Celebrating Dia de los Muertos

On Sunday, October 24th, the youth spent some time creating Day of the Dead artwork for the glass display case next to the social hall at FUMC. For those of you who are not familiar with Day of the Dead, it is a Mexican holiday for remembering loved ones who have died. It occurs on November 2nd every year. It is a day of celebration and is closely tied to the Catholic holiday All Souls' Day. People bring marigolds, sugar skulls, and drinks to the graves of the loved ones. It is widely celebrated in the southwestern U.S. as well as in Mexico. We will continue our Day of the Dead theme on Sunday, October 31st, with some pan de muertos (bread of the dead) and more art projects to add to the display. Come see it when it is finished! I will post pictures, as well.

To learn more about the All Souls' Procession in Tucson, please visit:
www.allsoulsprocession.org

VA Hospital Chaplain Mel Brinkley speaks to youth about Afghanistan

On Sunday, October 10th, Youth in Action had the honor of hosting Chaplain Mel Brinkley as a guest speaker! Mel served as a Chaplain for our troops in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003. He flew from base to base, serving troops all around the country. He shared with us his personal experiences, photographs, his personal loss of 6 men in his unit in a helicopter crash, and his view on the importance of Greg Mortenson’s work in building schools in the country. Our hour with Mel was a perfect fit to our current youth activities, including our reading of Three Cups of Tea together. Mel shared with us some history between the U.S. and Afghanistan and the complex relationship between our two countries that began when the U.S. aided Afghanistan in what would become a 10-year conflict with the Soviet Union (starting in 1979). We reflected on why it was so important to get an education, and how education can promote peace. With respect to Greg Mortenson’s work, in particular, we talked about the education of young women and girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan and what their education means for the future of the these two countries.

Our heartfelt thanks goes out to Mel for visiting us and sharing his personal experiences during his time in Central Asia!

Planning the First Annual FUMC Interfaith Community Picnic

On Sunday, Oct 3rd, in addition to our normal discussion of Three Cups of Tea, we also talked about common stories and prophets that are shared among the Bible, Koran, and the Torah. And in this spirit of learning about other faiths, and our interest in interfaith collaboration and friendships with our other local congregations, the youth are organizing and hosting a community picnic in Tucson! Our hope is that many of our own congregation at FUMC will come together with our Muslim, Jewish, and other faithful neighbors over good food and fun at a local park on a refreshing and cool Saturday afternoon this Fall. The official date will be announced once we determine our budget and an ideal location for such an event. Stay tuned for future blog posts to find out more!