Thursday, December 10, 2020

Early Winter: Over 60 Holiday Care Packages Delivered to Support Our Families

 



Photo (above): LSE Committee Chair Beth Merrill and her assistant make kits for families to make a milkweed cradle and acorn baby.  


Photo (above): LSE Committee member, Liz Benjamin, assembles the UU Jingle Bell Door Hanger kits that help teach the 7 Principles of Unitarian Universalism!


Many thanks to the tremendous team effort behind our 60+ Holiday care packages that have headed out to families this week. The LSE Committee was a great help with brainstorming and assembling (masked and on separate days)--Marissa along with other junior members Maizy and Waylon. Also the adults on the committee: Ginnie Humphreys, Liz Benjamin, Kate Spring, Beth Merrill. Also, much thanks to the nearly 20 Care Network volunteers who helped with deliveries. 
I can't imagine we were able to do this perfectly (who is perfect anyway) so please let us know if we left you off our list and we'll get you one!  

Here's what was in them:
Dear families,
Things are hard. I know you’re all riding so many waves of emotions. So much time apart from friends and relatives, so much waiting and worry is exhausting. And yet there is so much promise and love and creativity around us too, so much potential for another world to be born. You and your children, and all the children in our communities, are in our prayers. May all that is holy surround you and hold you during this holiday season.
Here’s a care package to add some joy and special moments to this very different holiday season. You’ll find:
  • Gratitude practices for thanksgiving and beyond
    • Ideas for sharing gratitude: Conversation Starters for the dinner table or Gratitude Tree
    • Thank You Card -- stamped and ready to go. Showing thanks is a form of prayer! Decide as a family on who you will surprise with some snail mail appreciation!
  • A Kit to Make-your-own UU Jingle bell door HAnger
    • 7 pipe cleaners--one for each of our 7 Principles of Unitarian Universalism
    • A jingly bell
    • A bookmark of the 7 Principles 
    • Day-by-day instructions
  • Hanukkah materials
    • A dreidel and instructions on how to play
    • A paper Menorah and cut-out candles
    • Latke recipe and link to Maccabeats “The Latke Recipe” 📷
  • Milkweed cradle kit Christmas is a celebration of the miracle of the birth of baby Jesus and hope for a better world. Make this beautiful woodland cradle for a centerpiece or to lay on the branches of a holiday tree. Directions: Coat the inside of the milkweed pod with a thick layer of glue. Use the cloth triangle to “swaddle” the
  •  cotton ball and place it in the pod on the glue. Hold tight for one minute to set. Put some thick glue on one side of the acorn and position it as the head of the baby. Let set.
  • Paper snowflake Cutting these is a bit of a spiritual practice for me--the wonder of the unfolding and of course mindfulness that each one is different -- like each person -- and therein lies beauty! May these be a reminder of winter’s beauty and call us outside to enjoy it with our families!
  • Peppermint lifesavers to remind us that all this hard work of wearing masks and staying apart, we are showing deep care for our community and literally saving lives.
  • Re-Usable plastic cover for bowl/plate Enjoy as a reusable, earth-friendly alternative to Saran wrap for the delicious leftovers from your holiday meals!
  • Ice lantern (made with the BIG tin can) Use the tin can that your care package comes in to make a beautiful ice luminary or lantern. It can be a beautiful centerpiece (on a plate to catch the water as it melts) for any special meal or a beautiful element outside around your house for Winter Solstice (Dec. 21st) or maybe Christmas Eve. Leave one as a surprise for friends or neighbors outside their house. You can re-use the can to make multiple ones, or make a big one with a 5 gallon bucket. (I’ll make a video soon, but you can also do a search on youtube.)
** Many thanks to Nancy and the rest of the kitchen staff at Union Elem. for cleaning and saving these cans! **
With love,
Liza and the LSE Committee members (and junior members):
Beth Merrill and Maizy, Kate Spring and Waylon, Ginnie Humphreys, Liz Benjamin, Margaret Blanchard, and Marissa

Photo: Grouping the packages by neighborhood on my front porch for safe, outdoor and socially distanced pick-up by the Care Network volunteers.  

Photos below: Some of our nearly 20 dedicated Delivery Volunteers from the UCM Care Network:
  

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