Curiosity takes many forms, and one of them is wondering what’s going to happen next.  A quote, from “Winnie the Pooh” by AA Milne that I am fond of, has Pooh and Piglet walking down the road together.  Piglet asks Pooh, “When you wake up in the morning, Pooh, what is the first thing that you think about?”  And Pooh replies, “I think about what I’m going to eat for breakfast!   What do you think about, Piglet?”  And Piglet – wise creature that he is – responds, “I think about what exciting thing I’m going to do today!”  The church leadership writer Robert Dale uses this story to ask about whether congregations want to have a “breakfast dream” or an “excitement dream,” but really, that quote is about curiosity.

Oftentimes it is, at its core, curiosity that brings us to church:  we want to see our friends or find out more about this new place we visited for the first time a few weeks ago.  Maybe we want to know how our children will do in their religious education programs and what new thing they’ll learn (you can be sure that I’m hoping you’ll think that, every week!)  Or maybe you’re realizing that you met someone who seems really nice, and you’re wondering if you’ll see them again in the pew or at social hour.  Or maybe you want to find out what the preacher that morning is talking about.

The point is, we don’t always know what is going to happen.  And maybe we don’t need to know.  Maybe we just want to show up because we think it will make a difference in our lives.  That could be enough.  And sometimes, our curiosity leads us to new discoveries.  As we look toward the end of this year’s religious education programs, I’m curious to know:  what is on your mind as an excitement dream?  What has been your most wonderful religious education experience, for you or your children or others you have observed?  What would you most want to see at Follen in the future in terms of programs for children, youth, or multi-age or intergenerational groups of people?  What dreams in terms of faith development and growth have not yet been realized?  I invite you to share those dreams.  Please send your ideas, your dreams, your vision for the future to me (dre@follen.org).  Maybe they can come true…it starts with an ‘excitement dream’!

Faithfully yours,

Deb

Deborah Weiner
Interim Director of Religious Education