Dear FUUSN Community, For young people, play is an essential spiritual practice. It is how they process the world they are growing into, and how they reach for connection with others. Every moment you make for play with children is a gift of love more valuable that anything you could buy them at the store.

Play is an important part of religious education at FUUSN. We want to make time for the children in our RE classrooms to laugh, move, explore and connect. The fourth grade Bibleodeon program is a wonderful example of this. Each Sunday the children explore a different story from the Christian/Jewish tradition through theater. They put on costumes and turn themselves into trees, animals and various character from the Bible/Torah. Then they act out the stories. If you visit the Bibleodeon class you will hear laughter and see children engaged in learning through art and play.

Play is also important for adults, though our versions can look a little different (a vigorous hike in the woods, a game of cards or a night out dancing). Play is an essentially human activity, and one that deepens our connections with each other, ourselves, and the things we hold most sacred.

In Faith and Community,

Amanda Graff, Director of Lifespan Religious Education