Happy April, Families!

 I hope you all had a fabulous Spring Break and are looking forward to joining us for all of the cool things we’ve got planned for you in RE in April!

UPCOMING EVENTS for FAMILIES

4/6 Seeds of Generosity Pitch Party register HERE 

4/10 Soldiers of Conscience Film Screening (for parents) 6:30m register HERE

4/13  Family Breakfast, 8:45-9:45, pre-register HERE by 4/5

4/17 Parent Peer Support Group, 6:30-8PM

4/20 post-service Easter egg hunt

4/24 Nuts and Bolts of Conscientious Objection Q&A (parents and older children)

UPCOMING EVENTS for YOUTH

4/5 Hamilton in Eugene

4/6 Safehaven Humane Society Service @ 9:45 (wear your Earth Month Shirts!)

4/12-13 OWL overnight

4/24 Nuts and Bolts of Conscientious Objection @6:30, pre-register HERE

4/27 OWL 4:30-7

5/8 Conscientious Objection Workshop @6:30, pre-register HERE

More information about our events can be found below, and info for all events  can be found at uucorvallis.org by clicking “News” in the menu bar and then selecting “RE Council” from the drop down menu. 

With the world as it is, many parents and youth are thinking about the future of military service and the possibility of being drafted. To help all interested families become more informed about the topic and their choices, the RE Council’s Conscientious Objection Team has planned a 3-part series of learning opportunities for April and May.

We will begin with a film screening of the documentary Soldiers of Conscience. This film is most definitely not for young children, as it contains graphic footage from active war zones. It offers a balanced look at military service from those currently and formerly serving, some who are proud to serve and some who became objectors while serving. This film will serve as a grounding for the following offerings.

Next, we will have a presentation that is primarily geared toward parents who are interested in learning what they can be doing now to to help safeguard their child’s option to file as a conscientious objector upon reaching adulthood, should they choose that for themselves. This presentation will not contain graphic imagery, but the very idea of military conscription is unsettling to some, so please gauge your child’s readiness. We believe this to be appropriate for middle and high school students who are old enough to articulate their personal values around military service, and any parents interested in learning more about the topic.

And finally, we will offer a practical workshop space for youth (with parental permission) and parents to work on a packed of documents that could be used in support of a CO claim, should they wish to file as an adult. 

Please help us plan by registering HERE for any of the events you would like to attend. 

It’s that time of year again when we try to figure out how the heck Easter can/does/should fit into our Unitarian Universalist lives. Last year, we went as sustainable as possible with wooden refillable eggs and an absence of random plastic landfill fodder. It was good! This year, however, we found a cache of a gazillion plastic eggs up in a previously undiscovered storage cabinet in the classroom as we packed up for the big move out.

What’s a DRE to do? A JETPIG Easter, of course!

Children are encouraged to bring their Easter baskets, if they have them, for a post-service hunt on the lawn. This hunt will happen rain or shine because, well, we don’t have the classroom wing to lean on this year. Each egg color will correspond with one of our shared values and be traded in for objects, treats, and experiences intended to help cement the meaning of our shared values. 

We hope to make this a memorable and explicitly UU way to celebrate a day that is part of our wider cultural narrative. And because we aim to always be inclusive, if your child has dietary restrictions, please send me a reminder so that we can be sure that everyone walks away feeling uplifted!

Kylee Polinder was caught in the act of service, reminding us all that you don’t have to be on an official team or wait to be asked to serve our community! I catch Kylee being helpful quite often in these parts, preparing for the Family Breakfast or entertaining younger children while their parents chat. But on this particular Sunday, she was helping Jerry and Roberta place hymnals throughout the sanctuary. It’s a backbreaking job when one person has to do it alone, so Kylee’s selfless offer to help was much appreciated by the house managers.

Thanks, Kylee, for being a shining example of joyful service! You are amazing!

I love that we are part of a religious tradition that embraces science! Last weekend the children experimented in teams to balance a random selection of food atop a water bottle by just a toothpick. It was harder than we were expecting, and took a lot of consensus seeking and problem solving, but by the end, both teams successfully found balance.

If you have any questions about what’s happening in RE, send them my way. I’m always happy to hear your thoughts, feedback, and ideas for the future of RE!