The children who attend the Children’s Chapel at Seattle Unity are reaching out in many ways. Their first project was to create beautiful note cards that they will be selling for donations to assist a congregant’s upcoming trip to Haiti.

The second project is to donate a small stuffed animal, chosen from their own collection at home, to be delivered to a child in Haiti.

How did this all come about? Gail Pyper, a congregant, is a nurse who has given her life to traveling with medical teams to disaster zones. Her next trip will be in April when a group of doctors and nurses will work to prevent infections. Our church is supporting her so the children and I looked for what we could do.

During the month of February, our theme was “God’s LOVE Bubbles Over!” We played, read and sang about how when we love ourselves, we can then love others who are then inspired to share their love. It’s a win-win for everyone. One activity planned was to make bubble prints. I wasn’t sure what to do with the finished prints but then the idea came to use them as art on note cards. 

This was a two-week project—one Sunday we made the prints. That was SOOO much fun! The second week we had a production line where the children assembled the cards, put a label on the back, added an envelope and put them each into a plastic sleeve.

Our plan was to sell them and donate the money to help Gail. When I talked to her about it, I asked if she’d be willing to come tell the children about her trip and what she’d be doing in Haiti. She agreed and last Sunday she came and gave an awesome presentation, complete with a hands-on lesson about how to treat a wound.

 Parents have given their permission for their children to assist at the table in the Narthex over several weeks to accept donations and share their beautiful bubble print cards.

We invited the children to choose a very small (no bigger than a Beanie Baby) stuffed animal to share with a Haitian child. Gail suggested that we take a picture of each child with his/her stuffed animal to include with the gift. We’ll do this over the next few weeks. She will then take pictures of the children who receive them to bring back to our children creating a circle of LOVE.

Each year on the Sunday before Labor Day, and often on the Sunday after New Years Day, I plan an unbirthday party for the children at church. This is one of their favorite events.

Here’s  run-down of how ours went this year.

As the children starting arriving I told each one that we were having a surprise party for one of the children. I invited each one to make a birthday card with the materials I put out on the art table: folded cardstock, stickers, markers, pre-printed and cut birthday greetings for the children who couldn’t yet write the words.  I made a couple to give them some ideas and suggested they design a card they’d like to give to a friend.  I collected them all and put them in a basket.

They tried to find out who the party was for and looked at each other questioningly.

In our opening circle after we did our check-in, candle lighting, meditation, offering and a song, I brought out the book On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier. One copy would be plenty if the teacher read it and held up the beautiful pictures. We are fortunate to have four copies so I passed them out and invited the children to take turns reading the pages. They really seemed to enjoy this. Two girls (one who is just beginning to read) and a teacher read their words together.  It gave the new reader a huge amount of confidence.

Even though it took a little longer to do it this way, the kids were much more attentive because they were taking turns leading the activity.

We talked about how amazing each birth is and reminded them that because they are each children of God truly the whole world welcomed their birth no matter what the circumstances were. I gave them an opportunity to share any stories about their birth that they might know and we heard some very interesting stories about their own and their siblings’ births.

Next I brought out the basket with the cards and told them that the surprise party was for all of them and there was a card for each of them. I passed around the basket of cards so they could each choose one—not the one they made. They enjoyed looking at them.

Then I put out a basket of small items and invited them to each choose a gift for themselves. Two of the boys chose the “Spy Glasses”. These have a reflective area on the outer edge allowing the wearer to see behind him.  They wore them the rest of the time and we had fun waving at them from behind.

I had hidden a cake and brought it out at this time with a candle in it for each child. We lit the candles, sang “Happy Birthday to US!” and blew out the candles together at the count of three.

Then it was time to go upstairs for the closing of the adult service. The boys with the Spy Glasses looked mighty cool as they wore them into the sanctuary. The congregation got a chuckle out of seeing them.

We came back down to the classroom afterwards and ate our cake.

The parents loved the idea and were pleased to see the kids having such a great time together.

The complete details about this fun event can be found on my webpage www.childsspirt.com

What happens when the sky opens and the rain pours down in buckets just when you are getting set up for the yearly church picnic at Denney Park?

At Seattle Unity the volunteers, under the leadership of Jeannie Strawn and Rymii Kiao, recreated all the features of the successful picnics of past years by moving the activities indoors. They set up the barbeques in the NW stairwell with a fan to try to keep the smoke out of the Fellowship Hall. They set up tables in the Fellowship Hall and arranged the food and drink stations so people could quickly serve themselves.

The Uniteens and YOUers, who’d planned to lead water balloon games, offer face painting and set up other games outdoors at the park, adapted their plans as well. The water balloons were put away but the face painting fun was setup in their classroom and it was busy with children getting rainbows, flowers, spiders and other colorful images on their faces, arms and hands. They handed out bottles of bubble solution that had been generously donated by a Chaplain. They set up games in an adjacent classroom. Wherever they were there was happy, healthy, positive energy.

The Fellowship Hall buzzed with conversation and laughter. The Uniteens were busy working together on their games and face painting. The younger children kept safe and dry as they ate with their parents and visited the Uniteens for a little decoration or fun.

The drumming and spiritual dancing was set up in the Chapel and I’m sure the room rocked with dynamic energy from that.

I liked having the picnic in the Fellowship Hall. It felt intimate and comfortable. I think more people were able to connect with each other. And I liked that the kids of all ages were moving around and having their fun in a welcoming cocoon of adult acceptance. When the sky opens up with rain, this community opens up to picnicing fun and fellowship with one another.  

This year I had several good ideas for Father’s Day gifts for the children to make on Sunday. That’s unusual because usually I don’t have even one.

 My first idea was a jar full of affirmation strips. The kids would decorate a baby food jar, including the lid. They would then roll up strips of paper with affirmations written on them and stuff as many in the jar as would fit. They would tie on an instruction card explaining to Dad how he could use them. I have an abundance of the affirmations. I cut them from the large print Daily Words before recycling them. They’re printed on both sides and I’ve found them to be very useful for collaging, decorating cards, etc.

The baby food jars? I had zero! I didn’t think ahead to collect them and don’t know anyone with babies that eat baby food. Obviously I didn’t do that project. And upon reflection, I’m not certain that dads would particularly have liked it.

 I thought about a key chain project I came across but it just didn’t sound like fun. And neither did a few other ones.

 At the last minute I decided that FOOD was the best idea. I got clear plastic birthday goody bags, fun “guy” stickers like cars, outer space, and dogs. I put pretzels, Cheezits, Wheat Thins and M&M’s in separate baskets and then we made popcorn in the microwave. The kids each filled a bag for their dad choosing the treats they thought he would most enjoy. Some chose a scoop of everything. One girl chose just the popcorn and M&M’s because her dad was allergic to wheat. They had a great time and shared tidbits about their dads as they worked.

Our opening circle was very sweet. Instead of telling something about ourselves in our introductions, we told one thing we loved about our dads. It’s fun to hear what’s important to them: “My dad helps me with my multiplication tables.” “He makes the best spaghetti.” “He lets me beat him playing video games.”

Another activity the kids enjoyed was spelling the word FATHER. I enlarged and printed the letters F –A –T – H – E – R on 8.5 X 11 copy paper. Then I mounted each one on construction paper. I had the kids get together with a partner and each pair got one or two of the letters. They were invited to write words on the back of the paper that described dads. Each word was to start with that letter. They then read the letter and shared the words they came up with to the rest of the group.

                F: funny, friendly, faithful

                A: awesome, athletic, alert

                T: ticklish, tolerant, truthful

                H: happy, helpful, hip

                E: enthusiastic, energetic, extra nice

                R: respectful, refreshing, rugged

We also had a table where they could decorate a card for their dads but that wasn’t popular on this Sunday.

Each Sunday when we go into the sanctuary for the “Peace Song” we share what we did in class. On special Sundays like Father’s Day, we do something special. For this Father’s Day we did a reading:

What Makes a Dad?
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle’s flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it … Dad
Author Unknown

My thought was to have a different child read each line, but only two of the children were willing to participate. That’s the way it is sometimes. A boy and girl each read one half and it was precious. They did a wonderful job.

I don’t know how the children’s dads like their bag of treats, but my husband Paul loved his.

No other Sunday that I plan evokes the range of feelings in me than the Sunday we honor the children and youth for their growth and development. I am awed by the movement of Spirit in each one as they get bigger, accomplish more, acquire new knowledge and blossom each in their own way. I’m excited to welcome the graduating children into their new classes and then feel reflective as they move up into Uniteens and Y.O.U. And when they “age out” of Y.O.U. and go off to college and other pursuits, I hope they know how much a part of our community they have been and will continue to be in a different way. I want them to know they have left a mark on us all and how much we care for them.

I love the way we honor all the children at Seattle Unity. We do a special and very fun ceremony for the children who graduate into kindergarten from preschool, into third grade from second grade, from fifth grade into Uniteens and then from Uniteens into Y.O.U. This ceremony is held in our Fellowship Hall where we have a small stage so, as you can probably guess, each child gets to walk across the stage—from the old to the new. Our ceremony has evolved and improved each year as we have fine-tuned the process.

We gather all the kids with a rousing song. And it’s amusing to see how the grade school kids and the Y.O.U.ers love to sing but the Uniteens look at us like we’re nuts. We encourage them anyway. We begin our ceremony with a candle lighting and opening meditation. I am impressed with the respectful quiet that fills the room.

 Each year I’ve chosen a special picture book to read to add a bit of inspiration. This year I read a new book I found called Clorinda by Robert Kinerk and illustrated by Steven Kellogg. It’s about a cow that mistakenly ends up at a ballet instead of casting her ballot at an election. She’s so entranced by the dancing that she decides to become a ballerina. After much hard work she lands a spot in a ballet performance in which her partner must catch her as she sails through the air. The other dancers and their partners do the routine beautifully and gracefully but Clorinda flattens her partner. This caused some giggles in our audience but the story has a happy ending.

Last year’s book was also about a cow: Moonstruck: The True Story of the Cow That Jumped over the Moon by Gennifer Choldenko and illustrated by Paul Yalowitz. It is equally engaging and entertaining with a message about determination.

In years past I have invited YOUers who had musical talent to sing a song or play their guitar for our ceremony. This year we didn’t have anyone who was available but it is something I aim for each year. It adds so much to our event and the younger kids are in awe of the older ones when they perform.

We then moved on to the honoring of each age group. This is different each year. This year we had two new kindergarteners. One wanted to stay in the preschool classroom. The second was anxious to join the kindergarten class but mom became ill and they didn’t make it to church. We had three children who moved from second grade to third grade and four new Uniteens. Five Uniteens moved into Y.O.U.

Each child received a certificate (preprinted but names were added during the ceremony).

Louis Mason, our wonderful third-fifth grade teacher, each year brings in hats for his graduating fifth graders to toss up in the air after he introduces them. The kids loved getting to wind up and toss those hats.

The Uniteens, under the leadership of Don Bennett and Jenny Garvin, added to the ceremony by giving the new kids a welcome gift. Then Don and Jenny asked each of the graduating Uniteens to tell what Uniteens has meant to him/her before they presented each with a lapel pin. They were then passed over to the Y.O.U. Sponsors, Jessica Tweed and Chris Broeckling, who gave a welcome to this new group of youth.

The graduates join their new class.  Activities were planned for getting acquainted and group building. This theme of getting to know you and building interconnectedness continues on for the summer.

Three young men graduated from high school this year. They were introduced to the congregation during the service, welcomed into the adult community and presented with a dark purple prayer shawl crocheted by a member of our Prayer Shawl ministry.

I miss the children who move up to Uniteens. Each Sunday when they are in the Children’s Chapel (K-5^th grade) I love hearing about their experiences—their favorite toys, pets, trips with their families, new games they are learning. Those children whose parents bring them regularly become friends in the deepest sense. I don’t get to spend as much time with them when they join the Uniteen class. It’s in a different part of the building and they become very involved in the Uniteen experience which is exactly how it should be.  I do remember and treasure each of them and look on with admiration as they mature and step into each new stage of life in their own unique way.

An incredibly awesome opportunity presented itself after the Youth Team Conference in January. Realizing that Mark Stanton Welch would be in Washington for the Unitreat at Cispus in June, I checked to see if he’d like to come to Seattle Unity to do some music and/or some healing work. He said “yes!” and so we put together a plan.

My intention was twofold: One part was to give Mark a chance to come to Seattle and network with folks from the Puget Sound area. The second part was to create a fun family event for the kids at Seattle Unity and their parents.

We booked Mark for a Sat. afternoon Sound Healing Workshop and an evening potluck and spiritual dance event.

I received a flier invitation from Spokane Unity when they had Mark at their church to share his talent. I loved the flier so I designed one similar to theirs. We emailed the flier to the Unity churches in the area and started calling our families. We marketed the event in our Sunday bulletin, in the weekly Unity updates and on the big screen in the Sanctuary.

Then Jenny Garvin and Don Bennett, our Uniteen teachers, said that the Uniteens wanted to have a lock-in. I mentioned that this date was open at the church and it would be a great tie-in for the kids. Jenny and Don set it up to host a lock-in to give the kids a chance to debrief their Unitreat experience, welcome the new kids into the group and to give a more heartfelt closure for those Uniteens graduating into Y.O.U.

And the cherry on the top was that Mark would be staying with Paul and me so we’d get to visit with him.

We had a wonderful day with Mark at Seattle Unity. He was so easy to work with and gave us all so much of his healing energy. My chakras were all cleaned out during the workshop. I was reminded about the powerful healing that sound provides as we listened to the different tones of drums and rattles. When you pay attention, you can feel them in different parts of your body. Chanting our birth names reconnected us to our purpose. Toning on different notes vibrated the different chakras and, again, careful listening made it possible to actually feel them.

Our potluck was yummy. I have been involved in potlucks where everyone ends up bringing chips and dips because they are so busy they just grab something at the last minute. At this potluck we started out with a whole table full of desserts. That’s not a bad thing but I was a little concerned for just a short moment. Then the salads and several containers of chicken arrived. Then beans and macaroni and rolls. Everyone got plenty to eat.

The energy heightened in the room as the songs and dances that Mark led became more intimate. This caused the heat to rise so off I went to find one of the big fans. Don and I kept the water pitchers filled.

The evening was a success and we enjoyed spending time in this way with dear friends from Lynnwood Unity, Unity of North Sound in Bremerton, Kent Unity, Olympia Unity as well as folks from Sonia Choquette’s classes.

Everyone wanted their picture taken with Mark, including the Uniteens. It was great fun seeing the groups gather around Mark to be photographed with him. He is well-loved.

The Uniteens had their lock-in and when I arrived on Sunday morning at 7:30 with their breakfast they were all sound asleep. At both the Sunday services, they each spoke and shared highlights from their Unitreat experience as well as expressing gratitude for the financial support from the congregation so they could go. They are an amazing and awesome group of young people and Jenny and Don have done much to guide them into being strong leaders.

I’m grateful for the way everything came together for a successful event. I look forward to more such events in the future.

Another boy was also leaving with his mom and had been listening in on our conversation. He called over his shoulder “And they have awesome teachers here!”

I know my grin spread from ear to ear. The other kids and parents laughed and said, “Yes, it’s true!”

That felt sooo great. 

I think our teachers are pretty wonderful too. We have a very small team of volunteers in our Children’s Chapel. Five to be exact at this time.

Louis has been teaching 3^rd-5th grade for 26 years. His lessons are action-packed with props, movement, laughter and fun. He always has a clear lesson point. He is respectful to each child yet knows how to facilitate their behavior to bring out the best. He has a special gift for the kids who don’t do well in other settings. He takes off the first and fifth Sundays.

Therese has taught 3^rd-5^th grades on the first Sunday for five years. She has worked skillfully with this age group,  perhaps because her two sons were in this class. She seems to know what makes the kids this age tick. She made thinking about a concept a fun thing to do. She added depth and spiritually enriching ideas to consider. Therese is stepping down in June because her boys are now both in Uniteens.

Anne is a very new K-2^nd grade teacher. She’s not been a parent and came with no experience. The children love her and she has had fun trying out the lessons. What makes her special is her natural inclination to connect with each child as they arrive. This is often a strategy that has to be modeled or taught to new teachers. Anne got it immediately. By the time the lesson begins, the kids are “with her” and ready to see what she is going to do.

Christie has been teaching the K-2^nd grade class on and off for about six years. She is a parent and a professional teacher and brings a whole assortment of skills to our program.  Her two sons have been regulars and you can tell by how they interact as a family that respect, doing your best, honesty, and spiritual practices are important parts of their lives. She brings all that into her lessons. 

Me/Marelu: I am the other K-2^nd grade teacher on alternate Sundays with Anne. I am in a special category as are those of you who are the directors of the program and sometimes fill in as teachers.  We not only must be present with the children in the class and facilitate the lesson flow but must also hold in our consciousness the whole program. A part of my brain is listening to what else is going on in the other classrooms and watching the clock to be sure we are finished on time and being ready to welcome and include the late arrival because Seattle traffic can be a challenge and attending to the need in the childcare room if more help is required and remembering registration deadlines for Uniteen or YOU events and watching for the parent that I want to talk with about his/her child, etc.

I am therefore so very grateful for those excellent people who walk their talk, love kids and are willing to share some of their time and talent to show up on Sunday as teachers.

Later in the week I returned a call from a parent who had been out of town for Memorial Day weekend and was going to be out of town the next weekend as well. She told me her son had awakened on Sunday morning and realized he was missing church. And then realized he was going to miss another Sunday. She said he was very, very disappointed.

I felt another grin forming. I know the kids have a great time when they are with us but I really do appreciate hearing about it. The validation from the children makes our efforts worthwhile.

Their project made use of a collection of small wooden spoons I’d had for many years. I looked at them many times and wondered why I’d bought them in the first place and what I was ever going to do with them.

I’m grateful for the internet which I visit regularly to jumpstart my idea pool for creative activities for our Sunday morning lessons and projects. I came across an idea using these spoons and just had to set it up for our children.

Wooden spoons, Hershey’s Kisses, those tulle circles that you can purchase in the bridal section of Joann’s , narrow ribbon and silk flowers were all I needed to duplicate our own interpretation of this cute project idea. All I had to buy were Hershey’s Kisses. I had everything else.

 Each child made one and we set them all aside to give to their moms after the service.

Our next surprise for the moms in our congregation was a short presentation by the children when they came to the front of the sanctuary for the “Peace Song”.

Over the years I have collected many cute readings, poems, quotations and stories for Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day, Halloween, and other holidays that I’ve used for short and easy presentations in the adult service.

But I needed something new this year. Rev. Karen was going to be facilitating a sweet and touching service that would most likely invoke tears and heart-opening.

This time the children needed to offer a little laughter. We could help end the special Mothers’ Day service on a light-hearted note. I looked through my collections of readings, poems and quotations but nothing felt right.

Again, the internet came to my rescue. I found a great website with all kinds of ideas and resources. On it I saw the perfect idea: “A Mother’s Dictionary”.

I copied it, enlarged it and cut the words with their humorous definitions into strips. I read a few to the children to see if they thought it would be fun to share with the grown-ups.

They loved the idea so they each picked a couple and we practiced. We used a marker for our microphone and passed it from child to child, getting them used to holding it close to their mouths and reading slowly and clearly.

We giggled a lot so we were pretty sure the grown-ups would get the humor in the definitions. Here is a couple:

“Bottle feeding: An opportunity for Daddy to get up at 2 AM too.

Full Name: What you call your child when you’re mad at him.”

Our final activity for the children was listening to Louis, our wonderful 3^rd-5^th grade teacher, read us a story: Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. This story never fails to bring tears to our eyes and we were all touched by it.

The children did a very fine job in their presentation and the grown-ups laughed appreciatively. And the moms loved receiving chocolate as their gift.

The finished gift for Mom

With the swine flu so prominently in the news, the staff and volunteers in the Youth and Family Ministry program wondered how our Unity families would react. Would they stay home? Would they mention their concern?

We did what we do each week. Each Sunday afternoon we wipe all hard surfaces and toys with bleach wipes. If any blankets or pillows are soiled, they go home with me to be washed.

Hand sanitizer is at the ready on the welcome table and in prominent places in the classrooms. Each room is stocked with tissue.

We make it clear to our volunteers that they should stay home if they don’t feel well and call in to let us know. We request that parents keep their children home if they had a fever, colored mucus, rash, cough, vomiting or diarrhea within the last 24 hours.

On Sunday, our attendance was down and we learned that a few parents stayed home because of the feared epidemic. Of those who attended, only one parent asked what we were doing to make sure the kids didn’t touch each other. She wanted to be certain they would understand the need for good hygiene.

  Just then, one first grade boy went directly to the small sink in the classroom and washed his hands. Others used the hand sanitizer as they arrived. The mom smiled and gave me a reassured nod as she headed to the sanctuary for the service.

 After the service when parents were picking up their children, several commented on their belief that the media probably exaggerated the danger. One parent mentioned that they remembered the spiritual teaching that what we give our attention to is what we get more of.  They said that if everyone watched all the news reports and believed them strongly, they could attract illness into their lives.  Therefore they were choosing to see their children and themselves as healthy and well. They thought it was also a great idea to practice good hygiene. 

After everyone left, Sandi and I once again sanitized everything as we do each week, potential epidemic or not. The twist for us is that we also bless the space as we work.

When I first came to Seattle Unity about four and a half years ago, the nursery/toddler room was actually scary. Among other things it was in the farthermost distant room in the whole church, downstairs in the basement and down a winding hallway. It was dismal and dreary. Most parents were uncomfortable leaving their little ones in this space. Consequently we had almost no children under the age of four.

I’m not sure how the room was used before but it had strange lights—globes that hung down from the pitched ceiling. They looked alien.  Because it was difficult to open the globes to get to them, the burnt-out light bulbs took a while to change so the room was often dark.

In addition, a plastic house stood in one corner. It was a constant source of challenges for the caregivers. Little ones would get stuck inside and the childcare person would have to bend over to climb in to rescue her.  The ones who could would climb on the top, putting them in danger of a four-foot fall and injury. Too often someone’s fingers got pinched in the door.

There was an unused crib in another corner taking up floor space.  Conflict and tears erupted because there were too few toys to share.

One of the first things I did when I began to work at Seattle Unity as the Director of Youth and Family Ministries was renovate this room.

I decided on an underwater theme. I went to the local hardware store and checked out the “oops” paint—cans returned because the color wasn’t right. I found a beautiful sky blue and a perfect shade of aqua.  

I drew a wavy line about five feet up on the walls around the room and began painting. Below the line was the water—above, the sky.

Three awesome men joined me: my husband Paul; Scott, a very special man who was on the church board and Don, another special guy who is always available to help around the church. Together we transformed the room.  It took us two days to cover the walls and the ceiling in their new colors.

I painted a large whale and two diving dolphins. Along the floor, I added a scene with seaweed, sea horses, crabs, seashells and small fish using rubber stamps.

We got rid of the plastic house and the crib and added a step-up changing table (money donated by congregants). We added more age-appropriate toys—multiples so more than one child could talk on the phone or push a truck at the same time. Much of the shopping was done at the local second-hand stores where we found great bargains, cleaned them up and put them on the shelves for the children. 

Next we hired an electrician to replace the strange lights and install simple white glass fixtures flush to the ceiling. They brightened the space. Scott purchased and installed a rheostat so we could turn the lights down when needed.

Energy for our upgrade was contagious. Two people donated rocking chairs. More toys and board books arrived. Larger items were donated: a bouncy toy with noise-making manipulatives, a wagon for large Legos, fish art for the walls, fish rugs for the floor, cozy floor pillows and push toys for the early walkers.

Over the last couple of years, we have seen a dramatic change.  Our baby and toddler population has increased and the room has become a well-loved and cheery space where our little people like to play.

When parents walk in for the first time, they ooh and ahh. “What a nice room” they say.

Fortunately, we a very blessed with excellent caregivers so our families are happy with the experience their young children have while they enjoy the adult service.

This has been a powerful demonstration of “You build it, they will come”.