RE Voices May 2025

May 2025

And we blink again and it is May!  Time to be on the lookout for baby bunnies and squirrels as you go about your yardwork.  There are tadpoles in the local vernal pools. The garter snakes are coming up from brumation and slithering around our yards.  (Something else to look out for when doing yard work.) If you’re really lucky, you might even see a rat snake hunting down the pesky field mice that bring deer ticks (and Lyme disease) to our yard.

Our theme for the month of May is creativity, and we have a sub-theme of tending our gardens.  We previewed creativity for you a bit with our improv Earth Day service.  I’ve got to tell you, that was a LOT of fun to do, but it was also terribly exhausting!

My thanks to everyone who participated, especially Michael Quarrey, Jan Barlow, Jaime Salvi, X-ray Ezra, and Zoe the Powerful.  X-ray Ezra is the one who devised the plan using the four items we were given in the MadLibs section of the story.  Once the plan was devised, I knew just what box in the RE closet to grab for the Wonder Box--it had the perfect contents--pine cones and pistachio shells.

May’s services will all have the creative theme, culminating in a lay-led family service during which we hope to do a community art project.  And we’re going to bring some creativity to our RE class selections this month--trying out some new formats.  More details about that on the flip side of this newsletter.

One way we can all practice our creativity, whether it be with writing, or drawing, or singing, speaking, or chanting, is by exercising our First Amendment rights of free speech and free association.  Join the DeKaras and others from our congregation and community on Grafton Common on Thursdays from 5:00 to 5:30 with your protest signs and protest energy.  I was finally able to join them this past Thursday, as we had nothing scheduled in the evening that required an early dinner, and it was a very energizing experience.

There was a clean-up day in the pouring rain on April 26th, and all the trash has been removed from the play yard.  Hooray! Children are now welcome to engage in creative play in that space, with the supervision of their parents, during Fellowship time.  I’ll put out a plastic bin with some balls, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, and bubbles near the shed outside.  Please enter the play yard through the gate that is located just outside the back entrance to the church on the RE level.  Please be kind to the flowers and don’t pick them.  Look for a play yard survey in the worship bulletin, in my newsletter, and online in the upcoming weeks.

RE Classes for May

• May 4th, we will be having our regular age-group classes--we will definitely be having Spirit Play classes.  I will be away at my god-children’s confirmation (one of each gender), so we will need additional adult volunteers to be able to also run Popcorn Theology for All.  Youth Group has been rescheduled.  See below for more details.

• May 11th will be a special one-room classroom lesson for our RE students and their moms and/or grandmas.  Mothers and grandmothers are invited to join their children downstairs in The Big Room for a special story time and creative joint craft project.

• May 18th, weather permitting, we’ll be walking with the children down to Norcross Park to play for about half an hour.  I’ll be sending out a permission slip for this attached to next week’s REnews.  There are sidewalks along the entire route.

• May 25th will be a Creative, Lay-led Family Service featuring a community art project.

Important Youth Announcement

Due to various circumstances and scheduling difficulties, there will be NO Youth group on Sunday, May 4th.   Donna Maria, MB, and I apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause families.   A special email has been sent to all youth group families trying to coordinate rescheduling.

IRON CHEF UUSGU is in less than three weeks!  We’re looking forward to seeing everyone at our premier fund-raiser for The Trevor Project.  In this day and age of diminishing government support for LGBTQ+ youth, the Trevor Project’s work is even more important.  How it will work.  There is no admission charge for the event, however, please bring cash so you can vote for which chef team wins in each of the categories.

Save the Date!