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Religious Education |
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From the Director of Religious EducationI grew up in a church where Sunday School was a family affair. My mother taught the Confirmation class, while my sister and I taught elementary classes. My father was the Sunday School superintendent, and he was also a well-loved public school sixth grade teacher. You can see that this apple, now a Unitarian Universalist Director of Religious Education, didn’t fall very far from the tree. At some point during his teaching career, my father received a gift of a ceramic Buddha. Who knows what was in the 11-year-old giver’s mind; I imagine that he knew no more about the Buddha than I did at the time. When I left for college my father gave it to me, saying that the Buddha’s pot belly would remind me of him. So the little Buddha was still leading a something of a limited existence. Nevertheless, I have kept him with me all these years. And as I have come to learn more of other faiths, I have come to appreciate him in different ways. He continues to remind me of my father, who has been gone for years now. He also reminds me of my own Unitarian Universalist awakening. My little Buddha now has a place of honor on my home altar. He sits next to a UU chalice, and I often think of his words to his followers: “Make of yourself a light”. Our theme in all classes this year is World Religions. I hope that by exploring other faiths, our children and youth may come to appreciate many different things on many different levels. And I hope they will learn how to integrate them into their own lives over the years, just as my little Buddha has stayed with me through the meanderings of my own journey. One of the things I so appreciate about Unitarian Universalism is that even as we teach our children, we also learn. I invite you all to participate in the dance, sometimes leading and sometimes following, but always moving. Blessings, |