Men's Retreat Reflection

If you attended the Men's Retreat in February, we're inviting you to attend one of two small group reflections. We'll take some time to reflect on the theme of transitions, of 'rising and falling and rising'. How has that changed for you? Have there been new transitions coming into your life?

You can attend either Saturday, April 19, 2 PM, or Tuesday, April 22, 7 PM, at Unity Church.

If you wrote a letter to yourself, you should have it now; it was mailed to you on Tuesday. You might want to bring it, and you can choose to share a few words or comment on the letter if you like.

We'll spend an hour on reflection, then take a short break. After the break, there is an optional second session where we explore the future of men's activities at Unity (both those currently planned or going, and those that might be possible). We'll spend an hour on this exploration.

If you have questions, call Matt at the church (651-228-1456) or email him: matt@unityunitarian.org

Spirit Play Church Building Corner

A Project for Unity Men

One the favorite activities of our preschool kids, especially boys, in our two Spirit Play classrooms, is using wooden blocks to build things. Our teachers encourage them to think about churches, and how they are built and set up, and to imagine the church of their dreams. We already have about 100 wooden blocks in each classroom, but we need more.

How We Can Help

There are several ways we can contribute both in time, talents and also our treasure:

1. Maintain the existing blocks

Many of the existing blocks could use a light sanding and oiling to help them last longer. This could be a great Saturday morning project for a couple of guys or a small group!

2. Purchase more 'unit blocks'

We'd need two more sets of blocks to round out our basic sets (one in each classroom). Jamie and Marion Seely-Kreisman at Beka, Inc. are willing to help us with these, getting them at cost, so we'd need to raise about $160 for these two sets. See bekainc.com for info on these.

3. Create images of churches

The kids use pictures of churches for inspiration. These could be photos from magazines or books, duplicated (we need two sets), or your own photos of churches. They need to be laminated to stand up to preschoolers. We estimate the lamination will cost about $60.

4. Purchase two storage carts

These are needed to organize the blocks. Again, Jamie and Marion Seely-Kreisman at Beka, Inc. are willing to help us with these, and our cost would be about $140.

5. Buy or make sets of 'architectural blocks'

These are sets of specialty blocks for specific kinds of architectures: Greek, Roman, Middle Eastern, etc. We'd need two of any set we buy, as each classroom needs the same setup. Cost of the two sets would be $60 to $80. Woodworkers among us may want to make specific pieces, maybe even Unity Church architectural elements.

Join us!

Please consider helping with one or more of these sub-projects. Any of these would be a great help to our preschool classroom, and help keep our boys engaged in church life. Contact Matt Alspaugh at the church (651-228-1456, matt@unityunitarian.org) or Nels Otto (651-484-4590) for more information.

Wednesday Men's Group: Proactive Men

Wednesday, April 16, 7:15 - 8:30 PM

"I'm a self-made man, but I think if I had it to do over again, I'd call in others." - Roland Young
The new male no longer wants to be stolid and totally self-sufficient. No more of this: "I'm fine just as I am." How do we break out of male inactivity and male reactivity, to become truly pro-active modern men? How do we free ourselves from the dictates and limitations of traditional masculinity to which we've been shackled? Join us as we dig into this with spirited conversation. Led by Nels Otto.

The Wednesday Mens Group is an open group meeting once a month on the third Wednesday.
Contact Matt Alspaugh (Matt@unityunitarian.org) at the Church Office for more information.