Come, Come, Whoever You Are . . . and be present with our children and youth in their Wildflower experience. For a time in this service, we will have the joy to move into this sometimes invisible part of our church life. Piaf Azul, our Director of Religious Education, our children and youth RE staff, Solveij Rosa Praxis and Laura Miller and our children and youth will engage us in their process of spiritual growth and transformation. Paolo Freire says education “is an act of love and thus an act of courage” and in the word of Bernice Johnson Reagan in Ella’s Song “They [young people] have the courage where we fail” our hope lies “when the reins are in the hands of the young, who dare to run against the storm.” Come build relationships with our youth, children and CYRE staff and be held in a container of love and possibility by our guest worship leader, Simone Monique Barnes.

An interdisciplinary artist, writer, educator, and lay minister, Simone Monique Barnes works in community ministry, and is a regular guest worship leader and lay speaker at Wildflower UU in Austin TX. Her professional and spiritual pathways are influenced by the religious lineages, histories, and traditions of Absalom Jones and Richard Allen (The Episcopal Church, and the African Methodist Episcopal Church), along with a connection to community, the arts, and the healing practices of yoga, prayer, and meditation. Simone is a Harvard trained educator, who is also trained in the teaching practices of Laughter Yoga and Afro Flow Yoga which help provide the fuel she needs to stay in “good trouble” doing the work to build and nurture the beloved community.

Children (age 5 and older) and Youth will be meeting in person in their classes after being present in the sanctuary for the first part of the service. Children 6 weeks to 4 years of age are welcome in our Nursery.