Happy Spring, Everyone!

We’ve had some warm sunny spring days, and change is in the air. People are out walking and greeting each other, masses of birds are singing happy love songs, and vaccines are finding arms faster each day. Change is in the air…

As we emerge from winter and a pandemic, what will we become? Our church theme for April is “Becoming,” and it invites us to think about who and what we want to be as these transformations happen. What will we hold on to? What should melt away with the winter ice? How will we come back together, and what do we want to build together?

In Religious Education, we are shifting some of our programming to embrace these transformations. We will be offering more outdoor, in-person gatherings, and we will have opportunities for all of you to reconnect in meaningful ways.

Beginning April 1, we have a congregation-wide, daily “Becoming Challenge.” Participants will spend at least 10 minutes per day sitting outside and completing small activities related to the theme.

We have a new format for Young Church. We have been meeting with our K-5th graders on zoom every Tuesday, but now that the weather is nice, the days are longer, and our zoom fatigue is high, we’ve let that melt away as we shift to some Sunday outdoor, in-person RE times, and some family-inclusive times (both in-person and super fun zoom evenings). We won’t meet every week, but the spaces we have created will be rich and focused on community building.

We will also continue to do our Sunday morning Chapel before worship, 9:00-9:30am on Zoom. If you haven’t participated in this in the past, now is a good time to start. This is a short and very sweet time where we all check in to share what’s going on in our lives, and we always do a fun little something.

See the calendar below for everything going on this month, or CLICK HERE for the Young Church-specific offerings.

Visit the Families Together page to see two April events planned for all of you to connect or reconnect.

High School Youth Group will reconnect around a fire and guide our younger kids in a beach clean up.

Be sure to check out “Will It Waffle?” and sign up to join us for this gastronomic adventure! Open to all, but we do need RSVPs. When you RSVP to jendeldeo@southchurch-uu.org, tell us: Do you have a waffle iron, or do you need to borrow one? And if you have an iron to lend, please let us know!

Also, South Church is participating in the great UU Virtual Easter Egg Hunt! Beginning Friday, April 3rd, you can come here to click the link to begin the hunt where you will search for a hidden egg on a UU church’s website (link will be live starting Friday!). When you find it, click it and it will take you to the next website and you can search for a new egg. There are almost 75 UU churches participating!

One more thing… Please Register your kids for the program year! It keeps our records accurate. click here for the online form!

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What you need to know this month… 

Click Linked Items for additional Details:

There are still many ways to connect with other South church families! Click here for RE Program Information

• Friday, April 3
  • UU Virtual Egg Hunt! (Check back here for the link! Hunt will be available 4/3 through 4/30)
• Sunday, April 4–Easter!:
  • All-Ages Chapel 9:00-9:30a on Zoom
  • Worship on Youtube 10a-11a, sermon by Reverend Susan
  • Classes will NOT meet today
• Wednesday April 7:
  • Morning Poems for adults, 7:30-8:00a on zoom
• Saturday, April 10:
  • South Church Family Outing! 10:00-11:30a, Prescott Park
• Sunday, April 11:
  • All-Ages Chapel 9:00-9:30a on Zoom
  • Worship on Youtube 10a-11a, sermon by Kirsten Hunter
  • Coming of Age 8th grade meet in person at Urban Forestry Ctr 3:00-4:00p, with Mentors
  • Senior Youth Hang out around a fire! 6:00p-8:00p
  • 7th Grade Sexuality Class
  • 5th Grade Sexuality Class meets 4:00-5:30p
• Wednesday, April 14:
  • Morning Poems for adults, 7:30-8:00a on zoom
• Friday, April 16:
  • Sparks & Flames (Grades 5, 6, 7) Dinner Picnic at Prescott Park 6:00-7:30
• Sunday, April 18:
  • All-Ages Chapel 9:00-9:30a on Zoom
  • Worship on Youtube 10a-11a, sermon by Deborah McDermott
  • Grades K through 6 Earth Day Beach Clean Up, 11:30-1:00, Wallis Sands
  • Coming of Age 8th grade meets in person 3:00-4:00p
  • Senior Youth Beach clean up, helping Young Church, 11:30-1:00 at Wallis Sands
  • 7th Grade Sexuality Class meets 11:30a-1:30p
  • 5th Grade Sexuality Class meets 4:00-5:30p
• Wednesday, April 21:
  • Morning Poems for adults, 7:30-8:00a on zoom
• Friday April 23:
  • Family Event–Will It Waffle?? 6:30p(Online) RSVP: jendeldeo@southchurch-uu.org
• Sunday, April 25:
  • All-Ages Chapel 9:00-9:30a on Zoom
  • “Becoming” Challenge check in, 9:30-10:00 on Zoom Meeting ID: 858 9241 3478  Passcode: 113703
  • Worship on Youtube 10a-11a, sermon by Reverend Susan
  • Coming of Age 8th grade-no class today
  • Senior Youth–Mystery Fun and Camping Trip Planning (Online) 7pm https://us02web.zoom.us/j/94596832998 Meeting ID: 945 9683 2998
  • 7th Grade Sexuality Class meets 11:30a-1:30p in person
  • 5th Grade Sexuality Class meets 4:00-5:30p
• Wednesday, April 28:
  • Morning Poems for adults, 7:30-8:00a on zoom
• Friday, April 30: Sparks & Flames (Grades 5, 6, 7) Game night (online) 7:00-8:00 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84637037944
• Sunday, May 2:
  • All-Ages Chapel 9:00-9:30a on Zoom
  • Worship on Youtube 10a-11a
  • Grades K through 6 Meet at church 11:30-12:30 for Story Workshop!
  • Coming of Age 8th grade meets in person 3:00-4:00p, with Mentors
  • 7th Grade Sexuality Class meets 11:30a-1:30p in person
  • 5th Grade Sexuality Class meets 4:00-5:30p

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*Weather permitting **Tentative, details may change

Families at Home: April’s Theme is “Becoming“

Our UU faith in pratice:

• Join the South Church “Becoming” Challenge! This is 30 days of activities that go with 10 minutes of sitting outside each day. If you can’t commit to the full month, you can choose the days or activities that work for you. For all ages!

Our UU faith in action:

• Our Shared Plate recipient for April is CASA New Hampshire, a wonderful children’s advocacy organization. Find out more and support their work here: https://www.casanh.org

Dinner Time Discussions: Some questions you might discuss at dinner this month to explore the theme of Commitment…

• Becoming is growing. And often, growing into something also means letting go of something. Think about how a caterpillar needs to let go of eating leaves to become a butterfly! Or how we let go of our baby teeth to grow new stronger teeth. Can you think of anything that you want to let go of as we move from winter into spring? How about as we move out of the pandemic–what are you going to let go of?
• As we decide what we want to become, it’s important to keep our values in mind. Values are the things that are most important to us, and they are unique to each person. What are some of your values? (There’s a great set of printable values cards HERE that you can use in different ways!)

Chalice Lighting for mealtimes this month:

Holy is This Place

Rev. Maureen Killoran

Full piece at https://www.uua.org/worship/words/meditation/holy-place

Holy are the places of memory,
the places which have formed us,
where we…gather threads and pieces of what we would become…

Holy are the places of change and pain…
where the rivers of our lives run white and fast, and we hold on, hold on and grow…

Upcoming Themes (2020-2021 Church Year)

• April 2021: We are a community of Becoming
• May 2021: We are a community of Story
• June 2021: We are a community of Play