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Religious Education & Faith Development
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains
December 12, 2021
2021-2022 RE Theme: Community, Wholeness, Discovering Our New Normal.
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Sunday Morning
December 12th
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1st-7th Grade
PlaceKeeping RE Activity
10:00am-11:20pm, Fellowship Hall then Outside
Calling all EarthKeepers, AnimalKeepers, and WaterKeepers! 1st-7th graders are meeting as PlaceKeepers to continue learning about and caring for our beautiful place and the life around us.
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Begin in Fellowship Hall, then the group will move outside. Cynthia R, Bice W, and LoraKim J will lead our Keeper teams in exploring our plants, animals, and streams, and discussing ongoing activities for this year. Bring your enthusiasm and any ideas you might have! Dress and shoes for walking around outside on our trails. Remember to do tick checks back at home. We look forward to continuing the RE & PlaceKeeping collaboration! Contact: Cynthia Roberts, cynthiaVRoberts@gmail.com.
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8th-12th Grade
Superhero Series
10:00am-11:20pm, Room 11, Red Hallway
We are inviting the 10th-12th grade youth into the 8th-9th grade Coming of Age class this Sunday to begin a new series, Superhero Year. This series will be part of the Coming of Age experience and include the older youth.
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Superhero Series: If our everyday gifts were turned into powers, what would that look like? Youth will explore this question by designing your own superhero and playing them in an escape room, making a mask for them as we consider our own identity/identities, creating a board game based on them to explore our inner villains and how we resist them, and more!
We will kick off the Superhero series this Sunday during 10:00am RE with all 8th-12th graders by viewing together and discussing the second episode of Marvel's "What If...?" which flips the script and reimagines famous events from the films in unexpected ways. (Marvel's "What-If..." is rated TV-14.) Raquel B and Tracy B will lead a discussion focused on our own lives, exploring how small decisions have led us to where and who we are today.
This will be a fun 8th-12th grade program and great enhancement to our COA program! After this Sunday, we may move the series to another day and time, e.g., Friday evening so the COA class can continue following their curriculum Sunday mornings, or we may keep it as a Sunday morning program once or twice each month inviting the older youth into the COA class. For the scheduling discussion, it would help if youth come with an understanding of their availability outside Sunday morning. We look forward to seeing you this Sunday at 10:00am. Excelsior! Contact: Raquel Belkin, youth@cucwp.org.
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Childcare
9:30-11:45am
Diane and Hans offer childcare for young children. Everyone wears a mask. No snacks are served. Drop off in room 32 in the yellow hallway. Pick up in Fellowship Hall.
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Begin at the RE Lobby Welcome Table
We ask families to enter through the RE lobby doors and visit our Welcome table. As your family completes vaccinations, please provide Tracy (cuucwptracy@gmail.com) with verification so we can put blue dots on name tags of everyone (all ages) vaccinated.
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Pick Up in Fellowship Hall after Worship
All children in 5th grade and younger, along with unvaccinated youth in 6th grade and older will wait for parents/guardians to pick them up in Fellowship Hall after RE. Please pick up children right after worship so RE leaders may leave for meetings or other activities. Vaccinated youth 6th grade and older with blue dots on their name tags will be released to find their parents/guardians.
All adult leaders are vaccinated. Everyone will observe pandemic safety protocols including wearing masks, and we are skipping snack time.
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10:00am Worship
In Person & Online
“Blessing” ~ Rev. Meredith Garmon
Our Theme of the Month for December has two primary focal points: the blessings you receive from others and the world, and the blessing that you give to others and the world.
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In our sanctuary, we follow Covid safety protocols: being vaccinated, remaining masked, and maintaining social distance. Please have your mask on and proof of vaccination (or blue dot on your name tag) ready as you enter. At this time, we are not hosting in-person or virtual coffee hour after worship.
To join the online livestream, click https://bit.ly/CUUC-Worship, or phone in (audio only): 646-876-9923. Webinar: 761 321 991, Passcode: 468468
Orders of service are e-mailed and uploaded to our website prior to each Sunday. Revisit past services anytime at our YouTube Channel.
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Congregation Forum
This Sunday, 11:30am, Fellowship Hall & Zoom 2210
Congregation Forum: Board Reduction and Bylaw Amendment - Forum I
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Over the last 12 months CUUC’s Board of Trustees has been on a path to reduce the size of the Board of Trustees from 11 to 7 members. We plan to conduct a Special Meeting of the Congregation on Sun Feb 27, 2022, to vote on this matter. The vote will be preceded by two “congregational forum” gatherings designed to foster the engagement of the congregation in this transition.
- “Board Reduction and Bylaw Amendment Forum I,” Sun Dec 12, 2021, 11:30am-12:30pm, Fellowship Hall & livestream on Zoom 2210.
- “Board Reduction and Bylaw Amendment Forum II,” Sun, Feb 6, 2022, 11:30am-12:30pm, Fellowship Hall & livestream on Zoom 2210.
Please join us for the first Forum, Sun Dec 12 at 11:30am, which will be a hybrid “in-person and virtual” format. Click here to join virtually on Zoom or call 929-436-2866 (audio only). Meeting ID: 336 956 2210, Passcode: 468468. Contact: Joe Majsak (jmajsak@verizon.net). Childcare will be available for parents who are attending.
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U.S. Surgeon General Report
Youth Mental Health
Last week, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report about the state of youth mental health, noting that the pandemic has increased rates of anxiety and depression and calling it a critical issue.
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You can read or listen to NPR's report here, and read the full report from the Surgeon General here. The full report includes information about the pandemic's impact on the mental health of children and youth, steps young people can take to protect or improve their mental health and that of friends, and what family members or caregivers can do to support young people. Those prompts might offer an opening for checking in with the young people in your life. On page 15, there is a list of valuable resources that children, youth, and adults can consult.
At CUUC, we are exploring the possibility of offering the National Council for Mental Wellbeing's Youth Mental Health First Aid training, which teaches adults how to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges and crises and offers practice applying appropriate steps to getting young people the help they need. We are also looking for workshops, training, or other support for our young people. If you have suggestions, please contact Tracy, cuucwptracy@gmail.com.
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JUUst Breathe Live - UU Youth
December 14th, 8:00pm
JUUst Breathe Live is a YouTube live stream where youth ministry has a say! December 14 at 8pm is our next stream featuring Martha Durkee Neuman talking about Resonance Organizing. In this session, we will explore the practice of listening for resonance. We will have opportunities to share stories with each other and find our points of resonance as a strategy for empathy and organizing. And starting in January we'll be with you twice a month - Mark January 9 and 23 at 8:00pm on your calendars!
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Holiday Donations
We are collecting donations that will spread some holiday cheer. Bins and individuals collecting donations will be available at CUUC. Thank you for helping brighten the season for those in our local community!
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Mitten Tree - Our Mitten Tree is a little "thinner" this year. All the more reason to fill it up with your donations of mittens, gloves, hats, and scarves for all ages and sizes. Share the gift of warmth! We will collect until Sun Jan 2.
Coachman Gift Cards - Help us buy a $25 gift card for each school-aged child at the Coachman Family Center, a local shelter for families experiencing homelessness. Donate at our table after worship through Dec 19, or mail checks to CUUC with the memo "Coachman Gift Cards." You can also donate online at cucwp.org by clicking Donate and selecting "Coachman Gift Cards." We will purchase the cards and deliver them to the approximately 200 children at Coachman. Contact Jacy Good (goodjacy@gmail.com).
Toys for a New Family - Donate new and gently used toys for boys ages 1 and 4 who are arriving in our area with their family from Afghanistan. Contact Jane Dixon (lilrhodie@gmail.com) with questions.
Toys for the Ecumenical Food Pantry to Distribute - Last Weekend! Donate new or gently used toys suitable for a small apartment, new or like-new stuffed animals. Contact Mary Cavallero (marycava4@gmail.com) with questions.
Personal Items for Shelter Residents - We collect new men's and women's socks, underwear, and toiletries throughout December, for residents of local shelters.
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Y Leaders Program
YWCA White Plains
Our thanks to Karen Schatzel for letting us know about the YMCA's new Y Leaders Leadership Program.
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This is a FREE leadership initiative that aims to equip students in high school and college with the tools they need to be effective and empowered leaders, taking participants through workshops and conversations that will teach them how to better communicate with themselves and the world around them, how to build in daily affirmations into their lives, how to empower each other and how to navigate spaces in a way that affects change. You can read more about Y Leaders here. And youth womxn can apply here. Application Deadline: January 10, 2022. Notification by January 14, 2022. Program Start Date: January 19, 2022 5-7pm on Zoom. Program End Date: June 2022. Contact: Lesley Mazzotta, lmazzotta@ywcawpcw.org.
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Social Justice Parenting
Our thanks to Barbara Mair for spotting this in the New York Times and suggesting it for our parents. From the NYT article: “Social Justice Parenting” is steps above the typical parenting book, and it is a must-read guide for a new generation of parents who want to raise better, kinder and more compassionate kids. The author, Dr. Baxley, is an educator and mother of five biracial children who knows that parenting is not just about diaper changes and getting kids to sleep. Her transformative idea is that parenting is a form of activism. What better way to change the world than through our kids? Social justice parenting, she says, means raising children “who can ultimately self-advocate, empathize with others, recognize injustice and become proactive in changing it.”
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Spring Seminar
UUA Office at the UN
Save the Date: April 22-24, 2022
This is a fantastic multigenerational opportunity for our youth and adults!
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The UUA Office at the UN is hosting its Intergenerational Spring Seminar in partnership with UU Ministry for Earth and UUSC, focusing on climate justice, forced displacement, and human rights. The Seminar is for everyone age 14+ and is expected to take place online with opportunities to participate in New York City too! Registration will open in December. Find more details at the UUA website.
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Following Sundays - December 19th & 26th
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RE Classes & Activities
on Break
Next week, Religious Education classes and activities will take a break for the holidays. Sunday, December 19th, we will offer a Christmas service for all ages. Please remember the sanctuary is an immunized-only space. Childcare is offered every Sunday with Diane and Hans in room 32. RE classes for 1st-9th grade resume Sunday, January 2nd.
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Christmas Eve
Service
Friday, December 24th, 5:30pm
We hope to hold our Christmas Eve service in person as well as online. For in person attendance, there will be a reservation system to help us manage space safely in the sanctuary. Additional information will be coming soon.
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