Traditionally, when we weave a Maypole on Beltane, or May Day, we visualize and then weave in our intentions for the upcoming year. As I taught our OCUUC children to weave a Maypole on May 1, I found myself reflecting on what we have woven together as a religious community over the past months.
Our weave is something lovely. Our grades 7-12 youth group, led by Merrie Lee Wooten and Mike Scott, looked for the UU Messages in Music. Along with this musical exploration, some of our youth were able to participate in our Faithful Fools Street Retreat weekend in San Francisco in April. They experienced first hand homelessness for a day, and they were asked to take a critical look at the assistance provided to the homeless. Homelessness is a complex social issue, and free food is a necessity for daily sustenance. But our time with Rev. Denis Paul and Faithful Fools team asked us to look more deeply into the social ills that create this situation. We wove the ribbons of critical minds and kind hearts.
Our grades 4-6 class has been reading and doing projects using a Bible-based curriculum, Timeless Themes. Headed by lead teacher Gabrielle Block, this group has searched for the deeper messages in Old Testament Bible stories. As a part of the larger culture, the RE Committee and parents felt that this was an important part of any education. Our 4-6 teaching team handled this curriculum in a sensitive and enthusiastic manner. We wove the ribbons of the old and the new, of part of our history on this planet.
The ribbon thread for our grades 1-3 class was the UUA on-line Moral Tales curriculum. It was my pleasure to teach this energetic group with the teaching team during the fall. Lead teacher Christine Soriano and the other instructors used crafts, gems of wisdom and acting out the stories to reinforce the moral message in each tale. We wove the ribbons of treating each other well, with thoughtfulness and caring.
The ribbon for our PreK-Kindergarten group was unity. The curriculum that we use for this class is titled We Are Many, We Are One. Based on our Seventh Principle, our children learn about the Interdependent Web of Life by exploring their relationship to the earth, to families and to themselves. This team of teachers has been especially dedicated and helped out on our special first and fifth Sundays over the past RE curriculum year. We wove the ribbons of community and self knowledge.
Our very youngest ribbon weavers are our youngest UUs, our beautiful babies. Each baby in our nursery gives us a message of hope and new life. Our nursery caregivers are wonderful, and each child in our nursery is loved and nurtured. We wove the ribbons of regeneration through love.
I look forward to our upcoming year together in Religious Education, and in our larger church life together. I know that whatever brightly colored ribbons we weave together in the coming months, our design will be brilliantly hued and wonderful!
In Gratitude~~
Rayna Hamre
Director of Religious Education
Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church