Rev. Carol Bodeau, Director of Religious Education dre@westsideuuc.org
Thank you all so much for your wonderful support and for voting to call me as your new minister. I am thrilled and honored. I feel deeply connected to this community already, and I’m very excited about continuing to serve you all as we journey forward together.
As a community, we have many things to look forward to this autumn and early winter, many chances to gather together to celebrate our blessings and our hopes. I hope you’ll consider participating in some of the events and programs listed below, sharing in our wonderful multigenerational community. As people of all ages, learning and growing together, we have so much to share with one another.
In the RE program, the children are learning about the many holiday traditions around the world that celebrate this time of year. They have studied the Hindu Diwali, as well as the Mexican Dia de los Muertos. We are just beginning our studies of Judaism and Hannukah, and then we’ll be looking at Christmas and Kwanzaa as we move through this holiday season. On Dec. 21, the children and youth will lead our annual holiday service, this year focused on the “Season of Lights” recognized by many traditions from around the world.
Also, as part of our holiday celebrations, Westside will be participating in the Guest at Your Table program. This program is sponsored by the UU Service Committee, a social justice wing of our movement. During the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years, we are all encouraged to behave as if we have a “guest” at our home tables--those who are less fortunate than us, and with whom we might share some of our resources. During these weeks, we collect money which is donated to the UUSC for use in their many valuable projects around the world. On Nov. 16, the Social Justice committee at Westside is hosting an informational meeting during potluck to learn more about the UUSC, and our Guest at Your Table program will kick off the following week, on Nov. 23.
We are blessed indeed. I look forward to seeing you at the many wonderful events coming up in our community.
Blessings,
Rev. Carol Bodeau
--Nov. 7-9: Camp Lackadogma
--Sat., Nov 15: Movie night
--Nov. 16: Social Justice committee information session on the UU Service Committee
--November 23: Multigenerational Worship and Guest At Your Table Kick-Off
--Dec. 5: Westside Auction
--Dec. 7: Holiday Hanging of the Greens party during coffee hour (date to be confirmed)
--Dec. 21: Children’s Holiday Pagaent, “A Season of Light” (helpers welcomed!)