Religious Education Update: November 30, 2008

Growing Up UU
One of the primary tasks of a religious community is to transmit its values from one generation to the next. Our congregation does this in all we do, from sharing our blessings in the Guest at Your Table program, to giving service, as the children did at last Sunday’s Stone Soup lunch, which they lovingly prepared for all of you.

The result of our congregation’s love and support (plus some pretty terrific parenting in our homes) is young people like our very own Kimmy West. Kimmy, the 16 year old daughter of Steve and Carol, is a highly successful young businesswoman, in addition to being an excellent student at Petaluma High School. Kimmy is the founder and creator of a website, His Golden Eyes, which provides news and entertainment for fans of the Twilight book series and the recently released hit movie, "Twilight." Kimmy’s website often has 600 or 700 visitors at a time, and currently has about 30,000 hits per day. She has sponsored links on her site, which generate income.

I recently asked Kimmy if she is treated as a celebrity at Petaluma High. She responded that she’s not, that only her friends even know about this career which occupies most of Kimmy’s free time. This past August, she was interviewed by the Washington Post. Kimmy told the reporter, “Running a fansite takes a lot of work but I find it very fun. I actually spend way too much time on the computer now...but it's because I want to. Basically though, you can create a fansite at any age, and if you put your heart into it, and a LOT of time, you can make it great.” Recently, Kimmy had the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles to personally meet and ask questions of the stars of the Twilight movie. In the video she took on her trip, our normally reserved Kimmy was happy and excited and having a great time.

I think UUP should be very proud of Kimmy, for her strong work ethic, her enthusiasm for her work, and for her ability to remain herself while experiencing exceptional success at a very young age.

Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education