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Religious Education & Faith Development
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains
February 6, 2022
2021-2022 RE Theme: Community, Wholeness, Discovering Our New Normal
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Nurturing Resilience
Here you will find resources focused on cultivating resilience and practicing self-care, especially for young people and the adults who support them. Each week, I will add one or two new resources. You may not have time to explore them each week, but know they are all available in this document for you.
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Week 3
4-5 Minute Video & Family Discussion
Relaxation Skills
This is our second week sharing support materials from the Child Mind Institute’s California Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids Project. This series of videos and resources is designed to promote young people’s emotional health and help them thrive. The five topics for children, middle school youth, and high school youth are understanding feelings, relaxation skills, understanding thoughts, managing intense emotions, and mindfulness.
Family Discussion: We invite your family to watch and discuss one short video each week, during dinner or another family time. The corresponding skill sheet offers key takeaways and skills to practice. This week, we encourage you to watch the second short video, relaxation skills, and discuss it together. The suggested activity is paced belly breathing. Click the link below for your child’s age group:
Elem. children video [5:46] & skill activity, paced belly breathing
MS youth video [4:19] & skill activity, paced belly breathing
HS youth video [4:49] & skill activity, paced belly breathing
Pictured below are two additional relaxation techniques: 1) deep breathing using your hand; and 2) moving through a labyrinth with your finger. The images below are available to copy in the growing list of resources and resize for your own use.
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Update Vax Status
In preparation for an eventual (hopefully soon) return to worship and RE at CUUC, we are updating class lists and nametags. If the vaccination status of your family members has changed since December, we would appreciate an update.
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With verification of immunization (e.g. a photo of the card or screenshot of the Excelsior Pass app), we are adding a blue dot to nametags so those vaccinated can move freely around the building. Please contact Tracy (cuucwptracy@gmail.com). Thank you!
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Update from the CUUC
COVID Safety Committee
The COVID Safety Committee (formerly the Reopening Committee) is continuing to monitor the COVID-related metrics in Westchester. The most important metrics we're keeping an eye on are cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.
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January 28th Update: While cases reached all-time highs, thankfully it seems a larger percentage of these cases were milder than in previous waves. Even so, due to the overall volume of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are still up to levels they hadn't reached since vaccination became available. An important takeaway from all of this is that, while omicron may be milder on average, it is still dangerous to many. The committee will discuss returning to in-person services as soon as the case rate drops back below covidactnow.org's "Critical" risk threshold of 25 cases per day per 100k residents, or if we receive updated study data that gives a better assessment of whether vaccination + masking is sufficient to prevent omicron spread indoors. Thanks to everyone for supporting our online-only worship - please stay safe and healthy!
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8th-12th Grade Youth Group
Self Care Boxes
Friday, Feb 4, 5:30-7:00pm, Zoom 8428
In these times, it is important for us to remember to take care of ourselves. In order to assist with this, CUUC S.H.E.I.L.D. sent self care packages to our youth. Join Raquel, Daniel & Cyndi Friday, February 4th to assemble the boxes, discuss self care, and then have some fun.
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Adult RE Class
Coming of (a little more) Age
Friday, Feb 4, 7:30-8:45pm, Zoom 7899
For Unitarian Universalists, coming of age is not a once-and-done proposition. Arriving at a stage of greater maturity — including spiritual maturity — is an ongoing life project. We especially encourage parents and mentors of this year’s Coming of Age youth to participate. The class is led by Rev. Meredith. Please email admin@cucwp.org to RSVP.
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PlaceKeeping Practice
First Saturdays
Saturday, Feb 5, In Person at CUUC
Join the PlaceKeepers each month to appreciate, improve, and maintain the building and grounds of CUUC, our spiritual home. Join us by 10:00am for our Gratitude Practice, based on the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address. Then socialize by the Spirit Fire, help tend our springs and paths, or take a walk and watch for wildlife. You are welcome to join us throughout the day. Contact: Bice Wilson ( bicewilson@gmail.com), Terri Kung ( terrikung@yahoo.com).
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PreK/K Play Time
Suspended
Sunday morning play time is suspended. We are grateful to Diane for offering it and to our families for your feedback. We look forward to seeing our Prek/K children when we return to meeting in person.
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1st-9th Grade Classes
*Online Only*
9:50am 1st-5th Grade Class Begins
10:00am 6th-7th Grade Class Begins
10:10am 8th-9th Grade Class Begins
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All classes log in to Zoom 8428 then move into class breakout rooms.
Zoom 8428 password embedded login: https://bit.ly/CUUC-RE
Phone (audio only): 646-558-8656 · Meeting ID: 817 388 428 · Passcode: 468468
We look forward to seeing you!
9:50am 1st-5th Grade Class, Love Connects Us: Laura S is leading session 9, Kindness is the Key.
You cannot shake hands with a closed fist. — Indira Ghandi
Love is not a doctrine. Peace is not an international agreement. Love and Peace are beings who live as possibilities in us. — Mary Caroline Richards, poet, potter, and philosopher
Our sixth Unitarian Universalist Principle affirms "the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all." This session shows how we can act to promote this goal in our relationships and communities. Children will explore what it means to choose peaceful relationships.
10:00am 6th-7th Grade Class, Amazing Grace: Exploring Right and Wrong: Gail J and Alex Z are leading session 9, Spirituality and Me.
The spiritual journey is the process of learning to know oneself and becoming self-aware. We learn to love ourselves as the sacred beings that we are, and discover in that love that we are connected to all that exists; thus we develop compassion and strength.
— Elisa Davy Pearmain
This session explores the nature of spirituality and how it relates to right and wrong, beginning by returning to the concepts of soul and conscience. Youth will consider the relative influence of various moral advisors to youth. Earlier sessions have encouraged youth to honor the voice of conscience in distinguishing right from wrong. This one will help them appreciate conscience as reflection and expression of our deepest spiritual self.
10:10am 8th-9th Grade Class, Coming of Age Handbook: & Compass Points: Betsy W is leading session 15 from the COA Handbook, Spirituality.
Deep in our innermost core we year to be connected with the mystery we call God, or nature, or the spirit. We yearn for the sense of oneness with each other and all creation, to know our place and our value. And, often, we yearn for someone to show us how to get there, to direct us on the right path that will lead us on the way to a deeper spirituality.
— Susan Manker-Seale
This session invites youth into an inclusive and expansive understanding of our relationship with the miracle of life, that which we call spirituality. Spirituality includes personal spiritual practice as well as spirituality through relationship and the web of life. In this sense, spirituality has three aspects: reflection, reaching out, and response. Betsy will introduce the use of prayer beads in spiritual practice.
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10:00am Worship
*Online Only*
“Desire” ~ Rev. Meredith Garmon
Desire is our theme of the month for February. If desires consume us, they preclude our spiritual development. On the other hand, desire can also open us up to our spiritual potential.
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Congregation Forum II
Board Reduction & Bylaw Amendment
Sunday, Feb 6, 11:30am, Zoom 6161
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.
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We plan to conduct a Special Meeting of the Congregation on Sun Feb 27 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. The first was held on Sun Dec 12. If you missed it or want to attend again, we invite you to the second on Sun Feb 6 at 11:30am. Click here to join virtually on Zoom or call 929-436-2866 (audio only). Meeting ID: 616 163 6161, Passcode: 468468. Contact: Joe Majsak (jmajsak@verizon.net).
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Lunar New Year
Celebrate with the Kungs
Saturday, Feb 12, 5:00pm, Zoom 7899
Come celebrate the Year of the Tiger with the Darwei and Terri Kung! The couple will share some typical Chinese New Year traditions while we make dumplings together.
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Terri will show you up close and personal on Zoom how to make the filling, fold, and cook the dumplings. Click here for a detailed recipe including pictures of the ingredients. If we have enough young folks at the event, maybe we can even hear/see a Chinese New Year's tale while eating our dumplings. This event is for ages 4 through adults. RSVP Terri Kung (madterri@gmail.com). Terri will also be offering to go shopping with or collect some of the ingredients for folks, as well as sending a recipe for a celebratory adult beverage.
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Peer Pastoral Care for Youth
We are working with the UUA to offer a series of interactive online workshops for youth to learn peer pastoral care skills - deep listening and sharing feelings. Pastoral care is an essential part of religious community and an essential part of caring for each other as human beings. We each can be present to each other as we go through both the hard and joyful parts of life. Compassion, witness, listening, and empathy are gifts we can all give each other. Sharing those gifts with others also helps us learn to receive those gifts when we need them. More information coming soon...
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