RE Voices October 2025

As we start to settle into our autumn routines, suddenly it becomes October.  October is one of my favorite months.  The leaves are changing colors--but they are still up on the trees.  The asters and goldenrod are holding onto their last blooms, much to the pleasure of the bees and late butterflies.  And the air is becoming crisp--perfect weather for bonfires.  Even autumn rain is a pleasure for the senses--not yet the frigid temps of winter, a wonderful scent of nature, and the beauty of colorful leaves swirling along the gutters before coming to rest along the storm drains.  The evenings are getting shorter, but aren’t too short yet, leaving a bit of time after work for a sunset sweater-clad walk.  Yes, October is lovely.

This year, our October theme at UUSGU is home--which feels like another perfect fit.  Animals are starting to move to their winter homes.  Birds are migrating, bears getting ready to settle into their dens, and squirrels and chipmunks storing every single nut they can find to make it through the winter.  This month in my Time for All Ages stories and in Rev. Daniel’s sermons we’ll be exploring different aspects of home.  Home can mean different things to different people, but most of us think of home as a place to shelter--whether it is physical shelter from a storm or a boundary between us and the world.  As our nation becomes a more dangerous place for many of those who we love and cherish, it seems even more important to cling to home as a place to retreat to for comfort and protection.  But is perhaps even more important for us to extend the welcoming sanctuary of our home spaces to those for whom the outside world is becoming increasingly hostile.  As our children begin their first EPIC topic this year, “Welcoming”, we’ll be looking at things around our worship, fellowship, and education spaces that help us feel welcome there and talk about things we might do to help others to feel welcome at UUSGU as well.  For a preview of October’s RE programs, read on.

We’ll be starting our month out with our usual opening Spirit Play lesson.  The number of children in Spirit Play is approaching the comfortable limit for the classroom that we use, so we’ll be expanding the free choice section of the program to allow children to work on projects in the Big Room as well.  These projects will include options that can be worked on over several weeks, so there will be space on a shelf where projects can ‘simmer’ between Spirit Play sessions.  On the second Sunday of October, our EPIC session will take us on a tour of our building, looking for things that the children find especially welcoming (or NOT welcoming).  The third Sunday of the month will be another Spirit Play lesson, and we’ll finish up the month with a spirited multi-gen service celebrating Samhain.  Samhain is pronounced SOW-in.  I sometimes wonder what the people who transliterated the Celtic languages into Roman characters were thinking.  Maybe it was, “Let’s do this in a way that will allow us to tell who is not a Celt the moment they open their mouths”

October Happenings

Youth Group will be meeting on October 5th from noon to 3 p.m.  Youth Group is open to all UUSGU teens 8th grade and up.  I’m not sure what the leaders have planned for this month, but everyone always seems to have a great time.

Our first Family Game Night of the program year will be on Sunday, October 12th, starting at 4:30 p.m.  Bring some children (grandchildren, nieces or nephews, and neighbors are welcome, too) and join us for games and dinner.  You can play our games or bring a favorite or two of your own.  Dinner this time will be French bread pizzas--a favorite from my youth.  We will have gluten-free bread available for those who need it.  Vegan?  Indicate that on your RSVP and I will contact you to help me source a vegan crust option as well. RSVP by emailing re@uusgu.org 

The next UUSGU potluck will be Friday, October 17th.  Potlucks start at 6:30 p.m.  More information on this will be in a future weekly newsletter.

Finally, if you have ever considered volunteering time to help our RE program, please feel free to email me at the same address, attend an RE Committee meeting (the next one is September 28th), or grab me during Fellowship hour and I’ll be happy to speak with you about it.  We always have room for volunteer teaching assistants, Time for All Ages storytellers (for my weeks off), and childcare providers.  

Any questions?  Those can be emailed to me at re@uusgu.org as well.