Roots and Wings
Faith Development Newsletter, December 21, 2022
May being present with your family, with your faith community, and in quiet stillness with the Holy this week be like oil on the hinges of your heart, easing the opening out toward the wide and wonderful world, with all its joys and sorrows whose inseparable shapes fill all that we will know of this brief, exquisite experience of being alive.
What's Happening in Faith Development
- December 24th- Candlelight Christmas Eve Service, 6pm (Nursery Closed, family comfort rooms are available)
- December 25th- Cozy Christmas Morn Online worship service
- December 31st
- No Faith Development Classes
- New Year's Eve Labyrinth Walk 8 pm
- January 8th- 4-6th Grade OWL Parent Interest Meeting 11:05 am Room 205
- January 22nd
- K-2 OWL Parent Interest Meeting 11:05am Room 205
- 4-6th Grade OWL Mandatory Parent Orientation 11:05 am Room 209
- February 5th- K-2 OWL Mandatory Parent Orientation 11:05 am Room 205
May you be filled with happiness, may you be filled with peace, may you be filled with love
Chris
Upcoming Activities
Our Whole Lives (OWL)
K-2 and 4th-6th Grade
This spring, we are proud to offer Our Whole Lives (OWL) to two groups: Kindergarten-2nd graders and 4th-6th graders. We will also offer Parents and Caregivers as Sexuality Educators simultaneously (see below).
"Our Whole Lives" takes a holistic view of sexuality. It provides accurate, age-appropriate information while helping children and youth to clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional and social aspects of sexuality.
In our congregation, children and youth meet in age-specific covenantal groups led by highly committed volunteers who undergo comprehensive training led by UUA-certified trainers.
A sampling of topics for these age groups includes: (K-2) birth, babies, bodies, and families and (4th-6th) physical, emotional, and social changes of puberty.
Parent Interest and Parent Orientation Meetings will be held in January. Please mark your calendars now and plan to attend the Interest meetings so you can decide if this is a program your family would like to commit to.
Parent Interest:
K-2 January 22nd
4-6th January 8th
Parent Orientations:
K-2 February 5th
4th-6th January 22nd
Parents & Caregivers as Sexuality Educators
Sessions run concurrently on Sundays with the K-2 and 4-6th OWL Classes. Begins February 5th
Are you ready to answer the difficult questions your children will ask? Have you thought about how to communicate your values around sexuality? Do you have unhealthy sexual scripts lingering from the messages you received from your family and friends?
The information and attitudes that adults share with their children—intentionally or by default—carry extraordinary power. It is a power that many adults struggle to wield effectively and confidently. Often, their own experiences, perspectives, and worries get in the way. Join us for Parents and Caregivers as Sexuality Educators, a new program to help parents and caregivers to get comfortable with sexuality topic discussions with their children. These sessions invite you to find support and courage with one another.
Parents and Caregivers as Sexuality Educators consists of a series of 10 sessions (90 minutes each). The aim of the program is to help parents and caregivers to get comfortable with sexuality topic discussions with their children. Join Chris Jarman, Director of Lifespan Faith Development and Alyssa Goss-Pritchard, trained OWL Facilitator, as we explore how to raise healthy children and youth!
Spiritual Practice
"I wonder..."
In English language and culture learning, we explicitly teach “I wonder…” as a way to present a request that is soft and considered polite, because it is less direct. Listen to the difference: “What was she thinking?” versus “I wonder what she was thinking.” Native English speakers may not think much of how and when the phrase is used, but they are probably making choices subconsciously depending on the outcome they want. Sometimes, with the language we use, we are trying to be more direct, concise, and assertive. But sometimes, we are trying to soften, ease, and remove obstacles. The phrase “I wonder…” can be useful here.
I invite you to use the “I wonder…” phrase to engage gently with your children’s positions on a topic, and to make a subtle point while opening up a deeper dialog. When we observe pivotal moments in their thinking or acting, we can wonder aloud about their motivation, or what effect might come.
● “There’s a new girl on the bus. But she doesn’t talk to anybody. She seems snobby.”
● “I wonder what would happen if you waved and smiled at the new girl on the bus.”
● “I didn’t deserve this grade. My teacher just hates me.”
● “I wonder if your teacher really doesn’t like you, or if he knows you are capable of more.” (Of course, we want to be sure we are paying attention to red flags and not gaslighting when we use this rhetorical technique, so only offer a wondering like this if you are pretty certain that what your child is presenting is a clouded vision of what is actually happening.)
● “The Jesus-magic-baby story is so weird.”
● “I wonder what parts of that story are meaningful to Christians, and to UUs?”
Youth
JUUst Breathe Live UU Podcast
JUUst Breathe Live is a podcast where youth ministry has a say! Hosts Shannon Harper and Eric Bliss interview youth and adults who hold a vision of liberal religious youth ministry that is both life saving and spirit lifting. JUUst click on the graphic
December UU Music Box
Meditation On Breathing
Sarah Dan Jones
Found in Singing the Journey 1009
Principle 6 We believe in working for a peaceful, fair and free world.
Source 1 The sense of wonder we all share.
Source 3 The ethical and spiritual wisdom of the world’s religions.
This song was written by Sarah Dan Jones, an active Unitarian Universalist musician who believes in using music to spread and support the UU faith. This song is intended for meditation and calming. It is sung in three parts: the melody starts first and repeats throughout until the end of the song; then a low drone part (on one note) is added in; finally a high descant joins in. The group can choose to sing melody only or to add in one or both of the other parts.
Movement
As you breathe in deeply, open your arms wide to the side; as you breathe out, bring your hands back together in front of the body, palms up as if offering a gift to the world. Try it for a few breaths, then use these motions with singing the song. Look up the American Sign Language (ASL) signs for Peace and Love. Teach these signs to the group, and use the signs as you are singing the song. www.signingsavvy.com/sign/PEACE www.signingsavvy.com/sign/LOVE
Activities Use props such as feathers or cotton balls that can be easily moved by blowing. Sing “When I breathe in,” then take a deep breath. Sing “When I breathe out” then blow the air out, blowing the feathers or cotton balls. Gather the group around a small parachute or a sheet, making sure everybody has a firm grip on the edge. Practice lifting the parachute all together, so that the air billows it upwards, then moving it down to the ground so that the air swooshes out. As you sing along with the recording, start with the parachute on the ground. Lift it up as you sing “Breathe in peace,” and bring it back to the ground as you sing “Breathe out love.”
Discussion Topics
· What does it feel like in your body when you take a deep breath then blow it out?
· What does it sound like when you blow air out of your mouth?
· Does it remind you of any sounds you hear in nature?
· What does it mean to breathe in peace? To breathe out love?
· This song describes a spiritual practice that involves our physical bodies and our minds and spirits. What effect do you think this practice could have on how you feel in the moment? On your overall well-being? On your interactions with other people around you?
Parenting Resources
About Us
Email: dlfd@liveoakuu.org
Website: https://www.liveoakuu.org/
Location: 3315 El Salido Parkway, Cedar Park, TX, USA
Phone: 737-240-3127