In this Issue
AUCI
Unitreat
09 Calendar
Christmas Ideas
New Years Ideas
Curriculum Review
Service / Prosperity
Featured Uniteen Group
Events
Leaders
Parents
The 2008 Fall Unitreat, "Seeds of Love" was a terrific event. 162 Uniteens, leaders and chaperones attended from all over the Great Lakes Region. Their home churches spanned all the way from Minneapolis, MN to Hamilton, Ontario. What a great opportunity it was to meet others of like mind and Spirit.
It was a truly Spirit-led weekend in which we all learned in many different ways how to sow seeds of love and how we always reap what we sow - even if we don't reap where we sow or when we sow.
Speaking of sowing, the YOU staff developed a funshop in which all of the participants were able to plant a fall bulb (Bulbs of Love) at Camp Duncan! Now certainly we will not see what we have sown in person since our event is always in the fall and these bulbs flower only in the spring. But it was a great opportunity to reflect on sowing and reaping and an opportunity to show our love for Camp Duncan. In return, Camp Duncan has promisted to send us pictures of the flowers in the Spring. You can bet you will see them on the website and in a spring issue of UniZine.
Education Links
Our longtime favorite Youth Ministry Magazine has gone green! The December issue of Education Links was the final printed version. All future Education Links issues will be published in electronic format only. If you wish to continue receiving this valuable information, please be sure to add your name to the AUCI email list for Ed Links. Be sure to select "Education_Links_Magazine" in the drop down menu.
Visit The Great Lakes Uniteen Website
at
www.glruniteens.org
A New Earth for Kids: A 7-Week Curriculum inspired by Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth arrived on the market this past month. If you havn't had a chance to look, here are some highlights.
The curriculum was created by North Star Family Matters who recently partnered with Unity Institute to provide a children's ministry page on the Unity website. The curriculum is receiving a lot of attention and has had some great reviews from minister's in the field.
There are two versions of the curriculum, one for children and one for teens. I am currently reviewing the teen version and I find the content to be superb and I really appreciate the tie-in to Unity principles for each lesson plan.
The overall content of the curriculum is focused on understanding the difference between our "HUMAN" selves and our "BEING" or spiritual selves. In conveying that message, the material also focuses on the power of living in the NOW moment.
Feedback from minister's in the field encourage using the curriculum as a whole congregation lesson series; Sunday talks, children's ministry and teen ministry. Your entire congregation could study this wonderful Tolle book at the same time! I for one am looking forward to this possibility at my church.
Additionally, there is a "Take Home" lesson each week that will keep families working with the lesson material at home. This is a great way to serve and promote healthy communication for the families in your ministry. It also engages families into a partnership with you to provide spiritual nourishment and guidance for our youth.
The format does not follow the typical Unity classroom experience and focuses more deeply on the discussion than on activities and creative expression. You will need to spend some time preparing for these discussions and practicing the meditations so you will be able to facilitate the lesson with ease and flexibility. While the material is laid out with very clear symbols indicating where to talk and where to listen, my personal teaching style led me to customizing the "talk" sections a little to put them more into the form of questions and less in the form of information.
You may also want to add some activities, journaling or creative expression to the lesson based on the needs of your particular group. The lessons are designed for 45 minutes which could leave time to include your own opening and closing activities or adding a short creative experience. Each section ends with a "self-assesment" that could easily be used as a journaling experience.
This curriculum is certainly work checking out and the cost per lesson is reasonable. The 7-lesson package is just $34.95 which makes the per lesson cost about $5.00. There is no shipping cost as the book is available for immediate download as soon as payment has been made by visa or pay pal. This curriculum gets a thumbs up!
Take a look at http://www.northstarfamilymattersmagazine.com/curriculum.html
Our AUCI has been really busy creating curriculum for our Uniteens. Just look below at all the wonderful choices! This curriculum is all created in the Living Curriculum style and uses a proven format for the Uniteen Sunday experience. Check it out with your Uniteens and let them decide where you will go next!
Uniteens Create Non-Violent Video Game
The Uniteens at Unity Center of Cedar Rapids were challenged earlier this year to create a non-violent video game. They pooled their talents and ideas and come up with some awesome possibilities. And, they were written about in the local paper too. Read the entire article Cedar Rapids Uniteens.
Your Uniteen Group could be featured here! Send us an article and/or photos of your events and special news. See address and contact information below. [Back to Top]
Christmas Giving
Still looking for a way for your Uniteens to “Give” this Holiday Season? Purchase a gift certificate at Kiva.com and let them choose a third-world entrepreneur to lend the funds to. This is a fabulous program, assisting others in building their own prosperity. http://www.kiva.org/ ------- [Back to Top]
Loans That Change Lives
Christmas Card Couples
This is a great icebreaker. Gather up stacks of old Christmas cards and cut each illustrated cover in half until you have as many "halves" as teens. Throw all the halves into a basket, mix them up, and keep the basket at thedoor. As teens arrive, ask each to select one card-half from the basket and find their "other half" during the lesson or Christmas party. This is a great ice-breaker, especially if you have new kids or special holiday visitors.
Guessing the resolutions
Ask each of your Uniteens to write down 5 resolutions, each on its own slip of paper. Pull one slip of paper out of a basket at a time and read it out loud. Everyone has to write down who they think made each resolution. At the end of the readings, the person who guessed the most correctly could win a prize.
Visioning for the New Year.
After playing the resolution game above, spend some time as a group deciding what you would like to accomplish for the next year. Brainstorm events, service projects, curriculum, lesson ideas and so forth. If your group needs work on being open to new people and visitors this might be a good time to set a group resolution to be more welcoming to new-comers.
Month guessing
Go through old magazines from the past year, or to your local library to search through old news articles. Find the events that took place in the past year. Make a list of these events, and ask your Uniteens to guess which month the event took place in. Whoever guesses the most right wins a prize. Make it easy for everyone to win a prize by selecting some easy events such as "Halloween".
Word guessing
Write down 100 words on index cards such as stare, grin, blink, giggle, laugh, plate, thread or any word you like.
Stack the cards and put them in the center of the room. Divide the players into 2 teams and seat them opposite each other. Set the timer or stopwatch for one minute. Have the first player from Team One draw a card from the pile and give clues to the word to his/her teammates before the timer ends the play.
So, if the word is "laugh", the team member might say, "What you do if someone tells you a joke?" Players from Team One try to guess the word; if they are successful before the time is up, they get a point. If the timer runs out and the word is not guessed, the other team gets a bonus point. Take turns until all the cards are exhausted, and then add up points to see who wins. Or better yet, determine that everyone has won and have a treat to share with everyone.[Back to Top]
E-Link Newsletter
Love Education Links? Want to be in touch more often? Sign of for the E-Link Newsletter at the AUCI website. Be sure to select "E_Link" from the drop down menu.
Embracing the Dance of Independence, is a unique 4-CD set of instructive and inspirational sessions, designed to help parents of adolescents survive — and maybe even enjoy — this transition.
The sessions contain relaxing conversations, guided visualizations and time for journaling and reflection that will help truly enhance your parenting experience.
The CDs are available for a donation to the I AM Foundation. To order, visit www.iamfoundation.org and select "Order Books". [Back to Top]
Y.O.U. Sponsor / Uniteen Leader Forum
Hosted by Renaissance Unity
Y.O.U. Sponsors, Uniteen Leaders, Youth Directors and Ministers are invited to attend this gathering. This is an opportunity for you to network with others involved in teen ministry. Please bring your thoughts and ideas on what you would like to discuss, what your needs are as a sponsor or leader and what are the needs, challenges and accomplishments of your chapter or group. At the Forum, with everyone's input, we will prioritize and create an agenda of topics for discussion.
For More Information - Click Here [FORUM] ----- [Back to Top]
Saturday, January 31st, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Hosted by: Renaissance Unity 11200 East Eleven Mile Rd., Warren, Michigan 48089 (586-353-2300)