A Good Book

 All, Religious Education (RE), UU at Home, UU Youth, UU Youth (age 3-8), Words to Grow By  No Responses »
Nov 272011
 

A Good Book

As you no doubt know, one of the standard tools of religious educators is the ubiquitous “story for all ages” that we read during multigenerational services.  While this sometimes seems like nothing more than entertainment designed to focus the elusive attention of children, it has potential far surpassing that one goal.

Stories, such as Toy Boat (which I read to the children at our ingathering service) are chosen with a fair bit of thought and care.  First of all, the story needs to be engaging and accessible for children across a fairly wide range of ages.  More importantly, it needs to fit the overall themes of the service and the particular message of the Pastor’s homily.  And, it must have some measure of depth to it… something worth contemplating for minds young and old alike.

Perhaps the most important criteria, from my perspective as an educator, is that the story needs to be useful.  A well chosen story has a lesson in it that can be carried away in the memories and imaginations of all who hear it.  It allows children and their adults an opportunity to discuss the meanings imbedded in the entire service at a level that is comfortable for all.

When discussing the message of the ingathering service and the notion that boating is “an act of faith,” for example, Toy Boat serves as common ground from which to build deeper and more meaningful connections not only to the service itself and to the act of worship, but to one another.

We’re all familiar with the ways that parables and morality tales of old were meant to teach important lessons, both practical and spiritual.  Whether a dire tale of woe from the Brothers Grimm, or kinder message from Hans Christian Anderson (a UU by the way), these stories stay with us because they entertain and they have this very useful place in our individual and societal growth.

Modern children’s stories often do the same kind of work. They help us to teach our children about kindness, or conquering fear. They might take a difficult topic and make it easier to understand. Or, they just might offer a little lesson about exploring the balance between dependence and independence on the choppy waves of a little lake.

In Peace,

Mark LaPointe

Director of Religious Education

 

 

We Dedicate Ourselves

 All, RE Teachers  No Responses »
Oct 212011
 

We Dedicate Ourselves

As you all know, our church school runs on the energy and enthusiasm of volunteer teachers, most of whom are parents of children currently enrolled in our RE program.   I commend these women and men on their dedication to the future of our congregation and the well-being of all children in our care. For many of them this service goes beyond an obligation of cooperative education and marks itself as a social action mission, driven by spirit and faith.

And yet, for all of their hard work, our wonderful program can shine ever more brightly with your help.  This year, I would like to invite all adults in the congregation, whether actively parenting or not, to consider giving the RE program a gift of your time.  In particular, we need adults who are able to assist during our All Ages Sundays (6 during the year). We also need a floater (or a few) this fall. Floaters greet new visitors and help support teachers each RE Sunday. And finally, we need two or three folks who would love to teach our fourth grade class in the spring.  The class will be studying “Toolbox of Faith.”

Whether you can dedicate yourself to a single Sunday or an entire term, I’d love to help you get more involved in the lives our congregation’s youth.  Please contact me at dre@uuneedham.org or during social hour to see how you can help.

In Peace,

Mark LaPointe

Greetings from the new DRE

 All, Religious Education (RE)  No Responses »
Oct 212011
 

Greetings from the new DRE

Greetings!  I am honored and joyful to be joining First Parish as your new Director of Religious Education. From my perspective, ours is a church with a wonderful history, many fantastic successes, and much promise.  Most of all, as is already apparent to me, there is a strong and dedicated community here and I look forward to working with all of you in the months and years ahead.

While my primary responsibilities are for the children in our RE program, I see my work in service to the entire congregational community. In fact, while the Internet, BE-Mail and the RE Newsletter are wonderful venues in which to place important notices about things like scheduling and programs, I plan to use my space in the monthly Bellman to offer the entire congregation a bit of RE in practice.  In other words, I hope that you’ll find my voice here to be that of an educator, rather than of an administrator. Both roles are vital, of course, but to each a time and place of its own.

I look forward to meeting all of you.  You can learn a bit about who I am in this issue of The Bellman thanks to Kay Taylor.  Please feel free to say hello during social hour, stop my by office for a visit, or drop me an email at dre@uuneedham.org.

In peace,

Mark LaPointe

Pop Theology for Teens

 All, UU Youth, UU Youth (age 9-12)  No Responses »
Oct 212011
 

Pop Theology for Teens

When interviewing for the DRE position here at First Parish, I had a wonderful discussion with the search committee about the challenges and joys of working with junior high youth.  I remember expressing to the group that, as an educator, this age group is a favorite of mine.

As we all can well remember, those early adolescent years, what marketers sometimes call the “tweens,” are marked by a host of changes and challenges (to put it mildly).  For me, I also see this time of life, messy as it is, as one of immense opportunity and joy.  As a young person moves toward his or her young adulthood, we have a chance to help guide them in new and powerful ways.   I would add that, as a church community, we also have an obligation to do so with as much grace, love and patience as we can muster.

Thus, when Liz Rover Bailey mentioned her (and others’) desire to create a junior high youth group centered on the program “Popcorn Theology,” it was an easy case to make.  Far too often, this is the exact time when churches such as ours “lose” their children.  Bored with Sunday School, feeling increasingly disconnected from childhood, but not yet embraced by adulthood, sometimes rebellious, often over-committed, these youth simply stop seeing value in what we have to offer and opt to sleep in and tune out on Sunday mornings.  This disconnection can often lead to an even larger break from spiritual life that sometimes doesn’t heal (if at all) until that adolescent grows up and has children of his or her own.

So, in an effort to help our young adolescents stay connected and committed to themselves and their religious community, we turn to popular culture.  Popcorn Theology is a program that uses popular, mainstream film to examine issues of theological and ethical importance to our world in a way that is meaningful and accessible to these youth.  A program that is, in a word, “cool.”

On October 16th, we held our first meeting of the newly formed Junior Youth Group. Led by Larissa Little and Jim Long, a group of middle schoolers met to watch Back to the Future and talk about how choices made today can impact one for a lifetime.  By all accounts the kids connected well and found both value and, more importantly from their perspective, fun in the experience.

What’s more, this program doesn’t offer an alternative to youth fascination with popular culture, it embraces it. It respectfully acknowledges the role of pop culture in the lives of youth and uses the fast-paced, visually-rich digital age in which we live as the basis for spiritual exploration and growth.

We have a wonderful junior high curriculum with some of the very best we have to offer as UUs – Neighboring Faiths, Our Whole Lives and Coming of Age.  Popcorn Theology adds a new dimension to these choices that may help to smooth some of the bumpier aspects of adolescents in a hip and vibrant way – keeping these young people contented and connected for a lifetime journey as Unitarian Universalists.

 

In peace,

Mark LaPointe

Director of Religious Education