January has been a month full of meetings and incredible work in our Lifespan Religious Education program.
- Our Religious Education Council has been exploring how to take on more visionary work and allow working groups to focus on tasks.
- Our Adult Faith Development Task Force led the final two focus groups as part of their work in discerning how we might improve adult religious education at FUUSN.
- Our youth are meeting weekly to plan the annual Coffee House event, coming up on Saturday, March 4.
- The Coming of Age coordinators have been meeting regularly to plan and support that incredible program for our youth and their mentors.
- Our second Children’s & Family Ministry Team meeting explored how we–volunteers and staff together–can support some of the many topics of interest, including teacher recruitment, kids and families with special needs, family experiences of worship, social justice, and more.
- The RE Staff have begun a series of conversations with parents of kids at each age level and have met with parents of 8th-11th graders and parents of 4th-7th graders, using those conversations as an opportunity for parents to connect with each other and to share their input related to age-specific questions around our programs. Conversations with parents of 1st-3rd graders and Kindergarten and under are scheduled for February 12 and March 5 (see calendar at www.fusn.org).
Meetings take time–they require us to set other priorities aside and come together, often face-to-face. Done well, they also provide an opportunity to connect with others in a smaller group and to encounter others who care about some of the same things we do. Building and deepening relationships with each other and with that which is greater than ourselves is an important opportunity for us to create the congregation and world we want to see. There’s room for others to be involved in this work; if you are seeking a way to get involved, please be in touch (rowan@fusn.org). May the work of our hands and our minds nourish our bodies and our souls. – Rowan Van Ness