Rev. Jeremiah, Director of Religious Exploration (DRE) Cleo Anderson, RE staff Teri Lucas, and Board and community members met in Zoom on December 6 with Pacific Western Regional (PWR) Congregational Life field staff, Rev. Dr. Melissa James. Discussion among the twelve participants was facilitated by Rev. Melissa, who served at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego as the Director of Family and Lifespan Ministry. Rev. Melissa provided good insight into the topic.
The group discussed the difficulty of doing Youth RE during the pandemic lockdown. Our DRE, Cleo, talked about the different activities – about eight programs, from art classes to dance classes to book clubs – that she had planned and set up as online Zoom meetings. Unfortunately, attendance was minimal.
The participants brainstormed as a team about how to reach out to UUSM’s kids in these difficult times. Discussion turned to the gifts the UUSM community has to offer and how these gifts could be matched up with our kids’ and parents’ needs. It was recognized that Religious Exploration may need to focus more on relationships and pastoral care, and less on programming right now.
Children and Youth RE will continue to reach out to the children and families of UUSM. Non-denominational winter festivities packages are being sent to all UUSM children in celebration of the holiday season. An exciting Skateboard Ministry is coming up in the new year.
In the coming weeks, we will reach out to our community members to solicit ideas and suggestions as we move into 2021. If you have ideas, please send them to dre@uusm.org or president@uusm.org.
