Chili Cook-Off and Fall Festival
November 7, 2026, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Initially, the Lifespan Religious Exploration (LRE) Council considered a chili and cinnamon rolls RE fundraiser with entrance fees. The LRE Council decided a community building, free will donation Chili Cook-Off and Fall Festival is a better option. All donations will go toward LED signage.

Chili Cook-Off: Flights of donated traditional red chili or wildcard chili (chili verde, white, chicken, vegetarian, or spicy specialty) will vie for the ultimate prize. Ingredients (though not proportions) must be provided to protect those with allergies.

Scoring & Prizes: We will use a 1-to-10 scale judging sheet covering aroma, consistency, appearance, aftertaste, and tenderness of meat/beans, hopefully with a self-tabulating QR code. Winners get bragging rights and will be awarded with a perpetual trophy (in the hopes that this will become a recurring event).

Patricia put together a Sign-Up Genius link to sign up for entering and supporting the Chili Cook-Off and Fall Festival: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F044AA4A722A1FB6-66015666-chili#/ Cynthia was successful in signing up to bring a pot of Sam’s chili and a huge dish of mac and cheese. If you don’t use Sign-up Genius regularly, you may need to sign in or create an account.

In addition to chili and fixings, there are options for cinnamon rolls, cornbread, crudites, and service. Mark the date on your calendar, and let’s have fun!

We will also be providing games for all ages, outdoors or indoors dependent on our gloriously unpredictable Kansas weather.

Spirit Play Redux

Four volunteers have received Spirit Play training over the summer (Bobbi Schaeffer, Virginia Hummel, Nick Boaz, and Cynthia Maxwell), and they have been hard at work cleaning and organizing the Spirit Play (a.k.a. Whitney Young) Room for a new beginning. As we begin, we will use a one room classroom for children 4-14 to assess interest and needs, but we are prepared to make room for an upper elementary group and/or middle school Popcorn Theology group should there be sufficient interest.

Spirit Play Calendar for October

• October 4th Bobbi reads “The Chalice” Lesson
• October 11th Virginia reads “The Beginning” Lesson
• October 18th Unistar multigen
• October 25th Cynthia reads “Sky Woman Falling”

All dates subject to attendance.

The Youth Group and Dungeons and Dragons 

Hello members of the UUFT. This is Dylan Cook, Sunday youth class teacher and manager of the UUFT Dungeons and Dragons group. I’d like to tell you a little bit about what we’ve been getting up to each week. 

First, I’m pleased to say that our Thursday Dungeons and Dragons group has been going very well! We’ve met nearly every week and have been excited for every single one. My six players have created detailed characters with varied backstories and personalities, and each session, they explore a world I handcrafted. They’ve met memorable supporting characters and diabolical villains, planned daring escapes, and even made some tough moral decisions. The youth go above and beyond to get into the game. One player took a book from the game and recreated it in real life, with a leather cover she bound herself. Another player has recently written a detailed script about his in-game character. It’s brought all of us together and has certainly kept many youth coming in on both Thursdays and Sundays. 

Our Sunday youth lessons have been a blast to teach. Our lessons have been structured around world religions, with a focus on etymology, real culture, and history. All with the intent to help youth gain a sense of what real people thought and believed around the world. We started with a course on Norse mythology. Next came an extensive course on the religious and cultural history of ancient Egypt. We even mummified apples! We are currently working on Greek mythology. We’ve only gotten started on that subject, but the enthusiasm the youth shows for it is amazing. The youth are always on point, asking me questions that almost always blossom into fascinating discussions, usually with a fair helping of humor. 

As the year continues, we plan to continue both weekly youth activities relatively unchanged. On the lessons side, I’m currently working on a curriculum for the three major Abrahamic faiths. It’ll be a challenge, but I know my students are up for it. For Dungeons and Dragons, our story is nearly complete. When it finishes, we’ll start a new story with all new characters, a perfect time for new players to join. If anyone is curious about joining the next game, or, better yet, is interested in leading another game in parallel with mine, please approach me on Sunday. As my students know, you can get me talking about Dungeons and Dragons very easily.