We’ve been having a joyful and service-filled summer in Religious Education. We began our Magic Summer curriculum from Soul Matters in July, encompassing the three S’s of Silence, Service, and Sunshine. We have experienced silence through a guided meditation that had us imagining ourselves as a sprouting seed, an activity in which we mind-fully passed a cup of water without spilling a drop, a meditation on the meaningfulness of books, and a loving kindness meditation.
Our first act of service was planting wild-flower seeds to take home and nurture in our own neck of the woods. The following week we did a deep dive into water justice, focusing on the daily journey of women and children in remote areas of Ethiopia who spend up to 6 hours a day retrieving what is ultimately barely enough unclean water for their families to survive. On our third Sunday we wrote secret book notes to hide in our RE library and hopefully delight future readers who come across them unexpectedly. Our most recent service project was picking up trash around our church campus.
We’ve also enjoyed ourselves by creating a maze for ping pong balls; completing an obstacle course while carrying a bucket of water and trying not to spill it; playing a game with words, pictures, and water balloons; and playing the classic game of follow the leader outside in the sunshine. I hope your summer has been as fulfilling, meaningful, and fun as ours has been so far!
Karen Magoon Pearson is Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's Director of Religious Education.