RE Weekly Newsletter🌰

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Each lesson title reflects a message or guidance from our faith about being a person of :

Lesson B. Listen to BIPOC Voices (Anti-Racism and our 8th Principle)

Lesson C. Listen to Nature (Our 7th Principle)

Lesson D. Listen to Our Ancestors (UU Source #2/ Memorial Services)

WELCOME

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Theme Angle for this week:

Each month we are dedicating one packet session to a different aspect of decentering whiteness work, with our theme guiding us toward which aspect to focus on. When it comes to deep listening, leaders have lifted up the importance of decentering whiteness, listening to BIPOC voices and placing those BIPOC voices at the center of our storytelling and discussions. Our faith has taken up this work and called white UU’s to be especially vigilant about the work of listening to and centering BIPOC voices. So what’s one of the ways our faith guides us into becoming a people of deep listening?

It says, “White UU’s, listen to BIPOC voices and actively work to bring them into the center of our faith!”

Religious Education Virtual Classes K-12th

October Introductional Video for Parents

Parents, please watch this video for the month of October.

This month we’re exploring the many ways our UU faith invites us to become “A People of Deep Listening.” Deep listening brings us into the realm of compassion. Deep listening points out the importance of listening to your heart. Our sessions are centered around four listening lessons or invitations our faith makes. It invites and calls us

YouTube Channel

Introducing the Mindful Moment: Learning to listen deeply is important in our anti-racism work. Regardless of our age, a white UU can say things that exclude or hurt the feelings of a BIPOC person. When a BIPOC person says, “You hurt my feelings,” a white person might feel defensive and want to argue back or speak AT them rather than listen to them. So if you are white person, you need to learn the practice of taking a pause and deep breath so you can listen better instead defensively responding back. If you are a BIPOC person, it helps to remember to take care of yourself by practicing to pause so you can decide which way of responding will feel safest and best to you.

Here’s a good article that teases this out.

Either way, learning to pause so we can better listen to others or listen to our own needs is a very important tool. Pausing, reflecting, and moving into silence gives us a moment to catch our breath. This mindfulness exercise teaches children about this “practice of powerful pauses.”

Upcoming UUSP Events

Welcome to our 1st Drive-Thru Trunk or Treat & Food Drive Event at Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg! Join us on Halloween for candies and goodies for the family. Support our cause by also bringing non-perishable foods to be donated to the Southside Food Bridge.

Enter the event from 8th street north & 2nd avenue north and make a right. There will be signs directing you into our new parking lot on your right hand side. Drive slowly through the lot, following the markers, check out our themed vehicles and grab your treats!

Drive Thru Video for Potential Volunteers

Volunteer Training Video!

Food donations are a must and highly appreciated! Pass them to the first tent upon entry: Social Justice.

Please bring ready to eat nonperishable high protein foods (examples: peanut butter & cheese crackers, tuna, crackers, sardines, fruit cups, protein bars, rice, beans.)

Masks are appreciated if you want to get a closer look at our decorations! Be mindful of social distancing :)

For information, feel free to message this page or call/text 727-487-2112. We can't wait to see you!

Calendar Connections

First episode of Unitarian Rod Sterling’s “Twilight Zone” - Oct. 1 (1959)

Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African American associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. - Oct. 2, 1967

Toni Morrison becomes first African American woman to win Nobel Prize for Literature - Oct. 8, 1993

Indigenous Peo ples Day (U.S.) - Oct. 8

National Coming Out Day - Oct. 11

Bullying Prevention Month

Shane Koyczan "To This Day". Help this message have a far reaching and long lasting effect in confronting bullying. Please share generously. "My experiences with violence in schools still echo throughout my life but standing to face the problem has helped me in immeasurable ways.

Schools and families are in desperate need of proper tools to confront this problem. This piece is a starting point."

- Shane

Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg is not affiliated nor a sponsor of the community events posted on our UUSP RE e-newsletters. The information is derived from PeachJar.com, The Parent's Guide Magazine and City of St. Petersburg Events page, PlayLargo.com and various applications for family engagement strictly for informational purposes only. The information posted is not for profit or for monetary gain unless specified to contribute to a fundraiser in whereas the donations are to UU and/or UUA affiliates such as UUSC. If you have any questions or concerns about this statement, reply to this email.

Stay Connected!

Friend Jeanay Johnson here. I am the Religious Education & Communications Coordinator at UUSP. This newsletter is put together by myself using family based resources from SoulMatters and many more.

If you have any submissions for the RE weekly newsletter, please submit your information to email me by noon every Tuesday to have it posted to the newsletter for Friday's e-print.