Happy December, friends!
I’m excited to explore curiosity, wonder, and most of all, mystery this month!
Winter is sneaking up and we have big hopes for RE in the Winter, Spring, and Summer! We talked about both youth and adult RE visions at the Cocoa and Tea with the DRE event on 11/18. Take a look at the notes from that meeting, and let me know how you might feel called to be a part of RE: as a leader, a learner, or both!
RE especially needs help on Sunday mornings from 10:30-12:30. We also need help on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-8:30. Contact me to sign up for a Sunday or Wednesday in December and January!
For folks who want even more opportunity to help out RE, contact me to arrange time to support RE with projects outside of Sundays! Some examples of work we might do in these sessions include…
- deep cleaning RE rooms and materials
- planning RE programs/sessions
- making materials, such as weighted plushies or sensory tools for folks of all ages
One more thing… Since we’re focusing on the gifts of mystery this month, have fun with Religious Exploration at Home: make a flame jump.
“This month’s theme is the Gift of Mystery. Today, we are exploring the gift of mystery that arises when we light a candle on these dark nights. Let’s learn a bit about the science of candle flames for Winter Solstice and see if there is a lesson about people in here, too.
The light of candles repels the darkness. Winter Solstice is a time when the night is the longest and the day is the shortest. But after the Solstice, more and more light returns each day. The returning of the light rekindles our sense of hope. So imagine a time before electric lights when the flickering of candles lent an air of mystery and beauty to the night.
The metaphor for the jumping candle flame is that we can rekindle hope just as the candle can rekindle the flame. Just by being near, we can give hope to another person, sharing kindness.”
May we find joy in the mysteries,
Alessandra Nysether-Santos
she/her/hers