Spaghetti Dinner 2012 Announced

The GPUC Juniors are sponsoring their annual Spaghetti Dinner on Sunday, February 12, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. This a fundraiser for the junior/senior fund, which will help us afford the trip to Boston in June of 2013.  The cost is $10 for adults and $7 for children 10 and under. It will be held in the Olympia Brown Fellowship Hall.  The servers for the evening will be our 14 extraordinary junior students.

The meal will include spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, dessert, coffee and tea.  Valentine flowers will also be available for purchase.

Religious Education News: January 23, 2012

Boston Trip 2013 is being planned, and the fund raising begins soon!! In the next year and half you will be seeing posters and news articles, bake sales, things to purchase, spaghetti dinner events and much more. The juniors and seniors of Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church are planning a trip to Boston to learn more about our faith and the cradle of our early heritage as a nation. Any child going into 6th grade in 2013 and all 7th through 12th graders are eligible to join the trip. At this time, we have at least 22 students who have this opportunity to go to Boston if they wish to do so.

Religious Education News: January 9, 2012

 

Happy New Year!   Janus is the Roman god of time, and January is named after him. We are to look back and look forward while being mindful of the present. As you are in the present and looking forward to the future, a valuable habit to acquire is reading. Some wonderful parent/child material can be found at the UUA website, plus you won't regret a visit to the online UUA Bookstore. Just click HERE for both. 

The following books are some of my favorites:

Religious Education News: December 19, 2011

As we end the month of December 2011, let us focus on the gifts of love and hope. I was asked by several congregants to print the Call to Worship words that were read at The Polar Express Pageant on December 11. This was written by Edward Searl, a UU Minister in Hinsdale, Illinois.

Call to Worship

If only for the season… Let us banish cynicism and welcome wonder.

If only for the season… Let us downplay our differences and discover the bonds of common origin and continuing cause.

If only for the season…Let us set aside worry and smile and laugh and sing.

If only for the season…Let us deny apathy and indifference and truly live by loving.

If only for the season…Let us subvert our envy and jealousy and be both good at giving and receiving the gifts before us.

If only for the season…this brief season of light, of life, of love, let us be wise enough to be a little foolish about candlelight, the sound of sleigh bells, about children and matters of the heart.

If only for the season!

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Thank you to everyone for all your time, love, thoughts and giving for the Religious Education Program at GPUC. For centuries, African Bushmen have greeted each other by saying, “I See You!,” and then the person approaching says, “I Am Here!” I say to you for 2012, “I See You!”  Happy Holidays.

Important Dates:

Sundays, December 25 and January 1 – No classes. The nursery will not be open on December 25, but will be open on January 1 and thereafter.

Sunday, January 8 -- Classes will begin for 2012.

Friday, January 20 -- Circle Circle Dinner -- Appetizers at 6:00 p.m., followed by a delicious lasagna dinner. This year we will feature Tim Clark, a multi-talented musician who has developed a unique, eclectic style that burns deep in the soul of all who witness his art. Tim’s program will start at 7:30 p.m. Children under 10 will be admitted free. The cost for adults and students 11 and over is $5.00.  We are asking every family to bring a salad, an appetizer or a dessert to share, which can be designated when you sign up in the church foyer.

-- Julie Artis, Director of Religious Education

Religious Education News: December 5, 2011

On Sunday, December 11, 2011 over 45 students from the GPUC Religious Education program will provide a holiday program called The Polar Express. Get up, get on, and get ready for the GPUC students to share their belief statements as they board The Polar Express. The students will share their talents by acting, being ushers, singing, sharing their gifts of instruments, readings, and more.

Religious Education News: November 28, 2011

Chalica is a weeklong UU holiday that many UU’s are becoming aware of as an event families can celebrate in their homes with family. Chalica is a Celebration of the Flame. It first emerged in 2005 and now has a Facebook fan page with more than 1,000 fans. What is it?  It is an invitation to spend a day with each of the UU Principles, reflecting on their meaning, and doing a good deed focused on each one. Chalica begins the first Monday of December and runs for seven days.

Religious Education News: November 14, 2011

The holiday season is beginning and the first of them is Thanksgiving. This is my favorite holiday of the year. Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude, thanks, blessings and giving to others. What can you do as parents to help your children as you approach the Thanksgiving meal? There is a ten minute activity from our “Tapestry of Faith” curricula that could prepare your children for the day. The activity involves the use of the four Graces that follow.

Religious Education News: October 24, 2011

On October 30, 2011, the Religious Education students will be Trick or Treating for   UNICEF   at the end of our church service. The orange UNICEF collection box has become a tradition in North America since 1950.

Religious Education News: October 12, 2011

This past week, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop with the Ministers and Directors of Religious Education in the Heartland District. We gathered at the Potawatomi Inn in Angola, Indiana. The focus of the workshop was to encourage us not to think as “silos” in our congregations, but rather to focus on programs where we will work together as teams. Our congregation will be working on multi-generational services, for example. We had the privilege of hearing Reverend Erika Hewitt, Parish Minister at Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Goleta, California share her knowledge on these multigenerational services. She has written a book entitled "Story, Song and Spirit," which has creative, enjoyable worship services for all ages included as part of its focus.

The philosophy of a multigenerational service is rooted in stories and storytelling. Storytelling has been the primary mode of sharing and passing down information about heritage and tradition since the beginning of human history. We also see moral decision-making, group norms, values and critical thinking in the stories. Stories in villages were generally told in a town square. Our church is our town square, where we plan to give our young and old stories to ponder and apply to their lives. We hope that all who hear the stories live healthfully and find goodness and contentment in their lives.

Also, this past week I shared an afternoon with our Senior High Youth Group at the Detroit Institute of Arts. We had a private tour with Alan Darr, a member of GPUC who is the Curator of European Paintings, Sculpture and Decorative Arts. He took us on an inspirational tour of Art in Religion. The tour of the DIA provided our Seniors a new perspective with clear linkage to the Senior High curriculum on World Religions.

Religious Education Lessons

Lower and Upper Elementary students will be studying Hinduism on Sundays, October 16th and October 23rd.

Juniors will be studying The Early Protestants (Luther, Calvin, Erasmus) on Sunday October 16th and will study Other Protestant Religions on Sunday, October23rd.

Senior students will attend church on Sunday October 16th, but on Sunday, October 23rd, the students will gather at the home of Ann and Dave Ottenhoff at 7:00 p.m. to discuss Art/Architecture in Religion.

Julie Artis, Director of Religious Education

Childrens' Religious Education: September 26, 2011

How do we empower our young UU’s to care and then to act in our community and world? One of the ways we encourage caring in the GPUC Religious Education program is through our Kids Who Give project. We ask each child to donate some time to our community between September and June. Parents and students can find a chart on the bulletin board in the RE wing to keep track of their hours served and activity donated. Our suggested hours are as follows: ten hours for Seniors and Juniors; eight hours for Upper Elementary students; and five hours for Lower Elementary Students. Kids can help change the world for the better by tutoring at an after school program, visiting nursing homes, making cards for shut-ins, or doing the dishes for grandparents or a special friend.