InNate Impressions ~

(The following is excerpted from the monthly Newsletter)

From Halloween through the New Year, religious education classes meet erratically due to various intergenerational services, children’s chapels, and this year, snow cancellations. It is no wonder that attendance wanes. It usually picks up again in January, but this winter, attendance has remained low.

We have averaged under 30 children and youth participating in RE classes on any given Sunday, less than half of the total number registered (72). Evidently, we are not alone. Other Directors of Religious Education in the district also report low attendance.

I have a theory. I have heard that cell phone usage among family members has dramatically increased over the past year; people are going to movies at the theaters less; fewer are eating out at restaurants; this year’s Super Bowl had the highest Nielsen rating ever, even beating out the final episode of MASH.

Could it be that the stress of economic hardship, in its drawing families together by necessity to stay home more, has made us more reclusive? Might we be so fatigued on Sunday mornings, after a work week in which it has become commonplace to handle added anxieties of financial insecurity, that to muster the energy to then nurture and cultivate relationships among fellow congregants represents overload?

Just as exercise spawns new vigor when performed at the most wearisome moments of a day, so, too, does worship and fellowship invigorate in surprising ways. If you are coping with anxieties, then coping in fellowship is easier than alone. If you are spending more time with your family at home out of financial necessity, then remember that church time is also family time.

Rev. Carolyn and I are considering ways to make it easier for families with children to participate in RE at All Souls. For example, now that our two-service experiment seems to be sturdily in place and working fine, what if religious education classes, excluding the senior youth group, meet during the second service, at 11am? This will give families more time for sleep, a leisurely breakfast, a family walk on the beach before church, perhaps even a quick glance at a newspaper. Let me know what you think.

Wrap-Up ~ Religious Education classes have begun a social justice project to raise awareness about the issue of homelessness. Here are some of the projects we have created:

• We have placed doll houses in two of the classrooms for the children to maintain and decorate. They will learn to “pay rent” by placing pennies in the Pennies for Peace jar.

• The 4-5th grade class made Valentine’s Day heart emblems for members of the homeless community who have died in recent years. The hearts were hung on an olive branch and displayed for the congregation during the service on February 14. At that time, we also presented all the games and puzzles that were donated by All Souls to the Covenant Shelter.

• The 6-8th grade class will be making cookies to freeze and serve at our next fifth Sunday Soup Kitchen meal in late May.

• To simulate the application process for state subsidized health care, members of the senior youth group will be filling out the very same paperwork, provided by the Homeless Hospitality Center.

Special Friends and Pennies for Peace ~ Special Friends is here again! Every year at All Souls, we pair up children with adults from the congregation to be anonymous pen pals. The letter exchange goes on for several weeks and then we host a special dinner where the identities are revealed. If you are interested in participating, it is not too late. Contact Nathan.

We have also initiated “Pennies for Peace,” a penny drive to raise money to educate girls in Afghanistan. Last year we raised $70 in pennies. Let’s beat it this year! Look for the jar outside the Nash room on Sunday mornings.

Youth Group and Children’s Chapel ~ Members of the senior youth group attended the first annual CONnect High School Youth Conference at the Unitarian Society of New Haven in Hamden on February 27. The daylong conference was packed with workshops and fun. Thanks to all who attended.

The youth group will have meetings in March on the 7th and 21st. There will be a children’s chapel service on March 7, which will be led by the youth group. Karen Ethier-Waring has composed a new song for the children to perform for the Celebration Sunday party on March 7. The song is called “Stone Soup,” based on the popular folk tale, which became a 1947 children’s book by Marcia Brown, featuring soldiers tricking miserly villages into making them a feast.

Middle School Youth Rally ~ The incredibly popular Middle School Youth Rally will take place on March 6 in Hartford. Yours truly, Nathan, will be leading a workshop at the conference. It is a fun time and a great place to make friends and connections. I urge All Souls middle school-aged youth to think about attending with me. Contact me if you are interested.

Sponsor a Goat for Haiti ~ Peter Hart has created a religious education initiative for Haiti modeled on the familiar “Heifer Project,” the basis for the popular children book, “Beatrice’s Goat.” Please bring your spare pocket change (and portions of your allowance!) to donate to the goat (spotted like a cow) box, which will be on the lobby welcome table. We only need $150 to give a goat to a Haitian family.

Rallies Anyone?
The inaugural Clara Barton District High School Youth Rally is scheduled for Sat. February 27 at the Unitarian Society of New Haven. This will be a fun time. I need one adult for every five youth attending. Interested?
Contact Nate in person at the church, or:  dre@allsouls.net • 860-443-0316.
 The very popular Middle School Youth Rally is scheduled for Sat. March 6 at the Hartford Unitarian Universalist Society.

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