adults in our community. We have a vibrant program administered by our Director of Spiritual Development, Ali Mills [email protected]).
Our fun and enriching program is divided into two categories: Adult and Children’s. Click on the buttons on the right for more information about either of these programs.
For more information about our Adult Spiritual Development program, contact: [email protected]
For more information about our Children’s Spiritual Development program, contact [email protected]
AUUC’s LGBTQ+ Resources Bibliography
All are invited to look at AUUC’s LGBTQ+ Resources Bibliography Please help Nancy D and Kate M grow this listing of books, films, and other resources by sending either of them titles you recommend. Included in this bibliography is the excellent documentary film “State of Pride,” free of charge on YouTube.