Children in the Sunday Morning Program will continue learning about our faith tradition’s values in April. Next up: interdependence, which Unitarian Universalists embrace as a source of strength. The draft of the UUA’s new statement of purpose puts it this way: “With reverence for the great web of life and with humility, we acknowledge our place in it.” Appreciating the power of communities and ecosystems will guide our activities this Earth Month and culminate in an intergenerational flower ceremony service in the tradition of Czech Unitarian founder Rev. Norbert Čapek and led by Rev Johnnie on the last Sunday of the month.

Religious Education puts young people in touch with the larger community, too. Last month, UUFS youth finished up a second session of Crossing Paths, a visit-based course in Unitarian Universalist practices in the context of religious pluralism. They chose to learn about Buddhism and visited the Chung Tai Zen Center of Sunnyvale. Participant Joseph Healy appreciated the inward focus of the “traditional meditation” and Xander Menter marveled that the 20-minute sit seemed to alter his sense of time as it went by surprisingly fast. Both were charmed by lessons teaching compassion and collaboration to the gathering of children and youth they attended, especially co-creating a pizza and a garden out of paper!

May we stay connected with each other and with the community in the months ahead.