We come together (Bring hands together and clasp them in front of you.) To remind ourselves (Touch your index and middle fingers to your temple.) To treat all people kindly (Spread arms wide, encircling.) Because they are our brothers and sisters, (Fold your arms across your chest, in a hug.) To take good care of the earth, (Raise your arms above your head, in a circle.) Because it is our home, (Fold your arms, holding your elbows, and motion as though rocking a baby.) To live lives full of goodness and love, (Put both hands over your heart.) Because that is how we will make our world (Raise your arms above your head, in a circle.) The best place it can be. (Clap your hands quietly.)

The word Advent, which means "coming," was originally used for the Coming of the Christ, and applied only to that day. After the sixth century, its meaning was expanded to include the whole period of preparation for this day–as it is now.

The Advent season marks the beginning of the Christian church year. The orthodox Christian church year is based on the three main incidents in the life of Jesus–Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost–which form the framework of the Christian year. Each of these great festivals was preceded by a period of preparation to enable Christians to meditate on the spiritual significance of these events in the life of Jesus.

Although the birth of Jesus, or the Nativity, is the major holy day, the four Sundays of Advent are recognized as the Advent season, a time of expectation and quiet reflection. Advent begins on the Sunday nearest November 30, St. Andrew’s Day. For Unitarian Universalists, Advent means less than it does for more traditional Christians. However, Advent can provide an opportunity to deepen our awareness of the spiritual values inherent in the winter festival season.

The use of the Advent wreath originated a few hundred years ago among Lutherans in Germany. The wreaths are made of evergreens and are either suspended from the ceiling or placed on a table. Four candles are fastened in holders to the wreath, representing the four weeks of Advent.

On the first Sunday of Advent one candle is lit and allowed to burn during a ceremony of readings, prayers, and songs. On each of the following Sundays an additional candle is lit at the beginning of the ceremony until the fourth Sunday when all four are lit. Candle colors have varied over the years: some churches use white liturgical candles, others use three purple candles signifying repentance and one pink signifying joy (third Sunday). Sometimes on Christmas Eve a large candle is lit in the center of the wreath to symbolize Christ, the light of the world.

For children in our culture, the weeks approaching Christmas are often fraught with stress, as the media, the retail sector, and even the schools build up an ever-increasing sense of anticipation and excitement. Some families observe both Hannukah and Christmas, which can create even more excitement. We can help children deal more constructively with these pressures by focusing on an attitude of quiet preparation and patience. Also, these activities help them to see that they can play an active and cooperative role in getting ready for Christmas.

In many households around the world, the traditional advent wreath is part of the holiday season. Four candles are placed on the table in a wreath of evergreens, one to be lighted on each of the four Sndas preceding Christmas. Sometimes a central fifth candle is lighted on Christmas Day.

The tradition may well go back to the ancient firewheel, lighted in the darkest time of year to lure the sun back and ensure another spring. The placement of the candles at the four compass points of the wreath invokes the natural spirits of the North, East, South and West and the primal elements of earth, air, fire and water. The candles may also represent the seasons of the year and the seasons of our lives.

Lighting the advent candles, one at a time on each December Sunday, is a thoughtful and joyous way to prepare for Christmas, the winter solstice, and the turning of the year.

On the first Sunday, light the candle on the eastern side of the wreath and speak these words:

Spirit of the East, spirit of air, of morning and springtime: Be with us as the sun rises, in times of beginning, times of planting. Inspire us wth the fresh breath of courage as we go forth into new adventures.

On the second Sunday, relight the first candle and repeat the words above. Then light the candle on the southern side of the wreath and speak these words:

Spirit of the South, spirit of fire, of noontime and summer: Be with us through the heat of the day and help us to be ever growing. Warm us with strength and energy for th ework that awaits us.

On the third Sunday, relight the first two candles and repeat the appropriate words. Then light the candle on the western side of the wreath and speak these words:

Spirit of the West, spirit of water, of evening and autumn: Be with us as the sun sets and help us to enjoy a rich harvest.

Flow through us with a cooling, healing quietness and bring us peace.

On the fourth Sunday, relight the first three candles and repeat the appopriate words. Then light the candle on the northern side of the wreath and speak these words:

Spirit of the North, spirit of earth, of nighttime and winter: Be with us in the darkness, in the time of gestation. Ground us in the wisdom of the changing seasons as we celebrate the spiraling journey of our lives.

Blessed be!

Goal:
To understand our faith as one which encourages the use of reason and that is comfortable with changing, if our understanding changes.

Materials:
• A Bible
• “Bumper sticker” supplies (strips of paper, markers etc.)
• Story: “The Boy Who Collected Beetles”
• Exerpts from The Scopes Monkey Trial
• List of “Used-to-thinks”

Background:
The “search for truth,” one of our UU principles, often leads UUs to new and different beliefs. The emphasis on the use of reason and the willingness to change one’s beliefs based on new information are hallmarks of our liberal faith tradition.

Darwin’s theory of evolution provides a dramatic example of new information that changed the way people thought about how the world began. Although the majority of people today accept the theory of evolution, there are still voices advocating the teaching of creationism in public schools. This lesson may stimulate discussion of other “used to thinks” in your family.

Activities:
• Read the first couple chapters of Genesis in the Bible, in which the seven days are described.
• Read “The Boy Who Collected Beetles.”
• Introduce the Scopes Trial. Then, take turns reading aloud the excerpts from the Scopes Trial.
• Play Used-to-Thinks.
• Make a bumper sticker to express a belief of yours.

Discussion:
The use of reason is one of the most important beliefs in our faith. We understand that the story from the Bible is an ancient legend, over a thousand years old. Times were different then. We can accept that it’s a beautiful myth and it is poetry. But we are comfortable replacing it with a different understanding of creation, as scientific evidence suggests the theory of evolution.

Unitarian Universalists believe that change happens and is a natural consequence of searching for the truth. We know that our own experience causes us to change, and that sometimes we make mistakes and must change. If we had slogans about our beliefs they might be: “Change Happens,” or “Mystery is Beautiful.” If you were to make your own bumper sticker, what would it say?

The lessons with a bible theme aim to teach middle schoolers about our Unitarian Universalist approach to the Bible. In Unitarian Universalism, the bible is seen as a library, a collection of small books bound together. The word "Bible" is Greek for "books". The Bible is made up of 2 sections, sometimes called the Old Testament and the New Testament. We, as UU’s, want to honor the fact that the Jewish people do not refer to their sacred text as "Old Testament". Instead, we can refer to the 2 sections as the Jewish Scriptures, or Torah, and the Christian Scriptures.

We believe that the Bible is the result of many people and writing over centuries of time, a long time ago. These people were trying to answer some very important questions, such as "When did the world begin, and how?" "Where did people come from" and "What does it mean that men and women feel about each other the way they do?" Although some people believe that the Bible’s answers to these questions are the only right ones (and they often call the Bible "the Word of God" for that reason), UU’s believe that there is no one final answer. There is "truth" in the Bible, in the truth of the insights and stories that still speak to us today. There is beauty, and myth, and poetry, and compelling stories that are worth knowing.

We acknowledge that our world has changed, though, and these stories are the result of times that are very ancient. We must use our own experiences and think for ourselves as well.
      -paraphrased from "What to Tell Young People About Unitarian Universalism… a guide for adults to help in answering large questions simply." by Charles S. Giles.

" (William Ellery Channing’s) defense of Unitarianism was also a defense of the Bible and of religion. He recoiled against "the contemptuous manner in which human reason is often spoken of by our adversaries, because it leads, we believe, to universal skepticism." His words remain important even today, because fundamentalism of the right has its whiplash in fundamentalism of the left. When the true believer proclaims that the Bible is the unique word of God – to be accepted without question – the true unbeliever responds by dismissing scripture as a figment of demented imaginations.

A handful of Unitarian Universalists boast that in their church the only time the words "Jesus Christ" are uttered during worship is when their minister trips on the steps. Channing would have found them as unreasonable as those in this day who read their Bibles without thinking. To him the Bible was written not by God, but by inspired people, drawing from both history and experience, who sought to understand better the larger meaning of life and death. Fundamentalists may trivialize the Bible by excluding reason as the principal tool by which it may be understood, but this does not mean that reasonable reflections upon the stories and teachings contained therein cannot markedly advance our own humble search for meaning and for faith.

In addition to William Ellery Channing, another Bostonian who had something new to say about religion was Theodore Parker. In his great sermon, "The Transient and the Permanent in Christianity, " Parker offered a dynamic resolution for those of us who wish to mine the Bible for its wisdom without sacrificing our critical faculties. Much of what the Bible contains is time- bound, he argued, and therefore of marginal relevance to us today. But it also contains eternal truths, which we can mine without ever exhausting. "The solar system as it exists in fact is permanent", Parker wrote, "though the notions of Thales and Ptolemy, of Copernicus and Descartes, about this system, prove transient, imperfect approximations to the true expression. So the Christianity of Jesus is permanent, though what passes for Christianity with popes and catechisms, with sects and churches, in the first century or in the nineteenth century, prove transient also."

…ln the Bible, when religion is defined, its requirements entail concrete duties, not abstract theological formulations. "What does the Lord require of you," the prophet Micah asked, "but to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." That is as abstract and theological as it gets. …Like many other Unitarian Universalists, I mine the Bible for that which inspires me to be a better person, more loving, more neighborly. It is rich in such material. But the Bible is not a single, sacrosanct book; it is a whole library of books representing the history, legends, laws, wisdom, and poetry of a people. And even these have been edited and re-edited over the centuries; some are of lesser intrinsic interest, more dated by historical context and theological circumstance, than others; some are dramatically uneven in spiritual quality, the most sublime sentiments coupled with theological and ethical barbarisms in the same text. Thus, in drawing inspiration from scriptural teachings as one of the sources of our faith, most Unitarian Universalists approach them more critically than do some orthodox Christians and Jews. Biblical literalists claim that the Bible is the transcript of God’s word; biblical humanists are more likely to look beyond the letter to the spirit- the spirit of neighborliness, of kinship, of love.

…Some Unitarian Universalists, who still suffer from a religious education based on teachings from the Bible that inspired fear rather than love in their hearts, have little desire to return to the Bible and reclaim its essential teachings as part of their own faith. Others, Unitarian Universalist Christians, center their faith and their devotions on the scriptures. But however we gauge the nature of the Bible’s authority, nearly all of us can embrace the principle of neighborliness at the heart of the Judeo-Christian tradition. From A Chosen Faith by Buehrens and Church, p. 131.