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Senior Youth and RE Bridging
Sunday, June 11 @ 10:30 am - 11:30 am
Join us this Sunday, June 11th, for East Shore’s annual UU Children and Youth Bridging worship. It is an amazing ritual and worship for everyone in your family to join in on. It’s also a special Sunday to thank the amazing adults who help to mentor and provide ministry to our children and youth each and every Sunday. We’ll be featuring voices from our community and saying our blessings and gratitude to one another. All are welcome!
How to Attend
We require masks in all buildings. We encourage all in person participants to be vaccinated. Read more about our In Person Guidelines here.
• To virtually attend, please Zoom in using room number 989 3107 9078, passcode: chalice.
• To phone into the service, call 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 989 3107 9078.
For those joining, please mute as soon as you enter the room, so everyone can hear. Please note, the services will be recorded, but at this time, there are no plans to share the recording.
More Information
Gather in the Sanctuary for our all-ages worship. All ages worships are an opportunity to worship together as a family and in community. We include interactive elements to engage and encourage youth and children’s participation. There is a rug in the Sanctuary for young children and a caregiver/nursing chair. Children can sit with families. In the Sanctuary foyer, we have bags to gather seasonal and themed worship tools students can take to their seats. We strive to make these services inclusive of learning styles and needs. With your help, we can envision a meaningful and loving Sanctuary. We do not have other programming for children and youth on these mornings, except where otherwise noted.
If you don’t have a chalice, but want to light one, check out our Making a Chalice at Home page.
Both virtual and in person services are followed by coffee hour.
Sermon Audio
Senior Youth and RE Bridging
Sermon Text
I am Barbara Stevenson & I have attended East Shore for 35 years. My daughter Kati & I came here at the invitation of an elderly lady named Helen Ansley who asked us to drive her to church. The first Sunday we were comfortable so we agreed to bring her on a regular basis. The second Sunday I was enrolling Kati into the Religious Education kindergarten class when Rev. Barbara Wells approached and invited me to co-teach the class! I explained that I was raised Presbyterian & knew nothing of Unitarianism, & she replied that the church had excellent & comprehensive curricula & lots of support…so I agreed…for the next 5 years!.
What an education…in liberal religion…in working with children…in researching the curriculum…in meeting others who were also motivated to give our children tools & information to enrich & guide their lives. I learned so much! I grew along with the young people as we explored our roots, other religious communities, our environment & world issues. I looked forward to Sundays & related events. It was something my daughter & I shared that brought us closer together.
35 years ago there was a general expectation at East Shore that each member would volunteer in a capacity of their choosing each year. We were all invested in working together to make East Shore the church community we wanted to be part of. Without volunteer support for Religious Education & other church activities, members & friends find a Sunday service that enriches but doesn’t really connect us. Religious education is our foundational activity.
As a teen, Kati went through Our Whole Lives, also known by it’s acronym, OWL, which is our church’s sexuality & relationship program. She participated in Coming of Age, an individual’s exploration of their own spiritual understanding. She traveled to Romania with a dozen other UU kids from across the US to learn about our partner churches in Transylvania. Because of East Shore’s Religious Education program, my daughter found a place to shine. East Shore was her touchstone, a place where she could be herself. She was invited to interact in so many events & social actions that grew her into a young woman who is secure, open minded, aware & compassionate.
After Kati left home, I was invited by Aisha Hauser to train as a facilitator for Our Whole Lives. Another in-depth education! I have now been trained in all levels of OWL—early & later elementary, middle & high school, young adult, adult & older adult. This is such an important aspect of our lives. It teaches respect & consent, age-appropriate vocabulary & functions, & most importantly, self-understanding & communication skills.
I have facilitated RE classes with other parents as well as grandparents & other older adults & young adults who thought this was their way to contribute to the health of the church. Some of the classes require just a commitment to be available on Sundays & coordinate the curriculum with co-teachers. Others, such as OWL, require a weekend of comprehensive training. amanda alice & Leanne Struble are superb supporters of their volunteer teachers.
At the end of this year’s K-3 OWL, we asked the kiddos to say what they liked best about the program. Over half said they liked to be learning with friends, & one generous young person said that we teachers were fun to be with! This is why I teach!
It is such a pleasure to work in East Shore’s RE programs. And it’s worth it! I invite you to become a teacher/facilitator or on-call substitute or mentor. Talk with amanda alice to see what best fits your interests.
We GROW our members! And children are our future…for the church itself as well as our world.
