Dear FUUSN Community,
I got to spend much of last week at the annual LREDA (Liberal Religious Educators Association) Fall Conference in Baltimore. What a great place to connect with other religious education colleagues and brush up on the most cutting edge thinking and theory about Unitarian Universalist religious education. I want to share a few highlights with you in my column this week.

One of the most useful things about these larger Unitarian Universalist conferences like General Assembly and LREDA Fall Con is that we get to live into our UU values together. These larger gatherings draw a more diverse cross section of our UU population than we often see in our singular congregations. With so many more people of color in attendance we have an opportunity to be led by people of color in the important work we are doing as a faith to confront white supremacy. One of my goals for this conference was to come away with more resources for the important and brave work we are doing here at FUUSN to dismantle racism.

Another big conversation that is always at the heart of our religious education gatherings is the understanding that parents are the primary religious educators for their children. The congregation plays a key role, and religious education classes are important, but children spend the majority of their time, and usually have the deepest connections, with their families. I am always looking for more powerful resources and better ways to back parents in this essential work.

Thank you for providing me with the resources necessary to attend important professional development conferences like LREDA Fall Con. I look forward to bringing all I learned to you over the coming months.
In faith and community, Amanda

We invite you to join in our annual multigenerational Thanksgiving Service on Sunday November 24. Through story and song we will celebrate the many blessings of being together in beloved community. You can look forward to opportunities for laughter, movement and audience participation. Please bring canned food to donate to our canned food drive.