February 2025
“As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens”
I think I first read that in one of the books in the Little House on the Prairie series. I really loved those books when I was a child and insisted on watching the TV series every week--though the TV show seemed only tangentially related to the books, even to 8-year-old me. As I reread the books to my children as an adult, I saw a lot of things in the books that I missed as a child, and some of those weren’t good. But there were plenty of memorable moments, like Pa playing the fiddle with Ma’s sweet contralto accompanying him, and like the phrase above, describing February.
Our congregational theme for February is compassion. The themes for this program year were chosen almost a year ago, but it seems like a very apt choice. In the weeks and months to come, it looks like we, the people, will be called on again and again to show compassion for those that the federal government is threatening or threatening to leave behind. It has been a topsy-turvy week.
So what can we, as parents, do to show compassion in the coming months?
Listen to members of threatened communities. Hold space for them. Don’t try to fix their problems--ask how your support can help build a solution. One of the worst ‘ways to help’ is to try to create a new group to work on an issue when there are already groups led by impacted individuals that would love to get more people doing the work.
Listen to our children when they share something they’ve heard that worries them. Be reassuring, not dismissive. “Stop worrying” and “Calm down” tend to be less than helpful in the long run. Asking questions like, “Why are you worried about [issue]” or “What did you hear about [issue] that made you upset” may help you discover what your child is actually asking, but can’t find the words for.
If your family feels called to action, pick a single issue and find an organisation focused on that issue that welcomes families who want to volunteer together. I’m willing to help with the research.
One more note--Monday’s federal spending freeze has been lifted, but we don’t know for how long. It is possible that a better-written, but equally badly-targeted, spending freeze will follow shortly, and money for nutritional support programs like school breakfast/lunch programs will be cut off. If that happens, food banks will be swamped. Consider donating shelf-stable breakfast and lunch items or (better yet) money to local food banks--cash allows the food banks to purchase things like fresh produce and dairy products.
This Past Sunday in RE
This Sunday the students will be in their age-graded classrooms. The Spirit Play class will be exploring the green Rainbow Promise. Upper elementary and youth are invited to join us in the Youth Room to watch part of the movie Zootopia and explore the intersection of speech and prejudice.
Last Week in Religious Exploration
While the adults were upstairs enjoying some great Jazz music and eulogizing 2024, our students in the one room classroom did some remembering of our own. We started out by sharing one thing we wanted to remember from 2024, and drew that on a piece of regular paper. Then we talked about things we might want to forget from 2024 or leave behind as we go into the new year. These were written or drawn on special ‘magic’ paper and then crumpled up. These we tossed into a pot of water where they dissolved away. After a little dancing and parading to jazzy music, each student selected something they would like to learn to do or to do better in 2025, which we wrote down on an index card. Cutest resolution--”I want to be even funnier.”
Youth Group!
Our newly resurrected Youth Group had a wonderful January meeting. I’m told that much fun was had by all. Parents, if you have not filled out and returned your Annual Permission Form, please do so and send it with your youth to the next meeting. The Youth Leaders need this form for the group to leave the building--even walking next door to get coffee or ice cream. There is also a youth social media policy--this is currently under review due to Meta’s changes to their fact-checking, moderation, and hate speech policies. When is the next Youth Group meeting? See the graphic below!
Darwin, Dickinson, Dinosaurs and Birds!--February 9th
Be sure to come to our spirited multigen service to learn how the above things are related to each other. It will be a roaring good time for all--you’ll even get to do a little creative design of your own. Loans of dinosaur toys to decorate the altar table will be gladly accepted!
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