from the DRE

It’s that time of year again when we wrestle with what to do with the kids for Easter. As Unitarian Universalist, this can be a most complicated occasion.

For the new to UU, here’s an overview of the scene.

First, as a pluralistic congregation, we’re not universally aligned with the Christian Easter narrative, so it doesn’t always feel like our holiday to celebrate. We’re certainly a religion of Christian lineage and we’re by no means anti-Easter. It’s just…delicate. And yet, parents and children alike have expressed a desire for an Easter egg hunt every year that I’ve been on staff, and by golly, we like to give our families what they desire when we can!

We aim to be good stewards of the Earth, so there’s also the question of how to host the desired egg hunt in a way that aligns with our larger values, so without contributing more plastic eggs to the landfill. Add to that the amazing education Rachel Kohler provided around fair trade chocolate, and suddenly, even if we do have an egg hunt, what would we put in the eggs? Have I mentioned that it’s tricky? We want to live our values and host a joyous occasion at the same time!

So where have we landed? I’m so glad you asked!

We’ll be sharing the story of Ostara and the Hare in Spirit Play on Easter Sunday, and exploring some of the theories around how the Pagan and Christian cultures mingled in such a way that in modern America, we associate multicolored eggs with the Jesus story.

Then, we’ll have an egg hunt on the playground during what is usually our “work time.” We’ve found colorful wooden eggs that we can use year after year. The children can keep what’s inside, and leave the eggs for next year, as a practice in reusing to lessen our environmental impact.

It’s worth mentioning that there will be some plastic trinkets involved. Why? Because I’m not pulled toward the kind of performative environmentalism that might motivate us to send the perfectly usable trinkets we’ve inherited from previous generations to the landfill simply to look like we’re living our values. We have a fair amount of spring-related plastic items that our children will delight in, so we’re passing them out! We’re not planning on purchasing more when these are gone, but let’s give what we already own a full life before the landfill, shall we? We’ve also purchased some earth-friendly treasures to go in the eggs instead of chocolate.

TL;DR We will learn about the Pagan and Christian origins of the occasion and enjoy an informed egg hunt that aligns with our larger UU values by decentering plastics, using up what we already have, and opting out of the chocolate.

Hooray!

If you’re the parent of a Spirit Play kiddo, you are most welcome to send them to RE with their Easter baskets for the activity, and paper sacks will be provided for those who arrive basket-free. 

In case you missed it, Corvallis Scout, Charlie, earned his Love and Help UU Scouting award and chose to celebrate that achievement with us last Sunday during our time for all ages. In addition to receiving his pin in the service, Charlie spent time in the social hall afterward, sharing one of his favorite treats, lemon cupcakes, and the things he recorded in his workbook along the way to this achievement. Thank you to everyone who stopped by Charlie’s table to learn about his efforts! Charlie, we are so proud of you and the learning you’ve done!

If you’re a scout who has been inspired by Charlie and would like more information about earning your UU scouting award, let me know. I’m here to help!

Many thanks to all who have reached out in the last month to ask about the future of the Wheel of the Year services. I love it when you communicate your vision for the ways we live into our mission at the Fellowship! It’s most helpful!

While we are committed to completing this Fellowship year with the series that you have all become familiar with over the last three years, the sense that many are interested in shaping a new vision for this program grows and is worth exploring. It is difficult, as you can imagine, to birth a new vision into the world when these conversations take place one-on-one, here and there. As such, I would like to invite all who have strong feelings about the direction of Wheel of the Year programming AND who are willing to commit some ongoing energy toward a re-envisioning effort to email me at dre@uucorvallis.org by March 15th so that we can find a time to gather as a group and see what might emerge.

Our film screening of What I Wish My Parents Knew served as an excellent conversation starter! Thanks for everyone who participated! Lots of ideas were generated about how we can sharpen our skills as compassionate listeners and be more present to the needs of the members of our community. We want to keep this conversation going!

To follow up, I’d like to share a few resources that are immediately available to parents, grandparents, and caregivers in our community.

As a member of the UU Mental Health Network’s GA proposal team, I was gifted with a set of the Tell My Story card game that is designed to help initiate connection and communication between teens and their caregivers. You are most welcome to check this card deck out from the RE office for 2 weeks at a time and use it at the dinner table, at bed time, on car rides, or whenever you feel like there’s time for sharing, but maybe you don’t know where to start.

Additionally, the UU Mental Health Network spent a large part of this past year working with religious educators across the country to compile a list of mental health resources specifically relevant to children and youth. You can find the newly completed Mental Health Toolkit for Children and Youth by clicking HERE!

I hope these resources can help us keep expanding our capacities to be the kind of community where our children and youth can show up authentically and receive the support they need to thrive and connect.