Religious Education News: Sun Feb 17

This past Sun Feb 10 was the tremendously exciting “kick off” to our upcoming Variety Show. All the students (with the exception of 8-9 OWL, who voted in their classroom) were in attendance in Fellowship Hall for the Big Vote to select which organization will receive the proceeds from this annual RE fundraiser. Liz Suvanto, our lead facilitator, told the children about the event and described the three nominated groups to be considered. She showed brief videos on each and conducted a great exchange of questions, answers, opinions, and other feedback. Each student got stickers, which they placed on their voting card to show which group they felt was most deserving. Liz reminded everyone, including the adults in the room, that a tremendous amount of work still has to be done on the bake sale and donation drive. Everyone seemed really pumped! We are awaiting the final count and will soon announce which organization won. The Teacher Enrichment Luncheon workshop took place in Fellowship Hall at 11:45 with director of faith development Perry Montrose and me. The discussion centered around feedback from the teachers on problems to be solved, concerns to be shared, and of course ideas to create the most meaningful and engaging classroom experience for both the students and teachers. Perry accentuated that in a successful classroom teachers lean less on conversation and more on leading the class in activities that foster a fun and enjoyable lesson. The paramount theme was that RE classes should not be school, but a spiritual exercise. Each teacher was then asked to recall a mentor in their life and select attributes of that individual. I filled a flip chart with a plethora of the adjectives used to describe these people, and we all agreed that most of these descriptions should apply to our RE teachers. Many more topics continued to unfold, and of course time ran out. However everyone enjoyed the workshop and requested more, which Perry and I will be planning. Thanks to all the teachers, and congregants such as Liz, for their enthusiasm, dedication, and desire to see CUUC become even more alive with a sense of community. Thanks also to Perry for his endless energy and knowledge, which he so unselfishly shares with us all. Great job, everyone!

Michele Rinaldi
RE Coordinator

Looking ahead...

RE This Sunday, Feb 17
All ages are in room 41 for Fun Sunday activities.

2019 Variety Show, Sat May 4, 5:00pm
SAVE THE DATE: Our Annual Variety Show is always one of the most FUN fundraisers at CUUC, and the event where everyone, children to adults, pitch in and create meaningful ties to a social justice cause. Sign up in the RE lobby and get ready to rock! HELP WANTED: The Variety Show requires all hands on deck. PLEASE help by signing up to be our Bake Sale Director, or Head of Donations, or Pizza Dinner Coordinator. Learn more HERE. Contact Liz Suvanto (elizabethsuvanto@hotmail.com). When the big jobs are filled, the smaller details fall into place and the fun can begin! ~ The Variety Show Team