Every month my accomplice and I put a new display on the RE bulletin board at the entrance to the social hall of our venerable meetinghouse. This 4' x 8' cork surface is a golden opportunity for we in RE to share with the rest of the congregation whatever we want to share. Inviting the active involvement of the viewer has greatly enhanced the amount of sharing that takes place.

A December display was about Advent. In the lower center of the space was a huge green paper wreath, and sticking up from it were four convex candles of shiny cardstock -- about 15" tall. Each week I "lit" one more of them by stapling up a flame of yellow construction paper topped with a similar shape of yellow cellophane. The main heading said, "We light our Advent candles for..." Framed words near the candles said "Joy," "Wonder," "Sharing," and "Love." And in the remaining space we put up five long sheets of white paper, colorfully framed, on which people of the congregation, young and old, wrote their responses to "What brings you joy at this season?" "What is wondrous to you at this season?" "How can you share?" "How do you show love?" and the final one, with a different border: "How is Jesus important to you?" The sheets of paper were filled with responses, more appearing each week. They ranged from profound to silly, from childish to grandparentish, and taken all together, they contributed greatly to the significance of the season for our congregation.

Another example was very different. Taking advantage of our suburban setting, we did a bulletin board about our backyard relationships with winter birds. My accomplice, a former kindergarten teacher, had written a poem about birds coming to a feeder. We featured this, along with large color pictures of some of our common winter birds. In the center was a large chart, with many of our common birds listed down one side and places for people's names heading the columns that followed. Adults and children alike took pleasure in checking the appropriate boxes for the birds they had seen, writing in their names, and adding new bird names to the list. Our connections to the web of nature and to each other were delightfully clear.

For September we had a display about why people go to church/fellowship/whatever. At the left were small cut-out people walking toward the large central church shape. Questions and needs hung over their heads. A broad colored arrow labeled "Spiritual growth" led through the church, flanked by words such as "community building," "service," "worship," and "learning." The paper people came out the other side larger and "ready to..." This is where viewers became participants, writing on the large sheet of paper what their congregational experience prepared them to do or to be. It was a moving testimonial to the value of organized religion (UU, that is)!

One of our favorites was about "Sacred Spaces." Large photographs of a great variety of special places and sacred spaces left room for a sheet where people told of their own places of restoration or inspiration. Not surprisingly, these ranged from "my back porch" to "Ferry Beach" to "our own church" -- and beyond.

Our congregation is truly intergenerational, and our participatory bulletin boards make their own unique and welcome contribution to this happy state of affairs.