PROGRAMS
Religious
Education for Children and Youth
Director
of Children's Religious
Education
DRE's
Letters
Pages
22-23 of the Annual Report
Unitarian
Universalists believe that spiritual growth and self discovery is a
lifelong process. Here at Eastrose we have created a supportive,
nurturing community where all of us can explore the wisdom of many
religious traditions, come to understand new truths and engage
ourselves thoughtfully and with purpose in the world we share.
The
Eastrose Religious Education program (officially named by children in
the program “UUniverse”, provides opportunities for children and
youth to experience worship, participate in social action, build
community and deepen religious understanding and spirituality. The
age groupings for Religious Education at Eastrose change from time to
time to work best for the children who are attending. If a child
is not comfortable in one age group, they have freedom to change to a
different group. Talk to the Director of Religious
Education for details.
Eastrose now has a Children's
Choir.
2010 Class Offerings
Rosebuds Nursery
This room is for children 6 weeks to 3 years and is
the gateway into our Religious Education Program. Your child will find
here a peaceful atmosphere, loving caregivers, new friends, UU songs,
group snack, story time, and the beginnings of a Unitarian Universalist
identity.
Creating Home -- Pre-K through
Kindergarten
Some goals of this UUA curriculum:
- Guide participants to identify the characteristics of
a home and the functions a home serves
- Provide opportunities for participants to observe
homes in nature and investigate how different kinds of animal homes
provide security and sustenance for their
inhabitants
- Build participants’ vocabulary of faith and religious
language
- Introduce practices from Unitarian Universalist
heritage – such as the spiritual rituals of hospitality, saying grace,
lighting a chalice, and sharing stories – and invite participants and
their families to consider using these on their
own
- Provide multiple opportunities for participants to
practice artistic self-expression and have fun.
Wonderful Welcome -- 1st through 3rd
grades
Some goals of this UUA curriculum:
- Expand children's understanding of their relationships
with others, including people they know, people they will meet and all
life that shares our planet
- Create opportunities for children to identify and
practice a wide variety of welcoming behaviors; activate children's
capacity to welcome many manifestations of the interconnected web of
life, including people, animals and the natural
environment
- Teach the importance of welcoming as an act of
Unitarian Universalist faith and as an expression of our Unitarian
Universalist Principles
- Develop and enrich children's sense of belonging to
their religious education peer community, their congregational
community and the larger Unitarian Universalist faith
community
- Introduce practices of stewardship
Toolbox of Faith --
4th through 5th grades
Goals of this UUA curriculum include:
- Allow students time to ponder large, complex questions
and follow through on projects and ideas
- To gain insight into what makes our UU faith important
in our lives
- Provide opportunities for ways to contribute to the
community
- Provide a model of life-long spiritual
development
- Provide a safe and comfortable format for sharing
feelings as students feel ready to do so
Families
-- Youth Class -- 6th grade and up
Goals of this UUA curriculum:
- Broaden and deepen their understandings and
definitions of families, including the roles and functions of
families
- Explore the meaning of healthy families in a diversity
of forms
- Build and foster the ability to understand multiple
perspectives
- Develop the ethics of care and responsibility through
the intimate and ethical process of engaging with and representing
families
- Understand and appreciate the emotional, affective,
and spiritual dimensions of families
- Grow and deepen their naturally compassionate
souls
- Engage joyfully in the creation of
art
- Learn more fully that there is no "objective" point of
view
- Understand how the living tradition of the UU faith
and its Principles can interpret and guide families
Philosophy
and Goals:
Unitarian
Universallists believe that spiritual growth and self-discovery is a
lifelong
process. Here at Eastrose we have created a supportive, nurturing
community where all of us can explore the wisdow of many religious
traditions
and come to understand new truths. We express this in our
curricula,
our special activities, and inter-generational celebrations.
We
know that the success of a religious education program for children and
youth depends greatly upon parents and other caring adults. Our
teachers
bring warmth, enthusiams and commitment to their classes, to your
children.
We encourage parents and care-givers to bring their children to RE
classes
as consistently as possible.
Our
Goals are to help our children and youth:
- Develop
their self-esteem and respect the worth of others,
- Accept
the responsiblities that freedom requires,
- Understand
that they can make positive choices,
- Clarify
moral, ethical and interpersonal values,
- Create
a sense of community with feelings of belonging and identity,
- Understand
and appreciate our religous heritage through the study of Unitarian
Universalism
and world religions.
- Respect
the interdependency of all life on Earth.
- Work for
peace and justice for all in an ever-changing world.
The
Curriculum:
The
Religious Education program provides opportunities for children and
youth
to experience worship, participate in social action, build community
and
deepen religious understanding and spirituality.
The
major themes the program address are:
- Unitarian
Universalist History and Identity,
- Judeo
Christian Heritage,
- World
Religions,
- Social-Environmental
Responsibility,
- Spirituality
and Values.
We use
curricula tailored to the developmental stages represented in each
class
and incorporate a variety of activities to address the wide range of
learning
styles within our classes.
Religious
Education Committee:
This
committee meets monthly to support, plan and develop the RE
program.
We are always open to input from our religious community. New
members
are welcomed.
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Adult Programs
See
pages 8-9 of the Annual Report for an overview
Lifespan
Religous Learning
Spiritual
growth is a lifelong pursuit based on inquiry. We
periodically
offer a variety of classes and discussion groups for adults. Some
of ongoing learning opportunities are:
- Minister's Brown Bag lunches, twice a month.
- New UU classes covering beliefs, history, ceremonies and
practices of UU's.
- Book Discussion Group.
- UUniques - sharing of congregants' personal life narratives.
- Visual Impact Series - movies with adults and children.
- Candlelight and Conversation evenings, a small-group sharing
about faith journeys.
- Stitch'n Group, monthly meetings for craft and conversation.
- Baby Blues Connection meetings.
- Course in Miracles study group.
- Passage Meditation group.
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MUSIC
In
addition to the choir performances, music is provided by talented members
or guests.
If
you have a musical talent, please share it with us!
Do you play
piano,
guitar, or other instrument? Your talent can be part of our
Sunday
services, solo or in a group.
Eastrose Choir: The
Choir, led by Director Owen Hofmann-Smith, practices every Wednesday
evening from 7:00 to
9:00 (September through
June) and sings in service twice a month. See page 11 of the Annual Report for more
details. <>
Children's Peace Choir: The Children's Peace
Choir, led by Director Amanda Baker, practices one weekday each week
and performs once a month and for special events. The children
also learn music theory, composers and insruments through creative
music games. See page 12 of the Annual Report for more
details.
The Speech
Choir: This choral speaking group performs at
services and special events. For more information, see page 13 of
the Annual Report.
The
Rewinders: (Eastrose Band) The Band often plays for
services, sometimes presenting music of a
certain
artist or subject as the backbone of the service.
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Art at Eastrose: Our Art-in-the-Lobby
program offers an opportunity for Eastrosarians (and sometimes other
friends)
to exhibit their art, crafts, or thoughts. Shows have included as
many as 35 paintings and may be presented as a virtual exhibit on the
Eastrose
website.
Poetry and Writing at Eastrose:
Eastrose
poets share their
poetry in services as well as on our website.
Eastrose occasionally has a Poetry Sunday service with Eastrosarians
reading
favorite poems, both their own and of other authors.
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Seven @
Seven Dinners
-- Potluck dinners for adult couples and singles are held
throughout
the year in members' homes. These have been popular events
and a time to get to know one another better.
Interest
groups, study groups, and support circles convene
as
needs and interests arise.
Sunday
Lunches -- Potlucks are held at noon on the first
Sundays
after services. Everyone is welcome (even if you forgot to bring
food).
Parties
and Socials -- These vary from year to year, and often
social events are added. Some to plan on are:
- Service
Auction party in the spring with a different theme each year -- the
events offered and bought are often large and almost all-Eastrose
events.
- An Easter Egg Hunt delights both children and adults each
Easter.
- A Solstice Party in the winter.
- Winter Fest (an English style High Tea with music) in
December
- Church Picnic in the summer at a lovely location is always a
favorite.
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COMMUNITY
SERVICE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, and CONNECTIONS
Eastrose
members give time, money and supplies to support Snow-CAP and Daybreak
Shelter of Human Solutions, as
well as
the UU Service Committee, the United Nations Association, Citizens
Against
Discrimination, the Community of Welcoming Congregations, and
other
service and social justice projects.
Eastrose
Fellowship has a relationship with the following local organizations:
SNOW-CAP
COMMUNITY CHARITIES
17805
SE Stark, PO Box 33225, Portland, Oregon 97292, 503-674-8785
Eastrose
is a founding member of Snow-CAP, an association of churches providing
food and clothing to families in need in East Multnomah County since
1967.
Eastrose contributes money, food, supplies, and other needed items to
SnowCap
each month.
Daybreak
Homeless Shelter
Human
Solutions
Eastrose
is one of the supporting churches of Daybreak Homeless Shelter, a
community group composed of congregations from various spiritual
traditions
and other service organizations. The group responds to the needs
of homeless families in Metro East Portland by providing temporary
shelter
and support to those families as they look for housing and
emploment.
Peace Church of the Brethern provides the space for the Day Center and
office for the organization. Host churches provide overnight
lodging,
meals and hospitality. Supporting churches assist with food,
volunteers,
supplies, and/or financial assistance. Eastrose is a "supporting
church, and as such contributes money and food each month to Daybreak
Shelter.
COMMUNITY
OF WELCOMING CONGREGATIONS
Eastrose
is a member of the Community of Welcoming Congregations, an association
of religious congregations begun in the Portland metropolitan area that
welcomes and affirms people of all sexual orientations. The
Unitarian
Universalist Association provides an extensive
process for a congregation
to become an official Welcoming Congregation. Eastrose
received formal UUA
certification as a Welcoming Congregation in 1998. Eastrose's
membership includes gays and lesbians, both couples and singles.
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