In today's children's religious education program for the elementary level, Jen Hicks guided an animated learning session about the Mexican religious and secular holiday "Dia de los Muertos" - the Day of the Dead. Unlike American culture which views death and the deceased with discomfort, Mexicans use this day celebrating with festivities as they honor their departed. Entire families congregate in cemeteries which are cleaned and spruced up, graves are lavishly decorated with fresh flowers, altars honoring the ancestors are built; and when the work is done the families sit down to enjoy a special picnic lunch or dinner. In the home, altars are created to honor their loved ones who have passed on, decorated with candles, sugar skull candy, marigolds, photos, and memorabilia and the favorite food and drink of the departed ones. Skeletal manikins are dressed in finery and displayed. These offerings are left out as a welcoming gesture to the spirits of the deceased so they know they are remembered and honored.
The children created a beautiful altar in the lobby for all of us to enjoy during coffee hour, increasing our awareness of and appreciation for this joyful holiday.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Love Will Guide Us - Sense of Wonder and Awe!
In today's Children's RE lesson, children listened to the magical story by Kim Stafford, "We All Got Here Together", which offers a mystery and awe-filled explanation for beginnings. A contemporary creation story, it draws upon the irresistible combination of bubbles and raindrops. The children learned about our first Unitarian Universalist Source, restated in child-friendly words, "The sense of wonder and awe that we all share."
Children learned that things we see, hear, touch or feel can make us feel AWE and WONDER, and that as Unitarian Universalists we value the lessons we can learn from those experiences. Our own personal feeling inside of AWE and WONDER is one of our UU Sources that points us to LOVE, much as the constellation the Big Dipper points us to the guiding North Star.
By opening children's minds to spirituality we hope they will develop spiritual traits that we cultivate in ourselves:
1. Love, compassion and service,
2. Connection with the Earth, and
3. A sense of purpose and place in the universe.
We used the contemporary youth word "AWESOME" to suggest the transcendence of life and how nature's wonders sometimes strike us. As examples, we explored the AWESOME WONDER of a piece of a tree with a naturally created hole in it (the Native American Indians would consider that to be the Center of the Universe); PopRocks candy (which crackles and pops in your mouth when the infused carbon dioxide is released in contact with moisture); the explosive chemical reaction that occurs when vinegar and baking soda are combined; and the incredible magical world of using a straw to blow bubbles inside of bubbles inside of bubbles in soapy water solution.
Family FollowUp:
As a follow up to today's lesson, you might consider using the word "awesome" as you share moments of awe with your child. You might ask:
1. Did anything awesome and wonderful happen at school today, or at any other time during your day? Something that took you by surprise and made you glad to be alive?
2. Are you ever just amazed at how leaves come out on a tree every spring? Or how awesome a baby kitten is when it yawns? Or when a lightening bolt strikes so close it makes everyone jump, and afterward you think, "THAT WAS AWESOME!"
A Take Home Family Ritual:
If you do not already, light a chalice (can be as simple as a candle or a votive glass) before your family dinner. Use simple words to set a theme for each meal. "Give thanks and praise" by Bob Marley is a good example. Or, "For what we receive, we give thanks." You can even be humorous, such as this Girl Scout Grace: Thank You God for this Food; Thank You for this Grub; Thank You for filling our Bellies; Rub-a-Dub, Rub-a Dub - LET"S EAT!
The point is to stop and acknowledge the amazing, wonder-filled and awe-some experience of simply being alive, and being grateful for that opportunity.
--Pat Bjorke
Coordinator of UUCR's Children's Religious Education
Children learned that things we see, hear, touch or feel can make us feel AWE and WONDER, and that as Unitarian Universalists we value the lessons we can learn from those experiences. Our own personal feeling inside of AWE and WONDER is one of our UU Sources that points us to LOVE, much as the constellation the Big Dipper points us to the guiding North Star.
By opening children's minds to spirituality we hope they will develop spiritual traits that we cultivate in ourselves:
1. Love, compassion and service,
2. Connection with the Earth, and
3. A sense of purpose and place in the universe.
We used the contemporary youth word "AWESOME" to suggest the transcendence of life and how nature's wonders sometimes strike us. As examples, we explored the AWESOME WONDER of a piece of a tree with a naturally created hole in it (the Native American Indians would consider that to be the Center of the Universe); PopRocks candy (which crackles and pops in your mouth when the infused carbon dioxide is released in contact with moisture); the explosive chemical reaction that occurs when vinegar and baking soda are combined; and the incredible magical world of using a straw to blow bubbles inside of bubbles inside of bubbles in soapy water solution.
Family FollowUp:
As a follow up to today's lesson, you might consider using the word "awesome" as you share moments of awe with your child. You might ask:
1. Did anything awesome and wonderful happen at school today, or at any other time during your day? Something that took you by surprise and made you glad to be alive?
2. Are you ever just amazed at how leaves come out on a tree every spring? Or how awesome a baby kitten is when it yawns? Or when a lightening bolt strikes so close it makes everyone jump, and afterward you think, "THAT WAS AWESOME!"
A Take Home Family Ritual:
If you do not already, light a chalice (can be as simple as a candle or a votive glass) before your family dinner. Use simple words to set a theme for each meal. "Give thanks and praise" by Bob Marley is a good example. Or, "For what we receive, we give thanks." You can even be humorous, such as this Girl Scout Grace: Thank You God for this Food; Thank You for this Grub; Thank You for filling our Bellies; Rub-a-Dub, Rub-a Dub - LET"S EAT!
The point is to stop and acknowledge the amazing, wonder-filled and awe-some experience of simply being alive, and being grateful for that opportunity.
--Pat Bjorke
Coordinator of UUCR's Children's Religious Education
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