Hopes for the Day
Setting intentions is a way of practicing mindfulness by focusing on the kind of day, week, year or life you’d like to have, and visualizing the actions you can take to achieve your hopes. It’s a practice that can work for adults, teens and children alike.
If you have time as a family to gather in the morning, take turns sharing your intentions for the day. You could even light a candle or write down your intentions together on a chalkboard or paper, or construct a family ritual of your own. (If time in the morning is stretched thin, you could also take time during the evening or bedtime the night before.)
Children will likely need some help learning this new practice. A good question to begin with is, “What good do you want to invite into your life today?” You can suggest some general feelings that a child might understand and hope to experience: love, peace, joy, fun, safety and success are all good starters.
Brainstorm with children to come up with concrete ways they could experience these feelings during the day, such as “I want to invite success into my life by acing my math test,” or “I want to experience fun by playing with my friends at recess, or “I want to invite peace into my world by talking to kids at school that look lonely.” Yoga Chicago offers some other great suggestions for setting intentions with children that apply well for all ages.
Magalie L’Abbé/ Flickr
Lastly, visualize these things happening: sitting down to take the math test and knowing all the answers, being a good friend to classmates so that you can enjoy fun together at recess, being mindful of which classmates could use a friendly ear, and striking up conversation. (Visualizing your hopes for the day is also a great meditative exercise for adults, too!)
For additional ideas for setting intentions for yourself or for your family, visit Playful Planet’s website.
Do Buddhists go to church?
& WhyDo Bad Things Happen? by Charlene Brotman
Goal:
To learn about the beliefs and practices of Buddhists.
Preparation:
• Print “The Story of Buddha”
• Print “The Four Noble Truths”
• Print the Symbol of Buddhism. Make enough copies for everyone to have one to decorate and use to remember the 8-fold path.
• Print Mudras
• Locate books in your local library with pictures of Buddha sculptures and Buddhist temples.
Activities:
1. Read “The Story of Buddha”
2. Make a poster of the Four Noble Truths and the 8-Fold Path, using the symbolic Buddhist Wheel.
3. Make a Buddha sculpture out of clay.
• Find pictures of Buddha statues in books in your local library or on the web.
• See how many different mudras you can find in the pictures of Buddha.
• Make your own Buddha sculpture out of clay.
Why do we always talk about famous UUs?
Goal:
To consider the importance of living one’s faith and to identify some famous Unitarians and Universalists.
Materials:
List of stamps and their numbers
2 sample stamp collection pages: Marlene’s Stamp Collection and UU Kids Book
Background:
It’s difficult to teach our children what UUs believe. We don’t have a single statement of belief, or dogma to teach them. The theological beliefs of Unitarians and Universalists have changed dramatically over time. We continue to call ourselves a “living tradition,” one that evolves and reforms itself. But one hallmark of Unitarian Universalism—past, present and future—is social activism. That’s because Unitarians and Universalists have always believed that we must apply our faith to the world we live in. So, we turn to “famous” Unitarians and Universalists as one way to see this faith in action throughout history.
Activities:
Collect stamps of famous UUs.
Make an album of your own. You can use Marlene’s example, the UU Kids Book pages, or make up your own design.
Looking for The Truth
Do you know what most people like best about drinks like Coca Cola or Sprite? They like the bubbles and the fizz. And it was a Unitarian minister in England, Joseph Priestley, who experimented with gases in his laboratory and made th very first fitty drinks.
Messing Around
It’s hard to imagine a minister messing around in a science lab with chemicals. But that’s just what Priestley did back II in the mid-1700s. He was a curious person who asked lots of questions. He had questions about how things worked in the universe and he hiid questions about religion, too. To Priestley, the things that science taught us about the world and the things religion taught us about the world couldn’t be separated from each other. Priestley thought they were both important and he could see that both were always changing as human beings had new experiences and new ideas.
This was a very different way of thinking, especially for a minister. In fact, in those days it was against the law to believe things that were different from what the Church of England taught people about religion. The Church of England taught that Jesus was the son of God and that all human beings are born sinful. But Priestley liked to study things when he had questions about them. He wasn’t sure he believed that Jesus was the son of God so he studied the Bible. He decided that a person could believe that Jesus was a wonderful teacher without believing that he was the son of God who was sent to earth to save sinful people.
Joseph Priestley had lots of questions about animals and plants and gases, too. His questions led him to study and perform experiments that helped him to discover some important things about science that you learn in school today. He is considered the person who "discovered" oxygen.
Ask Questions
It was pretty hard to believe things that were different from what everybody else believed. The
Unitarian churches where Priestley found work as a minister were always small and poor and they were often attacked by people who were afraid of his ideas.
For a few years, Priestley left church work and started his own school. In Priestley’s school, students were taught to ask questions about everything and to work on their own ideas and experiments. His ideas about education, just like his ideas about religion, were very different from what was normal at the time. Although some people thought his teaching was very good, the school never made enough money to support his family, so it closed.
Looking for the Truth
Finally, in 1773, Priestley got a job as a librarian and family tutor for a very wealthy man, the Earl of Shelbourne. The Earl liked Priestley and gave him space and money to do his experiments. During his years with the Earl’s Family, Priestley wrote many books about air, electricity, and even about drawing! In his writing, he always told the whole story of his experiments — the mistakes he made, as well as his successes. Priestley was more interested in finding the truth, in both religion and science, than in proving his ideas were right.
Move to USA
When his job with the Earl ended, Priestley took another job as minister, this time in a church where people agreed with his religious ideas. He was very happy there for about ten years, but the fighting between the traditional church leaders and the new churches got worse until finally Priestley’s house, church, library, and science laboratory were burned to the ground by an angry mob. Priestley and his wife barely escaped. Shortly after that they moved to the United States where Priestley’s grown-up sons had already come to start a new community in Pennsylvania.
The Priestleys settled in the small town of Northumberland, about a five-day trip from Philadelphia. It took four years for Priestley to build his house, and it was even longer before he had a scientific laboratory to work in again. During those years, Priestley traveled several times to Philadelphia to help set up a Unitarian congregation. The church wanted him to be their minister but he always returned to Northumberland. And although he never took a job as a Unitarian minister in the United States, we remember him as a founder of Unitarianism in America because of his work with this church. Priestley spent the last years of his life doing experiments and writing about the history of Christianity. Science and religion were the two great interests in his life until he died in January, 1804 at the age of 70.
Sources: "A Bit of History: Joseph Priestley" by Bill Weston
(http://home.otd.net/-sirubin/uuscv/history.txt)
"Joseph Priestley: Motion Towards Perfection" by the Rev. Jane Rzepka
The UU Kids Book by Brotman-Marshfield
Psalm 23, A Psalm of David
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
Your version:
he makes me lie down in green pastures.
Your version:
He leads me beside still waters;
Your version:
he restores my soul.
Your version:
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Your version:
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
Your version:
I fear no evil; for thou art with me;
Your version:
thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Your version:
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
Your version:
thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Your version:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
Your version:
and I shall dwell in the house ofthe LORD forever.
Your version:
Amen .
Your version:
Is war ever right?
Goal: To consider two opposing points of view about war: 1. that fighting leads to less happiness in the end and 2. that war can lead to lasting peace.
Activities:
Read: Two Selfish Kings and Krishna, Champion of the Oppressed
Discuss:
How useful do you think Buddha’s advice was in Two Selfish Kings? Would it work today?
What makes land belong to a country or to a person?
Have you ever had little “wars” of your own? Think of some examples. How have some of these been settled? What are some consequences and results of quarrels and fights?
How do you think Krishna felt, knowing that his dharma (his social duty, his fate) committed him to a life of war and struggle, when he was not really a warlike person?
How did he try to live out his dharma? (By championing the cause of the weak and the right.)
Why did Arjuna believe that even if he won and destroyed the army of the evil king, his own sin would be greater than theirs? (Because he believed killing was a sin.) Krishna gave him a response that was based on the religious belief that the real life (soul) within each person cannot be killed; therefore, he should not mourn those he must kill in order to achieve peace. What do you think of this? Is this the kind of answer you would have given Arjuna? What would be yours?
Can you think of examples today where religion is used by political leaders to promote certain policies, including war, and forbid independent thinking?
Reflect on the soul-searching of Arjuna and the words of the suffering widow and mother. Do you think the peaceful years following the war could make these women forget their husbands and sons? Could the results of the war been achieved another way?
Debate:
Divide your family into two groups. Discuss among yourselves the pros and cons of proceeding with this war. Then conduct a mini-debate: state, in your own words, the arguments for proceeding with this war and the arguments against proceeding with this war.
Why do we light a chalice?
Goal:
to learn the history behind the UU flaming chalice symbol.
Activities:
• See "Why do we light a chalice?"
• Read: The Healing Cup
• Make your own family chalice or chalice banner. See Early Childhood
Who were the first Unitarians and Universalists?
Goal:
To learn about some of the Unitarians and Universalists in Europe and the United States.
Materials:
The Dangerous Journey game board (copy onto legal-size paper with printer set to horizontal)
Die and pieces for each player
Activities:
Read about King John Sigismund, Joseph Priestley, and John Murray
Read Who’s Who on the Dangerous Journey
Play The Dangerous Journey instructions
The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6: 9 – 13)
Our Father who art in heaven,
Your version:
Hallowed be thy name.
Your version:
Thy kingdom come.
Your version:
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Your version:
Give us this day our daily bread;
Your version:
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors;
Your version:
And lead us not into temptation,
Your version:
But deliver us from evil.
Your version:
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever.
Your version:
Amen.
Your version:
Background for Teachers, "The Psalms"
The living spirit of any religion shines through most clearly in its hymns. The Psalter is
the hymnal of ancient Israel, compiled from older collections of lyrics for use in the temple of Zerubbabel. Most of the psalms were probably composed to accompany acts of worship in the temple and may be classified as follows: Hymns (acts of praise suitable for any occasion and including the sub-types Enthronement Hymns, celebrating the Lord’s kingship, and Songs of Zion, expressing devotion to the Holy City); Laments (in which an individual seeks deliverane from illness or false accusation, or the nation asks for help in time of distress); Songs of Trust (in which an individual expresses his gratitude for deliverance); Thanksgiving (in which an individual expresses his gratitude for deliverance); Royal Psalms… Wisdom Psalms… Wisdom Psalms… and Liturgies.
…The ascription of nearly half of the psalms to David is testimony to the regard in which the great singer of Israel was held.
The book of Psalms reflects many aspects of the religious experience of Israel. Its
intrinsic spiritual depth and beauty have made it from earliest times a treasury of resources for
public and private devotion.
Notes on Psalm 23:
This type of Psalm is called a song of trust. It is an expression of confidence in God’s protection. The Lord is compared to a shepherd. The word "soul" means vitality, life. "Paths of righteousness" or "of rightness," that is, right paths which suits the context better.
"Shadow of death" is the reading of the scribes, but "deep darkness" is the better rendenng from the Hebrew. The Lord is compared to a gracious host. "Dwell in the house of the Lord" means to worship in the temple. "Forever" Hebrew for "length of days," meaning "as long as I live"
Notes on The Gospel According to Matthew (in which to find "The Lord’s Prayer"):
The Gospel according to Matthew is a manual of Christian teaching in which Jesus Christ, Lord of the new-yet-old community, the church, is described particularly as the fulfiller and fulfilment of God’s will disclosed in the Old Testament…
The accounts of Jesus’ deeds and words, drawn from Christian sources both oral and written, are arranged in generally biographical order: chs. 1-2 Birth of Jesus; 3.1-12, Activity of John the Baptist; 3.13-4.1 1, Baptism and temptation of Jesus; 4.12-18.35, Jesus’ preaching and teaching in Galilee; chs. 19-20, Journey to Jerusalem; chs. 21-27, The last week, concluding with Jesus’ crucifixion and burial; ch. 28, the resurrection; Jesus’ commission to his disciples.
Within this natural framework the accounts of what Jesus said or did are grouped by common subject matter. The five discourses of Jesus, a noteworthy feature of this Gospel are collections of teachings on specific themes: chs. 5 – 7, The Sermon of the Mount (including The Lord’s Prayer); ch. 10 Instructions for missionary disciples; ch. 13 The parables of the kingdom of God; ch. 18, On sincere discipleship; chs. 24 – 25, On the end of this age.
This gospel is anonymous. The unknown Christian teacher who prepared it during the last third of the first century may have used as one of his sources a collection of Jesus’ sayings that the apostle Matthew is said to have made. In time a title containing Matthew’s name, and signifying apostolic authority, came to identify the whole.
Notes on the Lord’s Prayer:
The Lord’s Prayer (compare Lk.11.2-4) falls into hvo parts relating to God and to man; after the opening invocation, there are three petitions concerning God’s glory, followed by those concerning our needs… On the basis of David’s prayer (I Chr.29. 1 1-13) the early church added an appropriate concluding doxology…For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Why teach these prayers?
They are part of our culture. We want our children to be culturally literate. Psalm 23 is still very much requested as part of memorial services in our faith.
We are taught by the joke about UU youth:
Two UU youth are arguing about who knows more about the bible.
"Ya, and I bet you don’t even know the "Lord’s Prayer" says one.
"Do, to!"
"Prove it then! Betcha $5.00 you can’t say it."
" OK you are on!…The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…etc" and he recites Psalm Twenty Three.
"Well," says the other, " That’s it allright. Guess I owe you $5.00."
