May 2006
(Composed 2001)
Dear Mom,
It’s 8:00a.m. Sunday morning and I arrived early hoping to get a chance to write you a quick letter and also to enjoy the serene pleasure from the children’s garden. We are fortunate in Florida to plant herbs, flowers and vegetables in the middle of winter.
You haven’t
been here yet, but the classrooms and new meeting hall provide an enclosed
space where we have put in a beautiful garden with the outside corners
dedicated to the Sunday school program. The children have planted a colorful
palette of flowers and a butterfly garden. And thanks to our Sexton, John, he
keeps everything watered during the week. They say we have saved a lot
of money by digging our own water well. I can’t tell you how excited the
children were to participate in the building of the brick paths through the
gardens. Later this year, we plan to
design little stations where we will identify our UU principles and write a
little something about each one. (Don’t
laugh mom, we are not trying to copy the Catholic version of the Stations of
the Cross.)
I am looking around and remembering how few
resources this church thought it had but today the spirit is different! Now people work together and are in
consensus with what is best for the church community—not just for
themselves. They are really open to
learning about each other and always welcoming new people into their
lives. They appear to have understood
the mission of the church and have taken it to their hearts. (Most people can tell you what the mission
statement is word for word.)
The well-appointed vibrant classrooms speak
to not only the children, but to interested adults who want to learn also. Many groups that we are in partnership with
(our renters) tell us how great the rooms look. We can thank the Aesthetics Committee for their superb taste.
Mom, this church is a first class
operation! From the moment you see our
signage and drive onto our manicured grounds, you feel like this church is loved
by its congregation!
We have the best greeters including a person
from RE. These folks are positioned
outside to help older people get out of their cars, and also give assistance to
families that have a handful of children to get into church. They begin to make you comfortable from the
smile on their face to the warm handshake of welcome. We also give them a visitor packet so they can learn more about
the congregation.
The coffee hours are overtly planned to
entertain, to inform and provide hospitality to our congregation and
visitors. Classical music or Jazz is
softly played to set the auditory mood.
The visitor’s corner is staffed with knowledgeable people who know this
church and Unitarian Universalism. The
open area for coffee has a few chairs but
most people mingle about greeting new people and old friends. The monthly breakfast buffets sponsored by
various church committees also adds to the camaraderie. We wouldn’t be able to achieve half of this
if we didn’t have our commercial style kitchen.
Not far from
the kitchen is the RE Wing. Most people
along the way to the RE Wing stop by the living room, where a pot of coffee has
been brewing and early morning congregants gather to read the New York Times. Many parents find this a respite from their
hectic lives especially since we have early morning childcare.
Our Sunday
morning forum group is another way parents get involved with other members of
the congregation. Lively discussions
that are started in forum continue through coffee hour.
Sometimes congregants from our Grandparents
Program meet the parents in the living room to have a cup of coffee and check
in to see that everything is all right.
A few words about our program:
1. We have a new registration card that asks more about the children and parents—this enables us to connect the families together faster.
2.
Three
times a year we bring featured speakers who interest the parents.
3.
Our
thrift store features a whole section for children’s clothing and toys.
4.
Our
yearly bus trips—to a place of interest, have been a big success.
5.
Each
parent receives a curriculum of the class his/her child attends.
6.
The
RE Committee changed its format to be divided into three parts so that we could
accommodate the parents’ limited time schedules.
7.
Our
parent classes have allowed enough parents to get to know each other so that we
have a monthly support group.
8.
Our
summer camp is so full that we now have two sessions.
9.
The
children’s Health and Safety Fair in the spring has doubled in size.
10.
What
is really the best—the kids love coming to Sunday school!
Well, mom, you have gotten the big picture—oh, I’ve forgotten, let me tell you what they think about me and my job. The church sees Religious Education as an integral part of the whole. They know the value of involved parents in the fabric of their community. They see the energy and life from our RE children as gifts now. Knowing
quite well we shape their future and they shape ours. They respect me as a professional whose vocation it is to serve children. With the increased hours due to the increased children, greater professional development opportunities and a retirement plan from the UUA; I do my work with a feeling that they really care.
It’s 9 am and I’ve got to go
to work. I will call you next
week. Say hello to everyone for me.
Miss you.
Love,
Eileen Donohoe