This story is new. It was written for you.
Imagine a time long ago when things were just getting started. The first flowers were blooming; the first birds were building their nests high in the branches of sheltering trees; girls and boys, men and women setting up their first families and homes. These are the things that you might have seen if it wasn’t so dark. No one could see, because it was the first night, and the first day hadn’t happened yet.
The First People could hear the wind whining in the trees, and the birds twittering and whistling. It was so dark they couldn’t see anything, but the First People were too busy to worry about the dark. They were thinking about all the first things they would need to live beyond that first night. The First People were working so hard that they really didn’t care that they couldn’t see each other in the dark. As they spoke, they would turn their bodies toward sounds of voices that didn’t have faces.
When the sun finally rose on that first morning, the whole world looked like it was made of glass. [Show the cellophane wrap on the frame.] One by one the First People realized they still couldn’t see anything. Their faces and muscles and bones were all clear. Light passed straight through their bodies to the clear ground below. The sky was clear. The trees, birds, flowers, and rocks were all as clear as glass.
Finally, one of the First Children broke the silence. "I have eyes to see with," the child cried. "But there’s nothing to see" One of the adults tried to comfort the child, but the First People were all sad.
"What will we do?" one woman said. "Last night we planned to gather the tall grass that rustles in the breeze. We planned to bend and fold, and twist and tie that grass to make the first baskets. Then, we were going to go down to the river, which we hear moving past us, to collect baskets full of water, so all the First People could have a drink."
" Oh-hh-hh," moaned a thirsty man. "How will you find the grass if you can’t see it’ How will you know if you’ve made a tight basket if you can’t see your work? How will you find your way to the water and back?"
The First People were very creative and solved all these problems, one by one. Holding hands, they formed a human chain to make a trail to the tall grass. They took small, careful steps, never knowing when clear grass might give way to clear rocks or clear tree stumps. Once the human chain was finally in place, the person on the end felt carefully for one long, thick blade of grass, pulled it out of the ground and passed it to the next person, who passed it to the next, until the blade of grass reached the last person in line. [You could have the children close their eyes and pass a long blade of grass around the circle.]
After the grass had been plucked, several First People started weaving baskets, feeling their work with their fingers to find even the tiniest holes that would let water out. Finally they had a few baskets that could hold water. Once again all the First People formed a human chain and worked their way to the river. When a basket was passed to the last man in line, he dipped it carefully into the river he couldn’t see and pulled it up full of water. The First People breathed a sigh of relief when the man shouted, "It’s holding! It’s holding! And so it was that the First People shared their first drink of water.
The First People had been hard at work all day, and they’d only accomplished one thing–getting a drink! Although the First People had plenty to drink, they had nothing to eat, and they all went to sleep hungry.
When the sun came up again, nothing had changed, except the First People were more worried about how to take care of themselves in a world where nothing could be seen. As the day passed, the First Women and Men planned ways to collect food. A First Child who was playing found something hard–a rock, a crystal-clear rock. She tossed the rock up in the air and it twinkled in the sun. The child held it up for her mother to see. Stretching out her clear arm, with the clear rock in her clear hand, something happened. Stripes of something not-clear showed on her face and reflected on the ground below. [Demonstrate with a prism.]
When the girl’s mother saw the stripes of something not-clear, she called the others around. The First People were excited as they felt on the ground for more clear stones that would make those seven wonderful not-clear stripes. The girl’s mother decided to name the stripes. Pointing to each in turn she called out, "Red! Orange! Yellow! Green! Blue! Indigo! Violet! " The First People played with the stripes until the sun set.
On the third morning, a gentle rain fell. The First People set out their baskets to catch the rain and talked again about how to gather food. They almost didn’t notice when the rain stopped and the sun came out. Looking up, the First People saw above them the same not-clear stripes they had played with the day before: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. As the sun grew brighter, the stripes glowed stronger.
Suddenly one man said, "What if we take our baskets and form a line to the stripes? Can we bring the red, orange, and yellow home? Can we pass green and blue, indigo and violet down the line, and use the stripes to make our world not-clear?"
No one knew the answers, but everyone was willing to try. They formed a human chain so long it led straight to the stripes in the sky. At the head of the line was the woman who had named the stripes. She filled the baskets and passed them back down the line. As she turned with the last basket full of violet, the First People gasped. All the beautiful colors were dripping out of the baskets! But the groans soon turned to cheers, for when the very first drop fell to the earth, it colored a flower a brilliant shade of red. The next drop caught a bird’s wing in flight. The whole world came alive in shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Trees appeared, and blue and yellow mingled to color the grasses green.
The First People were so busy watching their world change that they almost forgot that they were still as clear as glass. Suddenly a man tossed his basket of indigo high over-head and ran down the line of First People to await the shower of color below. Others followed his lead. Soon all the First People were playing with the colors falling from the sky. They rolled in the green grass and hugged gray tree trunks. They chased orange butter- flies and marveled at purple flowers. All the colors were still quite wet, and a bit of each rubbed off on everybody. When the colors finally dried, the First People found that they were all different colors. Some were warm, dark brown like the earth. Others were the color of honey, or shades of rose and burnished bronze mingled together. Some were pink all over, and others were touched by the yellow of the sun and golden buttercups.
They were thankful for this blessing of color. Now they could see the color of ripe apples and the blush of juicy peaches, and gather good food to eat. They could see the river run, birds fly, and fish swim. They could walk with their heads held high, their eyes seeking the best path. And they could learn from everything they could see.
When they looked at each other and saw all the beautiful colors of the First People, they were especially happy, and never wanted to be in a world without color again.
Long, long ago, the Hebrew people were slaves in Egypt. They were forced to make bricks out of straw and mud for the Egyptian Pharaoh (the king) for the large pyramids and monuments he was building. They worked hard and long and the pharaoh’s soldiers were very cruel to them. A man called Moses heard a voice speak to him from a burning bush. The voice told him to go to the pharaoh and tell him that God said he was to free the Hebrews and let them leave Egypt.
Many times, Moses went to the pharaoh.Every time, the pharaoh said the Hebrews could leave. And every time, he went back on his word.Many plagues–storms, blood, hailstones, frogs,wild animals–befell the Egyptians and with each plague, the pharaoh said the Hebrews could leave. Then when the storm or the terrible happening was over, he changed his mind again.
Finally, Moses told the pharaoh that if he did not let the Hebrews go, a tenth plague would happen to the Egyptians and it would be the worst of all. An angel of death would come and kill all the first-born children of the Egyptians.The pharaoh was frightened and said that the Hebrews could leave Egypt.
Moses told the Hebrews to kill a lamb and paint some of its blood on the doorposts of their homes. When the Angel of Death came, it would pass over the homes whose doorposts were painted with blood and their children would not be killed. The Hebrews began to make bread for their journey, but before the bread had time to rise, they started off, for they were afraid the pharaoh would change his mind again and not let them go.
All of the Hebrews followed Moses. They walked to the edge of the Red Sea, and there a great miracle happened. The waters spread apart so that the Hebrews could pass through to the other side. The pharaoh did change his mind,and sent his soldiers after them. But when the soldiers reached the sea, the waters closed over again. The Hebrews were safe! They sang songs of joy. They were free once again! Many years later, the Hebrews came to be called Jews.
Each year the Jews celebrate the holiday of Passover to remember the time when they became a free people. This is the special ceremony of the Passover Seder.
The metaphor of God as father is a familiar one to those of us raised in Jewish or Christian cultures. For many Unitarian Universalists it now is viewed in a negative way for it is a potent symbol of the patriarchal bias of religions which use it exclusively to describe the gender of God. As Mary Daly said in her book Beyond God the Father, "…if God is male, then the male is God." (p. 19). It represents the belief that ultimate reality and ultimate values have only masculine qualities and so then it logically follows that feminine qualities are of Iesser importance. Obviously, this is not a belief that Unitarian Universalists can hold.
In righting this wrong, many of us, men as well as women, now are consciously choosing to search out and promote feminine images of the divine. At the very least, we are no longer using masculine pronouns for God in an exclusive way and we are making sure to include images and concepts reflective of a feminine God. Ultimately though, we do not want to promote exclusively feminine images of God, either. It is hoped that it will be possible for our young children who are just developing their concepts of what the word God means, to grow up understanding God to be both like a mother and like a father, to have both masculine and feminine qualities.
It is important to use the story, Mother of Us All, and this story, God is Like a Father, one after the other, if at all possible, in order to reenforce the idea that God can be like both a mother or a father. Unfortunately, many congregations cannot always count on all of the children in a class being there in a regular way. For those who miss one or the other of these sessions, it might be important to briefly tell them about the story they did not hear.
The relationship of father to child is familiar and so there will be many associations with it. Jesus used this image to reflect a relationship to the ultimate which honored the transcendence of God yet retained an intimacy. Many of us can identify with this relationship in a positive way because we had a positive relationship with our fathers. However, for some of us, this image might instead reflect unhappy memories of absent or abusive fathers. This, of course, can be said, also, of the metaphor of God as a mother. This possibility is not a reason to decline to use these images, in general, for there can be negative nuances to any image of God for certain individuals, but do be sensitive to these possibilities in the conversations with your group of children.
Although the image of God as a father was occasionally used by Jeremiah and Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible, Jesus stems to have found it especially appealing and it gains much more prominence in the Christian Bible. Talking to God as you would to a father, instead of as a lord, allows the conversation to be much more personal and intimate.
Jesus’ teachings reflected what such conversations with God bad revealed to him. He told his listeners that God loved them as a father would love his children. He told them that what their "Heavenly Father" wanted of them could be summed up in what is called the Great Commandment (Matt 22:39, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:27): love God and love your neighbors as yourselves. He also told them that God wanted them to forgive others of their wrongdoing just as God would forgive them. The prayer called the "Lord’s Prayer", or more often now "The Prayer of Jesus", (Matt 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4) is another summary of Jesus’ beliefs about the relationship between God and people. The metaphor of God as a father implies that people are God’s children and since God is the father of all, all are therefore members of one family. The teachings of Jesus that tell us to love, care for and forgive one another follow from this image of humanity as one family.
These images are supported by the UU Principle that urges us to affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person and by the UU Source which uses Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves.
All the questions within the Adolescence category for Jewish & Christian Heritage.
This session focuses on the most important theological concepts in Christianity–the crucifixion and the resurrection, For almost 2,000 years people have struggled to understand their significance. The most common interpretation of the crucifixion and resurrection is that Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity, so that individuals might experience the saving grace of God and his living presence in their midst. This is a very difficult concept for first and second graders, and it may not represent the views of their parents or their Unitarian Universalist congregation. The story in this session is condensed in narrative form without seeking to interpret the meaning of the events.
Though our children have heard the story of Jesus’ birth and some of his teachings, this may be the first time the death of Jesus and the miracle of his victory over death have been addressed with them directly. It is a rich and meaningful story on many levels, and children will need time to talk about it and ask their own questions.
Although death has been addressed before in this program (All Souls’ Day), the focus on death is more intense in this session. It is Jesus who is being put to death, and the children may recognize that this is a very important story about an important person.
As children listen to today’s story, it is possible that some personal sorrow may be evoked, such as the death of a significant person in a child’s life. Reassure children that sad feelings are an important part of our lives–that no one goes through life without some sorrow. Reassure them also that there are adults who care about them and who can help them through the painful times. If any child seems to need special attention, be sure to alert a parent, your minister, or your religious educator, so that additional help may be offered if necessary.
Many Unitarian Universalists depart from Christian tradition in their beliefs about the events that make up the Easter story, such as the bodily resurrection of Jesus. The word "resurrection" means coming back to life after death. Most Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected and that he came back to life after he died. Most Unitarian Universalists believe that Jesus died and his body did not come back to life. Even so, all of us can find deep meaning in the idea that those we love live on in our memories and that renewal or rebirth is available to us during our lifetime.
The date for the annual celebration of Easter is tied to both the historical event of the stories of Jesus’ death and resurrection, according to Christian theology, and to factors associated with the spring equinox and spring festivals. In Western Christianity, Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. In Eastern Christianity, Easter is on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox or after the end of Passover, whichever is later.
The biblical references for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are: Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24, John 18-20, and I Corinthians 15.
Goal:
To help children see that change exists throughout nature.
To recognize that change represents the end of the way things were, and usually involves a loss of some kind.
To understand that change affects everybody, and is impossible to avoid.
Preparation:
Read the Develpmental information from Lessons of Loss
Find one or more of these three books in your local library or bookstore:
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, by Leo Buscaglia
Lifetimes, by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen
Annie and the Old One, by Miska Miles
Activities:
Read one or more of the stories.
Use discussion questions to engage in discussion about each story
The Fall of Freddy the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia
How does Freddie know that summer is coming to an end?
How do the leaves feel as the wind begins to tug at their stems?
Why do you think Freddie doesn’t get scared when spring passes into summer, or summer into
fall?
How do you feel when Daniel lets go?
When you look at the pictures in this book, what signs indicate that the seasons are changing?
What happens to the leaves once they fall to the ground?
What is the meaning of the last two words of the story?
How does this story relate to the UU principle that says "We need to take care of the earth, the
home we share with all living things"?
Lifetimes by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen
People have at least one thing in common with any living object. What is it?
What do we call the period between birth and death?
Why is the lifetime of a bird different from the lifetime of a tree?
What else affects how long something or somebody will live?
What happens when an insect dies? A field mouse? A family pet?
How does this story relate to the UU principle that says "We need to take care of the earth, the
home we share with all living things"?
Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles
What does the Grandmother mean by "I will go to Mother Earth."
How does she know this?
How does Annie feel about her grandmother’s death?
Why doesn’t she talk to her grandmother or mother about this?
What does she do to prevent her grandmother’s death?
What eventually happens?
How does this conversation help Annie to accept her grandmother’s death?
Materials:
Copies of the People Puzzle. (best if copied on heavy paper or light paper glued on to cardboard) Cut the pieces apart and put all 4 pieces in an envelope.
Crayons, colored pencils, markers, and other art supplies like stickers, glitter, bits of ribbon, sequins, feathers etc.
Adhesive tape
Procedure:
Begin by making sure everyone understands that a puzzle is made up of many pieces of different sizes and shapes, and that when the pieces are put together, they make an interesting whole. Point out that a puzzle isnt complete until all the pieces have been joined together.
Randomly give each person in the family a puzzle piece. (If you have more than 4 people, do more than one puzzle.) Have each person decorate the puzzle piece(s) however he or she chooses.
When all pieces are decorated, sit in a circle and hold up your piece. Say, Im looking for a piece that will join with this one. Go around the circle until you find a piece that fits.
Before putting the pieces together, you and the person with the fitting piece must name 2 ways in which you are different (ie: hair, age, height, clothing etc.) and 2 ways you are the same (both have 10 fingers, both wearing shoes, etc.)
Next, the person with the fitting piece looks for a third piece to join with the first two. Again, the two players must name 2 ways in which they are different and 2 ways in which they are the same before they fit the pieces together. The person with the third piece then looks for the fourth and so on until all the pieces of the puzzle(s) have been completed.
Fasten the puzzle pieces together with adhesive tape. Arrange the pieces along a wall or window ledge so everyone can see them all. Talk about how each piece is different. Each is uniquelike the people themselves. Yet, together they make interesting and beautiful puzzles. And together your family (or group) makes an interesting and beautiful group!
Conclude by saying something like:
"Each one of us is special and one-of-a-kind. No one is exactly like anyone else. Our differences make us interesting and unique. When we learn about our differences, and when we appreciate and value our differences, this helps us get along.
Pre-schoolers (ages 3-5) often believe the following:
*Death is temporary and reversible.
*When someone dies, he or she is merely living under different circumstances (e.g., underground, up in heaven); the person still eats, sleeps, thinks, and feels.
*It is possible to visit with, talk to, and maintain a physical relationship with the deceased.
*Others will eventually die, but they will not.
Children of this age have no sense of the permanence of death, so you may find yourself repeating the same information over and over. ("Aunt Janey died of a heart attack, and no, she won’t be at the family reunion this year.") They also display magical thinking, in which they believe they have a lot of control over life events. As a result, they often need reassurance that they did not cause or contribute to a loved one’s death.
When a pre-schooler suffers a significant loss, he or she may respond with aggression or combativeness. It also is common for grieving pre-schoolers to regress to a younger stage of development. Furthermore, children of this age often ask many questions about the physical aspects of death, because they are trying to figure out what it means to be dead.
In general, before a significant loss occurs in a pre-schooler’s life, it is helpful to find teachable moments to introduce the concept of change and death. For example, as you walk around the church yard, point out signs of changing seasons (falling leaves) or the cycles of life. Ask the child what happened when you see a dead animal by the side of the road. Be gentle, but correct any misinformation, emphasizing that death happens to us all, and that once we die, our physical bodies never come back to life.
And don’t shy away from saying the words "die" or "death." Children are literal thinkers, and often conjure up complex images of such euphemisms as "kicked the bucket," or "been called away." "Grandma died" is much less confusing to a young child, who then can enter into a discussion of what this means physically and emotionally.
While many adults are tempted to take it easy on a grieving child, structure and clarity are comforting. If you have a child in your classroom who has experienced a significant loss, don’t excuse inexcusable behavior. Be clear about what you expect, and don’t back off from your standards for appropdate behavior. At the same time, don’t hesitate to express your sympathy and concern, even well after the time of the loss; Many people never mention a death or other significant loss after the first few weeks, which adds to the bereaved person’s sense of abandonment and isolation.
Children from about 6 to 8 intellectually understand that death is permanent and irreversible, but still believe that they are immortal. In fact, they often blame people who die for being too clumsy, too old, or physically unable to escape the monster-like figure of death. This may allow children to think about death in a more distant, and therefore more comfortable, way.
You may be surprised by the questions that children of this age ask about death. The following are typical: "If our minister was killed in a car crash, who will light the chalice? " "Since Janey died, who will sit next to me in Sunday School?" You also might notice that children’s fears and questions about death come out in their actions, not their words.
Try to avoid judgment while remaining honest, calm, and true to yourself. Remind the children that we all die, as do all living things, but that most of us will live to be quite old. Explain that sometimes the world feels out of control, but in fact we are in charge of many aspects of our health and well-being. Remind them that we have the choice to eat healthy foods and avoid obvious dangers (smoking, driving too fast, biking without a helmet, running across the street before looking both ways, etc.).
If students in your class know of a specific death and want to hear more details, don’t panic. Listen to their questions to find out what they really want to know. Also consider asking a few questions of your own: "What have you heard? What do you think happened? Why? How do you feel about this?" This can help you determine the real source of worry represented by their apparent morbid curiosity.
The curriculum for the primary grades introduces the concept of loss through an examination of nature and the cycle oflife. It offers clarification around the meaning of death, and provides ample opportunity for children to voice their concerns, fears, and questions about loss and death.
Goal: 1) To consider the idea that the spirit of God is with people throughout their lives, including when they die; and 2) To hear an ancient story that explains life and death and to talk about the reality of death.
Activities:
1) Make collage:
Preparation:
1. Read Background for The Spirit of God Is There When Someone Dies
2. Cut out a large circle (24 in diameter) from posterboard or heavy craft paper.
3. Draw an inner circle about 8 in diameter.
4. Cut out several circles 3 in diameter from light-colored construction paper.
5. Gather magazines with pictures of people of all ages, scissors, and glue.
Begin by going through the magazines you collected and cut out pictures of people of all ages from babies to elderly. Make piles by approximate ages: babies, children, teenagers, adults, elders.
Place pictures on the outer edge of the large circle you cut out: start with babies, then progress around the circle with people getting progressively older, ending with the eldest beside the babies. Glue the pictures in place.
Read: The Spirit of God Is There When Someone Dies.
Discuss: The story said that the spirit of God was with the woman in her dying. What do you think happens when a person or an animal dies?
Service of Remembering:
Ask everyone to think of names of people or pets who they would like to remember and to write each names on one of the colored construction paper circles. Attach them to the inner ring of the large paper circle. As each small circle is placed on the larger one, ask everyone to join you in saying the following:
We remember_______________. The spirit of God is with him (or her).
End the service by saying The spirit of God is there when we remember loved ones who have died.
2) Tell a Story
Introduce the story by telling the children that this story was told nearly two thousand years ago. It is a story from India (show on a map). Back then there were people who wondered and puzzled over the same questions the children were thinking about, and a certain man named Kassapa (Kas-sa-pa) tried to put his ideas into a story.
Read: A Musician and His Trumpet.
Discuss:
If you have had a pet die, ask your children how they felt when the pet died? What was different about you pet after it had died?
How would you say, in your own words, what Kassapa meant to say about what happens when a persons body dies?
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Quest for Meaning is a program of the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF).
As a Unitarian Universalist congregation with no geographical boundary, the CLF creates global spiritual community, rooted in profound love, which cultivates wonder, imagination, and the courage to act.