I’m not sure if March is going to come in like a lion or a lamb, but I am sure as heck tired of February trying to pack every possible combination of temperature and precipitation into any given 72 hour period! I was talking with someone at the early polling site Wednesday about global warming and I realized that after 11 years of living here in Massachusetts, we now have Maryland-style winter weather (where I had lived for the previous 20 years). Are we going to have South Carolina winters here in another 11 years?
March’s RE schedule has plenty of springtime play included. Our CartUUns class will be enjoying two springtime lessons while our Spirit Play class will be starting a new adventure, having completed the Rainbow Promise stories.
Our one room All Ages Classroom day will be starting a Community Art Project which we will be asking the adults to help us finish during the Fellowship Hour.
We’ll be bringing RE upstairs on March 17th with lessons to celebrate spring and the Vernal Equinox. This Sunday I will be asking families to volunteer as chalice lighters, joys and sorrows helpers, and offering taker-uppers on that date. See me after class to sign up.
Easter Sunday is March 31st and we will be bringing back the Easter Bonnet Contest. Every child under 18 wearing a hat on Easter will get one entry into a drawing for a $10 gift card for Uncommon Cow ice cream. We will also be hosting an egg hunt for kids during the sermon.
When starlings by the hundreds flock and swirl in the evening sky, they form a pattern that has come to be known as a murmuration. Starlings are not the only bird that display this behavior, but they are the most well known. To witness this phenomenon, take a look at this video from National Geographic. During a murmuration, each bird takes cues from the birds immediately surrounding them in order to avoid collisions. There seems to be no definite leader as the birds swirl and dance.
Other species of animals have similar behaviors, but we do not call those murmuration. Gazelles and wildebeest herd. Sheep flock. Fish school or form shoals. All of these animals take cues from each other and from outside forces to create moving protective groups. Our Family Nature Journal Challenge this month is to recreate a murmuration, flock, herd or shoal in your nature journal. Which is your favorite animal that forms these groups?
Humans will also murmurate, as anyone who has ever attended a large event or protest will attest to. (The picture at left is from Obama’s 2009 inauguration.) It isn’t a normal and instinctive behavior for us, although throughout history, there are many examples of how crowds of people can accomplish things that individuals cannot. Two memorable examples from my lifetime are the evening the Berlin Wall was breached and the protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
RE Committee Notes
The RE committee will be meeting on Sunday, March 10th after service in the parlor. We will be discussing upcoming multi-gen services and teaching staff for next program year, among other topics
We are currently recruiting for a childcare helper for the Little Lights classroom each Sunday. We have two youth who serve in that capacity, but need a 19+ adult as well. See the ad elsewhere in the Voices or on our UUSGU FB page.
All parents (and congregants) are welcome to attend RE committee meetings. We are always accepting new members on the committee and teaching staff.
UUSGU Family Library
There have been several recent additions to the library in the past few months. Check them out on the display shelf in the children’s area near the fellowship hall. The closet there contains a library of 200+ books on various topics that families can borrow to read at home. See me for more details on how to do that.
Food Wagon Update
The food wagon will play an active role in the service on March 17th--lets see if we can get it full by then! We’ll be taking food donations to the pantries the week of March 18th.
Did you leap on Leap Day? Remember to send photos to dre@uusgu.org