Childcare
Childcare is provided free of charge for the duration of our morning service plus a half an hour after to allow our members to freely socialize and snack on the goodies others have brought to share. Children typically play in the "blue house" during the colder months, with occational structured activites. They move outside to our playground behind the blue house once the weather warms-up. There is also a "quiet room" available in the library (the rear of the church) with speakers to allow care-givers the opportunity to soothe their fussy babies while still enjoying the service.
RE Committee
Vern Smith, Board Liaison
A welcoming and enjoyable RE program is important in creating a “family friendly” Fellowship. The RE Committee has the charter to create an age-appropriate Religious Education program for our children ages 5 and up. It is also responsible for the care of children under 5 and social programs for teenagers. Members of the committee help plan our program, improve our teaching environment, teach an occasional Sunday lesson, or organize and facilitate an activity with their favorite age group. Committee members and volunteers DO NOT need to be parents or have young children in the program.
Grant Scull has volunteered to chair the RE committee. Thank you, Grant!
If you have kids in RE, or like kids, or like RE, your participation on this committee is welcome.
Contact Grant, 663-6022, Natalie or Board liaison, Vern Smith, if you want more information!
THANK YOU Sarah Cavanaugh for your past leadership of this committee,
your dedication to our children and to religious education.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES FOR RE
The RE committee would love to open the door for more involvement in the RE program. Here is a great opportunity
to get more involved with the CUUF youth and give them the wonderful opportunity of getting to know you!
Volunteers needed all Sundays from 10:15-11:30ish. Here are your options:
1) RE with Natalie.
2) Preschool Project (story, puppet show, song, game, craft, etc.) You create or we can help with ideas.
3) Double up with a partner and give Natalie a day off.
4) We plan it and you ride the wave!!
Call me for more details, 860-9189 or 782-2430, or email sarahwindwoman@yahoo.com.
Sarah Cavanaugh
RE Committee Chair
REflections
-July-
Dear Friends,
School has ended, and RE is on vacation for the months of July and August. Thank you so much to all our volunteers who
helped us out. And a BIG thank you for the hours of work and planning that went into construction of our new playset. It is
already well loved and well used... I want to take this opportunity to thank our CUUF family for your strong support of the
Religious Education program. So let me take a minute to tell you why RE, and this fellowship, is important to my family....
Four years ago, Joe and I made the painful decision to move away from our families and relocate to Wenatchee. At the
time, Libby was 4, and Genna was 9 months old. We knew two people in town. As a stay at home parent, I felt isolated and
disconnected from my new community. I remember coming to my first service, the Ingathering, and crying as I added my water
to the bowl. I missed my old fellowship, but was so grateful to see faces that I hoped would become my friends. Each week I
came, I was greeted warmly, and felt as though people were glad to see me. As a full-time mom of young children, I was grateful
for the chance to sit quietly for an hour each week and 'tend to my soul'.
When you choose to move away from family, you remove yourself from a support structure. Raising children remains a
challenging, and sometimes frightening, task. I worry about what the girls will encounter as they grow. But I have chosen to
be an active member of our congregation because I hope it will provide a safe space for Libby and Genna. Each week, when we
arrive, you greet the girls, and ask about what's going on in their lives. From this, they learn that they are valued. They learn
their words are important. They learn that people listen to what they say. And as many of you know, I hope that if there ever
comes a day when our girls feel they cannot talk with us, they will know there is a community of adults who cares deeply for
them. That they could approach any one of you and say "I have a problem, and I need help." And that you will listen. I teach
RE for these reasons, and many more. I teach RE so that the kids of our congregation know they are loved and cared for. I
teach RE to hear and encourage the difficult questions our kids are asking.
I teach RE so that families feel welcomed and valued when they come to us. I teach RE because I want my kids to have a
good experience, and everyone needs to take a turn.
So thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting the RE program. Have a safe, happy summer, and we'll see you in
the fall!
Natalie Palmer
Your RE Director, 665-3119, joenatpalmer@yahoo.com.
PRESCHOOL/KINDERGARTEN RE
Fun Happenings in Little RE
In February we celebrated Valentine’s Day by drawing names and making valentines for that friend and decorating sugar
cookies (sorry folks for the sugar-boosted children)!! In March, we started a lesson out of Celebrating Me and My World: “My
world has light and darkness”. The kids drew, wrote, and decorated on the walls of each of our two large light and dark box
houses about how they feel in light and darkness. We then continued on to chalk drawing "darkness" on black paper.
Up and Coming:
I will be meeting with the kids to finish their Silhouette/Light/Dark project. We will cut the chalk drawings into silhouettes
of each child. The goal is to meet again and finish by gluing their silhouettes onto white paper with drawings of what light is to
each individual child.
Due to the need to go back to work part/full time and the many other responsibilities of family life and motherhood, I,
Sarah, will no longer be able to volunteer every 1st and 3rd Sunday to organize activities with the preschoolers; however, whenever
possible, I will still do fun projects with the kids, posting the activity about a week in advance. The door remains open for
other members of the fellowship to volunteer and do something fun with the kiddos and I am leaving my door open to help. My
contact number is 509-860-9189.
In the light of youthful fun,
Sarah Cavanaugh,
Parent, RE chair, and Volunteer Pre/K TeacherParent
Up and Coming-
Sarah will still be planning classes for the little ones. They will be announced one week in advance at the Sunday service.
Elementary RE
-
Formal Religious Education classes are on hold for Summer and will return in the fall.
NEW!: THE CUUF YOUTH GROUP
6th-12th Grade StudentsActivities:
- Summer, TBA—a trip to another UU church to connect with other youth: Allyson will check out some options
- August, TBA—Fun night: invite other youth to get to know each other
Questions, suggestions or comments? Contact youth coordinator/volunteer Allyson Zacharko 630-9898, allyson@windermere.com.- Sponsors needed!
- Are you interested in being an adult sponsor of this group? We'd love to have parents involved in meeting the needs of some of our favorite people!
Contact Information
- RE Director:
- Natalie Palmer-
(509)665-3119/joenatpalmer@yahoo.com - RE Committee Chair:
- Grant Scull
(509)663-6022 - Little UUs (Preschool/Kindergarten):
- Sarah Cavanaugh-
(509)860-9189 /(509)782-2430/sarahwindwoman@yahoo.com - Elementary RE:
- Natalie Palmer-
(509)665-3119/joenatpalmer@yahoo.com - Youth Group Coordinator/Volunteer:
- Allyson Zacharko-
(509) 630-9898/allyson@windermere.com