From Director of Religious Education, Rachel Alba:

“Dear UUCB Community,

Last Sunday (January 7) Religious Education class was such a delight and our kids made some gorgeous observations that I feel compelled to share with everyone as they exemplify exactly what I hope kids will get out of their time in Religious Education on Sundays.

Firstly, there were 13 kids in religious education class and 5 kids in the nursery–that’s more than we’ve seen since Covid. This is not a fluke, but a trend. Last school year we averaged 5 kids a week, this year we’re averaging 9. This reflects the importance you all as families are placing on your kids’ faith development and it’s truly a gift to serve your families.

The lesson this week was about how there are 4 words for love in Greek.  Which sounds intense for adults to talk about, let alone a 5 year old. However, as we went through the lesson (which included reading the story of Adam and Eve and questioning if God was loving in the story, and watching a short film of a song and reflecting on the song lyrics) we eventually reflected on what we love in the 4 different ways the Greek language names.  

For Agape (selfless love, wishing the best for another) many of our kids said that agape was the kind of love they felt for their siblings, giving examples of what good things they wished for their siblings. For Philia we heard loads of stories of friendships from school, at home, and even with other people in RE class.  Storge was fun, as that’s the love of things, and we got to learn everyone’s favorite foods and hobbies. 

Finally, we got to Eros.  Eros a lot of times gets simplified to the idea of romantic love, but philosophically and theologically it’s actually the love we feel when we wish we could become a part of something larger than ourselves. I gave the example of wishing I could become the mountains I see on my bike ride to UUCB. 

The kids’ responses astounded me. A 1st Grade girl said a ballet performance.  A 2nd grade girl spoke excitedly about her dad’s music room.  It’s so full of keyboards and guitars and has her mom’s bass from when she was in a band.  The excitement and joy this girl expressed as she gave the details of this magical room was infectious.  A 2nd grade boy said, “The Earth.  I want to care for it, the way it cares for me, by recycling, composting, and stopping climate change.”

The things they listed are the ways they feel connected to the “more” of life. To me, connection to the “more” of life is the core of one’s spiritual life.  Giving kids the opportunity to name their unique expressions of spiritual connection, is the first step to helping them cultivate a spirituality that will grow with them throughout their lives. Creating a space where all these unique expressions are celebrated and honored as sacred is what makes our religious education program Unitarian Universalist.  

I share this with all of you so we can celebrate together what UUCB is offering our kids.  I also share it to say thank you for supporting RE at UUCB, through volunteering (especially Beki Martin and Mary Clough who helped teach this past week), making sure we have the budget necessary to succeed, and embracing an all-ages community — even when the kids have a pillow fight during Christmas Eve services (I confess it was one of my favorite parts of the service.)

With so much gratitude and excitement for all the things to come,

Rachel Alba, DRE”