SO-  I am your friendly neighborhood Director of Religious Education.  I also have kids, and last week one of their teachers sent out an email asking for assistants to come help in the classroom with an art project they were doing.  Well,  I checked my calendar - (All I had planned was writing my Message for All Ages, and that could wait!) I was able to make it, and sent back an email, “Yes!  I’ll be there!”  Friday morning, I poured coffee in a travel mug and showed up, not knowing quite what we were going to do.

Well, we started decorating the covers of these journals the class is making.  Each child’s journal was completely different and expressed who they are.  They had all brought in decorations and mementos to stick on their journals.  My job was to help with the hot glue gun.  We stuck all kinds of things - fabric, shells, beads - we zoomed along. I got to talk with many kids and find out why they chose certain things for their books - a ticket stub from Fenway, a pressed flower, or a sparkly fabric - these things all had a story behind them.  I had a great time.

I have brought one with me today, let’s check it out. Yes, here is a hot glue gun.  Has anyone ever used one before?  OK, so can you tell me something about a glue gun?

(collect ideas- hot, dangerous, messy, fun, sticky, fast)

SO while I was helping out in the class I realized that being an assistant is rather like a hot glue gun.  

• You need an adult to use it with you.  Even older kids need an adult there.  Everyone feels safer that way.
• It is fast and easy I didn’t have to prepare anything, I showed up and did what was needed.
• It makes things stick  I got to meet  interesting people and help them, and the project wouldn’t have gone well without me.
• Fun 
• When you run out of glue it doesn’t work There was a moment when we ran out of glue sticks, and everything came to a halt.  We needed more before we could continue.

That’s where being an assistant and being a hot glue gun stops being the same.  You can just buy more glue sticks, but we need caring ADULTS to be our assistants.  We have 6 year long classes in our program.  5 meet Sunday morning.   That’s 5 assistants every Sunday.    

Being an assistant is easy, fun and meaningful.   I promise you will leave class with an interesting topic on your mind and the feeling of connection with your fellow Unitarian Universalists. 

Traditionally, the first day of classes is Teacher Dedication Sunday.  This year, I want you to think about this dedication a little differently.   When we dedicate ourselves to something, it is not a passive process.  It means we are declare to DO something and then we follow up and DO it.

Teachers do you dedicate yourselves to listening as well as speaking, asking for support from and sharing your successes with your community AND having fun this year in your classes?  If so, please speak up loud and clear and say, 

“We will!”

Children and Youth, here is your chance to talk in church!  Do you dedicate your self to using your open minds to think and discuss new ideas, your helping hands, loving hearts and sense of fun to make this world better?  If so please speak up loud and clear and say, “We will!”

Now All the other Adults- Parents and Non Parents Alike, it’s your turn.  Do you dedicate yourself to these children, youth, teachers and the vitality of Channing?  Will you find the way that you can share their joys and help with their concerns, which is what makes us a caring, strong congregation?  If so please enthusiastically respond, “We Will!”

My hope is that many of you will use that dedication to be an assistant one or two times this year.  Sign up today.   Remember- we can’t make this stick if we run out of glue!  Now we are ready to begin a new year of religious education classes.  

Dotting i's and Crossing t's

Summer will soon be upon us!

If your kids are like mine, they are more than ready to the end of school and the summer fun. Regular Religious Education classes are almost finished, too.  Our program at Channing changes for the summer to a multiage group of 5 -12 year olds all together.  This year, as I am sure you have heard, we are using a curriculum, "Dr. Seuss and Unitarian Universalism".  It will be a lot of fun and is being led by Dorian McCormack, daughter of Tom and Pam Goff.  Dorian grew up at Channing and brings her background as an educator, school psychologists, artist to us.  We are very fortunate to have her as our lead teacher. 

We are also blessed to have ALL the Sundays filled with volunteers to assist her in teaching.  WOW!  Thanks so much everyone for your care.  If you have not had a background check in the past 3 years, you will be receiving a form from me in the next couple of days.  Please return it (notarized and with a photocopy of i.d.), and the Code of Ethics form, as soon as possible.

If you did not know, I do not work over the summer.  This is one reason that we ask folks to sign up for teaching and other volunteer positions now.  I do not return until late August.  If you have been waiting to sign up to teach, please let me know!  We are still hoping to fill teaching vacancies in the Preschool class and the Kindergarten - First Grade class. 

If you have any RE needs or questions over the summer (after June 14th), get in touch with Sarah Mermin, the Religious Education Committee Chair.  She is the point person until I am back in August.

So come on down to Channing this summer.  Take a rest from the beach and recharge your spiritual well!

See you all at Flower Communion on Sunday,

Halcyon