Eastrose Fellowship Unigarian Universalist
1133
NE 181st Avenue, Gresham, Oregon -- 181st Avenue between Glisan and
Halsey
WE
ARE A WELCOMING CONGREGATION
Letters from Christine
The
Director
of Religious Education
Christine Walsh
Eastrose Fellowship Unigarian Universalist
1133
NE 181st Avenue, Gresham, Oregon -- 181st Avenue between Glisan and
Halsey
WE
ARE A WELCOMING CONGREGATION
Letters from Christine
The
Director
of Religious Education
Christine Walsh
| March 2010 “Safety Nets” We teach our children to meet their nutritional and intellectual needs; we can also teach them to meet their spiritual needs. Without consciously realizing it, many of us come to Eastrose with deeply held longings for human connection and spiritual sustenance. Modern families are mobile and often find themselves without supportive long-term friendships and far from extended family. Therefore, I am convinced adults are responsible for creating safety nets for their families. The safety net catches us when we stumble through a job loss, a serious illness, or the loss of a loved one. At Eastrose we work seriously to make our fellowship a safe, welcoming, and loving community: a safety net for our children and ourselves. Disillusionment, despair, and loneliness can become powerful forces when trauma and tragedy appear. A crisis can spark our need for a spiritual home and for spiritual strength. Parents are the primary religious educators of their children, and it is our obligation at Eastrose to offer support and guidance to our families during times of calm as well as times of chaos. Our staff, members, and friends carry on the work of previous generations who called Eastrose home; thereby creating a net of sustenance, care, and acceptance to catch us when we are knocked down by the inevitable troubles of life. While there are other communities that do provide us with a safety nets, Eastrose offers what no other organization typically can: the support and space to develop morally, spiritually, and socially according to each individual’s conscience. May we all find a safe haven for ourselves at Eastrose, Christine |
| January
2010 Ah, welcome the New Year! The gift-giving, decorating, and celebrating of our winter holidays has ended, and we gather up the energy to welcome a new year with cheers, hope, and, traditionally, resolutions. As a young person, I never quite understood the concept of a new year. Why was everyone so anxious to get to 1970? Was 1969 something bad? What really was a 1970 anyhow? For us adults, it’s helpful to remember that young children are developing their sense of time and will continue doing so into the elementary years and on as they learn theories about the time continuum, Newtonian time, etc. And then there were those New Year’s resolutions that everyone automatically made, and as a child, I understood them to be like the sacrifice of “no chocolate” I made during lent, but for the whole year. Wow. Serious stuff. I gave up making New Year’s resolutions about the same time I became a Unitarian Universalist. One of my newfound freedoms as a UU was that I no longer had to say or do things simply out of tradition. It felt hypocritical for me to make a promise I knew I would not keep. Young children don’t understand hypocrisy; hypocrisy translates into inner confusion. Not making a resolution that first year felt a little “funny.” But realizing I did have a choice also felt empowering. That is one of the many gifts my UU faith has given me: freedom to choose. Now I no longer create for myself a situation of guilt by resolving to do something and then “failing.” Instead of making a resolution, reflecting over the past year with compassion toward myself and others is a new tradition that fits me well. Using New Year’s Eve as a time to pause and quietly appreciate the struggles, accomplishments, tears, and joys of the past twelve months helps me make sense of this holiday. I may read through my old calendar, look at the year’s photographs, or just sit around with my family recalling stories and events of 2009. I’d like to close with this quote from American author Hal Borland: “Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” Blessings for a year of learning together, Christine |
| December
2009 "Honoring the Darkness" In October, I sat down with Leah Yamaguchi to go over our Religious Education Holiday Program. Creative and energetic, Leah inspires those around her to think outside of the box. She developed the theme for the children’s program this year which is “Honoring the Darkness.” I loved this theme right away as I recognized how easily we overlook its truth during our winter. Without darkness, our flowers would not grow. Without dark times, there would be no need for hope. Without the darkness, there can be no light. As we joyfully celebrate the light during this time of the year, let us also humbly respect our need for the darkness. Life needs the rest that darkness represents. Humans grow through the trials of “dark times.” Times of struggle can bring out the best in us. We have the opportunity to grow compassion and love in our hearts, for ourselves and for others. I want our children to know that they need not ever be alone in the darkness. None of us need fear it, for we have each other and our Unitarian Universalist principles to guide us in our time of darkness and of light. With joy and hope, Christine |
| November
2009 "Thanksgiving" I struggle with the practice of gratitude. I can get into the middle of a week with having solely focused on what is going wrong and how I have to fix it: putting out the fires. This approach is guaranteed to exhaust me. I have so many reasons to be grateful, and yet I consciously have to make myself stop to acknowledge them. Even though I am a fairly cheerful person, I have to cultivate the habit of being thankful. “Have an Attitude of Gratitude” is a cheesy recovery slogan I learned long ago, and it always rings true. Our nation celebrates Thanksgiving this month, and much of its historical significance no longer resonates with me. Instead, I use this holiday to remind me that the more I practice giving thanks, the more peace I experience. The more I express thanks to those around me, the easier I smile. Among my blessings, I count the supportive and loving friends and members of Eastrose Fellowship, the beautiful children and youth I work with, and my soul-satisfying job. Giving thanks is a powerful spiritual practice for me. Yours in gratitude, Christine |
| October
2009 “Truth, Community, and Commitment” As our RE program gets underway this year, we will joyfully welcome David Maynard back to our community! Working without a minister for the past four months has been sometimes challenging for me, but our board president, Ron Randall, and our office administrator, Kathryn Estey, have supported me with their experience and a listening ear when I have needed it. Thank you, both. When times are stressful, I fi nd myself repeating these words to myself: We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we carry in our hearts until we are together again. Growing up Catholic, I had lots of handy prayers to say at various stressful times. Those prayers no longer fit me, and I am looking for new ones that affirm my Unitarian Universalist faith. Also, trying to commit something to memory in your mid-life is a lot harder than doing so as a child. The above closing words remind me that I am the one carrying the light of truth in my heart, that I will find support in my UU community, and that commitment to my UU principles will bring me happiness. With faith, Christine |
| September 2009 The Spirituality of
Teaching The idea of spirituality in teaching came to me while earning my Montessori teacher certification in 1998. I had been a UU for 5 years by then. The founder of the Montessori Method, Maria Montessori, stressed “the spiritual preparation” of the classroom guide (teacher) as an essential practice. Montessori teachers are called “guides” and are not considered fountains of knowledge or rule-keepers. For those of you who are not familiar with Maria Montessori, she was the first woman to become a doctor in Italy, was placed under house arrest during WWII while living in India, and was a feminist as well as a devout Catholic. Coming from a traditional educational background, I was greatly moved to find an educational philosophy that acknowledged the most important part of a human: the spirit. While not religious in any way, the Montessori pre-school and kindergarten classroom I worked in practiced equal respect for all members. We held quiet time for reflection/meditation, and we taught peace making. We consciously practiced looking for the beautiful, perfect inner spirit of each child, especially when the outer child tried our patience! I recently had cause to go back to my Montessori notes while reading an article by Barry Andrews, MRE (Minister of Religious Education) serving a UU congregation in New York State. I found myself thinking: He’s writing about the spiritual preparation of our RE teachers! Here he says that the essential qualities of an excellent RE teacher are “a love of children, a sense of wonder about life, empathy and the ability to listen, and a willingness more to share who you are than what you know… teachers are mentors and companions of the children as they undertake their religious journeys in life.” This is a long article and can be found on the UUA website. After reflection, I have discovered parallel values between our Unitarian Universalist Religious Education Program and the teachings of Maria Montessori. This is not a complete list:
As we begin our year of learning together, I will be working to create and schedule activities that guide our teachers in reflecting upon their own spiritual paths. To me, teacher support includes materials and meetings that give our teachers an RE experience which will leave them nourished, not depleted; excited about their faith, and not regretting that they are not able to stay in the chapel with the rest of the adults. Religious education is a life-long path of creating and discovering our religious identities. Contact me if you would like to join our RE UUniverse team this year. Yours in the spirit, Christine |
| August 2009 What is Spirituality? Do Our Children
Really Need Any? What do you consider spirituality? Is it something that we are born with? Do we learn spirituality? Do we even need it? Within Unitarian Universalism, there are varied beliefs around any theological discussion. As always, Unitarian Universalism supports and affirms our individual search for answers. My ideas are only part of the discussion about what place spirituality should play in our Unitarian Universalist faith. Children begin to formulate the big, unanswerable questions about life and death during the preschool years. Our Rosebuds in the nursery are definitely wondering about death, birth, suffering, and the natural wonders around them. I believe this curiosity is part of the spiritual nature of humankind. Parents can listen to these questions without having the answers. Children want to know what we think more than what we “know.” Struggling with accepting life in all of its cruelness as well as its beauty is a human issue and a spiritual issue. Because Unitarian Universalism challenges us to search beyond the rules and creeds of religion, I find it to be a profoundly spiritual faith. We are practicing our individual spirituality when we engage our minds and hearts in our religious lives. For me, the primary difference between the intellect and the spirit is that the spirit moves us without needing proofs and the intellect helps us to make rational choices. Love is not rational, yet it is vital to being a human. I place love, compassion, and forgiveness under the spiritual heading. These are practices we do need to model for our children not only so that they can have satisfying inner lives, but also so that they can carry on the good work of saving the world. Yours in the spirit, Christine Walsh |
| July
2009 RE Sunday Postscript As program leader for the first time on June 7th, I was surprisingly calm that morning at 10:15. As I walked up and down the hallway, someone commented that I seemed unusually relaxed for an RE Sunday. I smiled and thought about it and said, “I know you will all still respect me in the morning!” Truly, the warmth of our congregation sets me at ease. I am NOT a public speaker. It is the acceptance and support I sense from members and friends that gives me the ability to do my job without becoming a bundle of nerves. However, I was still nervous enough to forget to read part of what I had prepared for that service, so here is my P.S. You may think we have honored everyone connected to our RE program already this morning. We have not. I am here to tell you that we have at least 30 other individuals who have served as classroom helpers, field trip drivers, material makers, supply contributors, substitute teachers, cooks, and RE greeters. This is an astounding number to me because it means over 33% of our congregational members and friends have participated in Religious Education this year. The church survey results report that many of you see yourselves as deadbeats when it comes to volunteering for RE. I think it is time to reevaluate this conception. Words and thoughts are powerful in manifesting our reality. Please let us take up a new affirmation: Eastrose cares about its Religious Education Program for Children and Youth, and we invest the money and time to prove it! So there it is. We can all be proud of our community because we are working to put our Unitarian Universalist ideals into practice. As this year goes along and I need help from you, I will ask knowing there will be a generous response. With gratitude and admiration, Christine Walsh |
May 2009 Eastrose Religious
Education Year  May
brings the final weeks of Religious Education classes for the church
school calendar year. The RE committee, teachers, and students are
reflecting over the past year’s events, lessons, and growth. My
arrival in January occurred at the start of Eastrose’s financial
calendar, yet almost halfway through the Religious Education program
year.When I arrived in the middle of the action, our RE committee patiently explained classes and procedures to me, sometimes twice! Friends and members of Eastrose were polite as I learned names and family connections. Whose baby is Allie? This family has how many children? Owen was in our Youth Program! As a newcomer to Eastrose Fellowship, I have been taken in graciously and generously. The personal stories that you share with me are the heartbeat of this community. I receive lessons, hope, and inspiration from all of you. It is my privilege to serve here. In planning for the 2009-2010 classes, our RE committee has a high level of anxiety around teacher recruitment. It is my belief that when we present our volunteer needs for the coming year, this fellowship will respond with generosity and joy. I would like to quote Parker J. Palmer, author of The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life as a way for us to begin looking at teaching Religious Education in a spiritual way. The courage to teach is the courage to keep one’s heart open to those very moments when the heart is asked to hold more than it is able so that teacher and student and subject can be woven into a fabric of community that learning and living require. With gratitude, Christine |
| April 2009 Spring Time
Peace I kept trying to write a nice article about the renewal of spring, but it felt too cliché. What has really been on my mind is the number of times I have seen children and youth come up in the bad news involving violence. I read BBC and CNN news online. I always pay special attention to headlines with children in them, and for a few days, there was enough bad news to overwhelm me. It takes more than a pleasant change of season to move forward with hope in the face of the violence our children will confront in the world today. Violence is not a new challenge we face; but within my lifetime, I have seen increased tolerance for violent images in the media and have learned that the United States has the highest homicide rate of any developed country. Being Unitarian Universalists requires that we take action, rather than allow ourselves to remain in a place without hope. I am offering the following practical ideas for adults with children and youth in their lives; in other words, all of us at Eastrose Fellowship!
Yours in hope, Christine |
| March 2009 A Lesson in "Right Relationships"
from the Dogs
Is
it possible that both children and animals have the same approach to
relationships? Can we as adults who are often removed from the secret
lives of
animals and children, learn anything from this? Let’s consider some
“lessons”
our children learn from the dogs that love them.
Children
intuitively know the value of these lessons about unconditional love.
They seek
a bond with an animal because animals provide affection without
judgment much
like a favorite stuffed toy or the security blanket of babyhood. Our
lives are complicated and a dog’s life is not. But this may be all the
more
reason we do well to remember how to love our children the way a dog
would. In faith, Christine Walsh |
| February
2009 Dear Eastrose Members and Friends, I was having a conversation with an Eastrose friend. She expressed concern over the intrusion of electronics into the culture of our children and youth. How will the next generation learn to have meaningful relationships? What are the long-term consequences of forming relationships through the cell phone or computer rather than in person? We can all agree that over that past 10 years, there has been a huge change in the way our children and youth communicate with one another. Change will continue to occur, bringing benefits as well as problems. My hope is that here at Eastrose Fellowship, our children and youth will have the opportunity to leave behind their cell phones, televisions, and computers for a while. Here we create an intentional community, and our values are expressed in what we choose to offer the next generation, what we choose to pass on to them. Our teachers and helpers in the Religious Education community at Eastrose offer our children and youth their physical presence: their attention, compassion, and affirmation. On Sundays, the young people here have the opportunity to connect face-to-face and hand-in-hand with others who care about them. After we are gone, our values will live on largely to the extent that we intentionally practiced them during our lives. It is all right to mourn the loss of the “innocent” days, the time before the Internet, cable television, and texting. But after our worry and concern have been expressed, we are still the ones responsible for making a difference in the lives of these budding Unitarian Universalists. In faith, Christine Walsh |
One
of the questions most parents can expect at some time from their
children is
“Can we get a puppy?” (kitten, rabbit, guinea pig, turtle, etc.) The
Little
Rascals have their dog Petey, and Charlie Brown has his Snoopy. Old
Yeller made
my then eight-year-old daughter cry in school. She NEVER cried in
school, not
even after a yellow jacket sting. Lassie, Benji, and Wishbone are also
well-loved pups. What is the mysteriously strong bond so many children
have
with animals?