By Heather Melton, (she/her) UTO Staff Officer
I’ve started joking that my title should be UTO staff officer and chaos coordinator. On my to-do list for this week is “fix explosions; make bigger.” I was talking with a coworker about the popular “volcano day” craft project that will be included in our Vacation Bible School (VBS) Gratitude Rocks! program, to which she kindly asked, “Who will clean that up in the hotel at General Convention?” Chaos coordinator means that I’m bringing the chaos and a broom, because the answer to who is cleaning up the confetti, is me. I’ll do it because the joy it brings is worth the sweeping. Chaos seems like an odd task for UTO, but it all started years ago when our Board discerned that one of our core values is creativity. Turns out, creativity is messy and a little chaotic, but it also brings about profound joy, and profound joy is an instant reason to give thanks.
I was recently visiting one of our pilot congregations for the next edition of our VBS materials (headed your way in December!), and one of the volunteers kindly asked me why UTO was making VBS materials. It’s important to note that this question was preceded by amazing compliments for Waves of Gratitude and Gratitude Rocks!, but I totally got why she didn’t see how creating VBS is the work of UTO. I said, “Because no one quite gets gratitude like a small person. They depend on everyone for everything, so if we can teach them about gratitude and how to notice and give thanks, they will change the world with kindness and gratitude.” She smiled at me and said, “Gratitude makes all the difference.”
If I’ve learned anything over the years, it is that UTO members always have a story about when they realized how important practicing gratitude is in their life. Maybe it’s a story of when they realized the impact their gratitude had on others, or maybe it is a time when they received such an abundance of grace and love that there was no way to return it other than to say thank you. Everyone has a story of how being grateful changed their world. So why VBS? I guess the answer is that somewhere in between chaos and creativity is pure joy, and that joy helps all of us—adults, campers, counselors—experience gratitude, and we believe the world could use more of all of that.
This week, as I work to make the explosions bigger, I’ll be assisted by some very cool middle schoolers. While VBS is intended for the elementary and preschool crowd, it turns out very cool preteens still like to do crafts and blow things up. So, the UTO Board got curious with me about how these materials could expand and grow. When Gratitude Rocks! comes out, it will have a special middle-school program that can be used by congregations as a monthly youth group, or as a special day camp, or by camps as programming for their middle-school groups. It will teach about the Eucharist, leadership, gratitude, and geology. Or as my own middle schoolers tell their friends, “There’s a volcano day and we get to blow things up!” Nothing quite says chaos like Coke, Mentos, and seventh-graders, but as the chaos coordinator, I’m here for it. Oh, and on volcano day, our young people will also learn about conflict and pressure and how these difficult things help us to grow, which is also reason to give thanks.
I hope this summer you’ll find time to get creative and maybe generate some chaos as well. There’s nothing that brings about joy quite like a creative project. I hope you’ll send me photos of your endeavors, from making jam to crochet to painting, or maybe you’ll try Coke and Mentos, too. Whatever you do, I hope you’ll find reason to give thanks for the joy creative chaos brings.