Youth News – May/June 2022
Wenda Arcala, Youth Director
Hello beautiful Seal Beach community and beyond. We had such a great time honoring renewal in our Easter Celebration with bunny relay races, hopping tag, a salt and glue craft and a very enthusiastic egg hunt in the shady grass and trees outside of our center.
In May our beloved Youth Program is joining the CSL global theme of motions. I believe sometimes as adults we forget that children experience deep emotions too. Being a child of any age comes with its own set of challenges regardless of circumstances. It goes without saying that there has been much added stress in this world to navigate and our children are experiencing and absorbing these collective challenges. As parents, we often try to shield our little ones from the trials of life, but conditions have made this virtually impossible these days. Much in the same way our emotions left unexamined often results in us behaving in ways we do not desire, children may display their emotions by acting out or even withdrawing. Nobody feels good about themselves when they are acting from a place that is not centered in peace and love (our true nature). I believe it is safe to say that we all want to feel good about ourselves.
Most of us have learned that stuffing or stifling our emotions is unhealthy and not actually possible. Everything will eventually bubble to the surface. The question then, is how do we work through these difficult emotions? Through is the key word. We must work through them understanding that emotions are neither good nor bad. We start by naming our emotions, taking time to examine their source and then we may apply tools to work through them with love and compassion. We celebrate the whole child and will be teaching tools to help our children feel good about the perfect creations of God they are. Although we will be tackling the big topic of emotions, we are doing so with fun, art, games, and stories.
Wenda Arcala, RScP + Youth Director
Wenda Arcala, RScP, has served with the SBCSL youth since 2016. She started volunteering a couple Sundays a month and was soon there every weekend as the lead teen advisor. Wenda loved taking the teens to CSL camp in the local Southern California mountains every summer and winter. It was there on the mountain top that she received the calling to become a Licensed Spiritual Practitioner. With much study and life changing work she became a Practitioner in June 2021. Wenda is a mother of two incredible adult children. She has a nurturing character and has always been drawn to children of all ages. She became SBCSL’s Youth Director in September 2021. Wenda is committed to her daily spiritual practices which center her in her true nature of peace and love. This allows her to show up fully present to serve in her highest capacity for the youth, volunteers, parents, and congregation.