Dear church,
It is the first Sunday of Advent! Holy moly…that came quick. It is also the month that we will delve into the topic of prayer together at UU Area Church. Be sure to participate in the really rich discussion in the blog post below (Why I Teach my Children to Pray) about God, prayer, and teaching children to pray. It is fascinating and inspiring to hear what other parents do to nurture their children’s spiritual lives.
Please stay tuned for information about our annual solstice service. I will need young friends to participate in the service with me, and all of you are invited to help. The service is December 23. More information will be forthcoming on this blog as soon as it is available.
This Sunday we have new teachers in our Religious Education classes! Please join me in a resounding chorus of HOORAY! for their ministry to our children. Please also give them a big thank you or a hug or a high five when you see them on Sunday. And communicate with them as early and often as possible about your kids so that they can know how to best care for them in their classrooms.
This Sunday, babies, 2s and 3s and preschool/kindergarteners will begin in their classrooms.
1st-8th graders will begin in the sanctuary before being dismissed to their classrooms.
Coming of Age friends! I missed you last week. There was a hole in my heart the size of twelve 14-year-olds on Sunday. This Sunday, you will come to worship, and you will love it. Then you will come to Coming of Age where your awesome mentors will be yet again. We will be talking about prayer this week since we are launching into a month-long thematic exploration of prayer as a church.
By the way, when we meet in the sanctuary this Sunday, we will be treated to liturgical dance by a nearby spiritual dance company. I’m really looking forward to seeing prayer in its embodied form, a completely un-New England, anti-Puritan, out-of-my-comfort-zone ancient practice that I’m willing make room for it in my heart. I hope you will, too.
So on that note, here’s a completely silly liturgical dance by Religious Education teacher (it’s true! He teaches Sunday School) Stephen Colbert, to help welcome in the season in which we make room in our hearts for all sorts of things–the light as it returns to the earth, the little miracle of oil burning much longer than it is supposed to, and the coming of a king.
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