News. Young people are making it! I went to the Climate Strike on Friday, September 20 at the Huntington Beach Pier. I have been to countless protests in my life. They all felt urgent, compelling as did this one. I had been to a protest at the Pier before. To release children from detention camps and reunited them with their families. There were maybe 50 people there and, no doubt about it, it was a grim affair.
The 200 or so Climate Strikers, in spite of the threat to life on our planet, had energy and optimism. Young people were running back and forth across PCH (using the pedestrian sign of course) carrying signs cheering each other on. Lots of cars (maybe a quarter) and trucks honked their support. Protesting our way of doing business as usual can feel risky and vulnerable. Maybe it is too scary to go alone into an unfamiliar crowd. Please let me know if you feel called to demonstrate your concern and want to demand change. Maybe we can go together. Let’s make our presence felt. We are braver, stronger and more effective together.
Here’s a link if you want to see some awesome youth leaders (42 minutes and worth it).
We are working with our youth group to develop their leadership skills. So far we have defined and practiced active listening and team work. In the next few weeks we will talk about rights and responsibilities, making decisions and speaking in public. These are foundational skills for becoming an effective leader. Everyone can learn them. Who knows where they will lead?
New this year, we started offering a program for our Nursery children. Over the summer we introduced programming through our UUs and Dr. Seuss curriculum. With the support of our Nursery staff, Rosa Nunez and Bryan Lundhom, we are continuing with a UU Association curriculum, Chalice Children. The children are enjoying the structured activities, growing their UU identity and sense of belonging before transitioning into free-play.
PreK-3rd graders are learning our UU Principles. We started with “the inherent worth and dignity of every person” or everyone is important. Next is “justice, equity and compassion in human relations” or treat everyone fairly.
The 4th-7th graders are exploring Big Questions and how UUs think about them. Middleschoolers are given the opportunity to think about and answer those big questions for themselves. We are filming their work and hope to share it with the congregation.
Join us for our camp weekend at de Benneville Pines, October 4-6. At church we will have childcare only on October 6. Our next event is Dia de los Muertos on Nov. 3 following a Dia themed Auction the night before!
See you at church,
Rev. Judy
Director of Religious Education