From Kathy Underwood: April 29, 2022
Life is awakening in the earth and at UCE! It has been a joyous month, with many activities happening and I wanted to share some of it with you.
Our first Rosemary Zwick Afternoon of the Arts event was a “rebirth” of the former Night of the Arts and was a wonderful time to be creative and get to know people better. Families appreciated the earlier time so that younger children could participate. About 45 people engaged in a wide variety of art activities to feed the soul.
And on the next day, our awesome youth led a thoughtful and informative worship service on “Gender: Bending the Narrative”. I was so impressed with their leadership, not to mention their lack of procrastination. They were quick in organizing with little nudging from their advisors, Linda Herreid and Margaret Shaklee.
Easter Sunday was definitely a joyous day, with a beautiful Music Sunday worship followed by Easter eggs and hot cross buns and kinship time. Two of the youth helped hiding canned goods and Easter eggs around the South Lawn, and 24 youngsters then had fun looking for them all. Thank you to all who brought canned goods, which were donated to Connections for the Homeless.
We then had yet another youth-led event for Earth Day, coordinated by Kristin Lems and Lucinda Lindstrom Lodder among others in the community. I am always amazed at the dedication and passion we have at UCE, especially when youth are involved. It makes me feel so much better about the future of our world.
Last Saturday, 21 youth from four area UU congregations gathered at Busse Woods for a “mini-con” – the first time they have gathered since late in 2019. An afternoon of games, a nature walk, and a demonstration from a therapy dog and trainer. It was a perfect way to gather again after so much time.
This past Sunday, the Green Team led a social action fair on being eco-friendly for our Faith Formation Hour. As a part of this, the Family Ministry Team coordinated making 50 lunch bags for Connections for the Homeless. We learned how we can make our lunches more eco-friendly, especially in regard to composting.
And now with May just a couple of days away, Rev. Eileen and I will be hosting some listening circles to hear your experiences with our new faith formation hour. What have you participated in and how was that experience? If you didn’t participate, what kept you from doing so? And what would you look forward to that can help awaken your spirit and faith? Our first one is this Sunday after Kinship Time. Please join us at any of the following:
In Faith,
Kathy Underwood
Director of Lifespan Faith Formation