Time For All Ages, Summer ’24

Hello, South Church Families! It’s a time of year for big energy shifts for many of us; the new church year is at our doorstep, and a lot of kids are heading back to school. Schedules fill in quickly, alarm clocks go off too early in the morning, and backpacks get loaded up with fresh school supplies. To those of you who are in it, I’m sending you Love and wishes for grounding and times of rest through the transitions.

As we begin the new church year, I want to make sure you have easy access to all the details of what we have in store for babies, children, youth, and families! Watch for more regular RE emails through the program year, with current info. Visit this page for the full calendar. And please, please reach out if you are wondering about anything or can’t find the info you need.

For now, here’s a list of some things coming up:

• Water Ingathering Sept 8th: This is our traditional kickoff for the new church year. Everyone is encouraged to bring a little water from a favorite destination or from your home tap, to add to the sacred community water we use in ceremonies. And if you forget to bring water, it’s not a problem! This year, we also have a theme “The Practice of Invitation” and are suggesting that 9/8 is a perfect day to bring a friend! Anyone of any age is encouraged to invite someone who you feel would enjoy checking out our community.
• Multigenerational (Multigen) Worship: We will have Multigen Worship days approximately once per month. On those days, children and youth stay in the sanctuary and there are no RE classes for grades 7 and younger. This is an important way for all of us to deepen community and to raise kids who know what it feels like to worship together. More on Multigen Worship HERE. The first Multigen Worship will be the Water Ingathering service on 9/8!
• RE Registration: We ask families to register their kids (babies through high school) every year. The purpose of this is to make sure we have all updated information and everything we need to give our kids a safe, engaging, and positive experience at church and in our Religious Education spaces. Registering does not require regular participation or attending! Please register HERE as soon as you are able, or ask us for a paper form.
• Some Important Dates To Know:
  • 9/1(Su) Final summer session all-ages RE gathering during worship (following TFAA)
  • 9/8(Su) No RE classes because of multigen Water Ingathering
  • 9/15(Su) Our regular program year for PreK-7th Grade will begin! Parents are invited to RE Open Houses in the Young Church classrooms as soon as worship ends on 9/15 and 9/22. Stop by when worship is over, to check out the classrooms, plus learn about curricula, objectives, and schedules. It’s also a great time to ask questions!
  • 9/18(W) Parent orientation for 7th grade OWL, 6:30-8pm
  • 9/19(Th) Orientation for 8th Graders and their parents/caregivers for Coming of Age Program, 6:30-8pm
  • 9/20(F) Sparks & Flames Game Night for all kids in grades 5-8! Must RSVP by 9/19: jendeldeo@southchurch-uu.org
  • 9/28(Sa) Families Tuugether! Parent connection time and free date night. RSVP by 9/26, info HERE.
  • 9/29(Su) Senior Youth (high school) welcome/welcome back meeting, 4:00-5:30 at 73 Court St

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September Church Theme is “The Practice of Invitation”

• Book/story suggestions for this month: Read or watch videos of these stories…
  • “Higgins, A Drop With a Dream”: This wisdom story is available on the UUA website: https://www.uua.org/worship/words/reading/higgins
  • “Mushroom In the Rain” by Mirra Ginsburg: Video or book An ant takes shelter from the rain under a small mushroom. Soon other animals want to stay dry under the mushroom too but how will they all fit?
  • “We Are Water Protectors” by Carole Lindstrom: Video or book Inspired by Indigenous activism, the link to the book website also has a free family activity packet for taking action to protect water.
• Water Ingathering 9/8: Don’t forget to bring water from your favorite places or from home, to add to the water collection ceremony. The water collected is used throughout the year in our community’s blessings and rituals.
• Spiritual Decathlon: This is an exciting adventure open to people of all ages! Rolling out at Water Ingathering, this will be a fun invitation to various kinds of spiritual practice each month. Read more HERE, and watch for it at church.
• Invite a Friend To Church: In honor of our “Practice of Invitation” church theme this month, consider asking someone you know if they’d like to join you for worship! It can be awkward to talk about church with people who don’t belong to a congregation, but at the same time, we all know folks who we think would really like South Church. Any time is good to bring friends, and September 8th is an exceptionally good day for it; that is Water Ingathering (kickoff to the new church year) and we are encouraging visitors. So your friends won’t be the only new people there 🙂
• September Shared Plate Organization: South Church Immigrant Support Fund. 

Chalice Lighting For Meal Times:
Invitation, by Shel Silverstein

If you are a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…
If you’re a pretender, come sit by the fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!