Background for "Let My People Go"
Children at this age have probably learned about slavery in the early days of the United States. Because of this they may associate the word slave with African Americans. This story provides an opportunity to broaden their understanding of oppression and slavery, to help them avoid stereotypical thinking. The motivating questions ask them to think about times when they felt oppressed. This may be difficult for them to do, but if you can relate a short personal story, you Il may elicit some personal stories from the children.
Beginning with the definition of slavery as "the total subjection of one person to another" (Mays, Harper’s Bible Commentary, p. 959), children can see that slavery is not necessarily related to color, race, gender, or religion, although all of those categories have been used to define classes of slaves. The Hebrews held different religious beliefs from the Egyptians. They were easy to identify by their patterns of worship, their dress, their daily life–and they had become numerous enough to threaten the ruling class. Thus, though they had been welcomed as settlers by earlier generations of Egyptians, by Moses’ time they had become an oppressed class of people, subject to the cruel taskmasters of the Pharaoh.
The Hebrews worked on the tombs, temples, and obelisks designed by Egyptian architects. (The famed pyramids had been built approximately a thousand years earlier.) Because they were called lazy workers–a charge commonly leveled against oppressed classes–the Hebrews were forced to make their bricks without straw. Strawless bricks do not hold together well, yet the Hebrews were required to make their usual quota. It was either no straw, or take extra time to glean the stubble from the fields. Either way, the task was nearly hopeless, and the punishment was a beating. For Moses, the lack of straw was the "last straw. " It was time to try the magic that YHWH had shown him. Popularly known as the ten plagues, the calamities inflicted on Egypt were familiar threats to the well-being of the nation. The power of the Exodus story is that they occur one right after the other. Written down many centuries after it occurred, and drawn from three traditions J, E, and P), the story as recorded in Exodus is full of repetition and confusion. The plagues were natural occurrences in an unnatural time frame–folk history in its most dramatic form.
The story of the plagues and the crossing of the Reed Sea is the basis tbr the Jewish celebration of Passover. At the Passover meal the story of the Exodus is recounted through words, symbols, and songs. One seder ritual has to do with the plagues. Before drinking the first cup of wine, one removes a drop for each plague visited upon the Egyptians, diminishing one’s own pleasure because of the suffering of the oppressor. The theme of the Passover seder is that our joy in freedom is possible only if we remember our own suffering and the suffering of others.
In the telling of this story, we have referred to the Reed Sea. There is on modern maps a sea called the Red Sea, but the Hebrew term used in Exodus is yam suph or Sea of Reeds. Great confusion exists among biblical scholars about the route of the Exodus–in fact, three routes have been suggested, each with respected literary and geographical credentials. The source of confusion seems to be the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Septuagint, dating back perhaps to the third century B.C.E. Reed was translated Red, and on the basis of that error it was long assumed that the Red Sea was the site of the crossing.
UU Game
Goal:
Family fun with a Unitarian Universalist theme, UU principles, and some basic UU facts
Materials:
UU Game Board – Left Side (print on 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper)
UU Game Board – Right Side (print same as above, match to left side, & mount of cardboard)
Game Cards A (print and cut)
Game Cards B (same as above)
Instructions for Play are listed on the Game Board.
Bible Pictionary Quotations
ALONE “Man does not live by bread alone.” Deuteronomy 8.5
ALIVE “Joseph my son is still alive.” Genesis 45.28
ANGEL “An angel of the Eternal appeared to them, and the glory of the Eternal shone around them.” Luke 2.9
ARK “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood.” Genesis 6.14
COMMAND “This I command you, to love one another.” John 15.17
DAUGHTER “The daughter of Pharoah came down to bathe at the river.” Exodus 2.5
BEGINNING “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1.1
CROWN “…and does crown him with glory and honor.” Psalm 8.5
DRINK “The people murmured against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?” Exodus 15.24
BREAD “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 5.24
DESERT “He turns a desert into pools of water…” Psalm 107.35
EAT “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden.” Genesis 3.3
CHURCH “…how one ought to behave in the household of God,…the church of the living God.” Timothy 3.15
DEVIL “Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Matthew 4.1
FEAST “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Eternal.” Exodus 12.14
DOVE “…he sent forth the dove out of the ark.” Genesis 8.8
FISH “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” Matthew 14.17
FREE “Live as free men, yet without using your freedom as a pretext for evil; but live as servants of God.” Peter 2.16
FRIEND “A friend loves at all times.” Proverbs 17.17
GARDEN “The Eternal planted a garden in Eden.” Genesis 2.8
GIFT “You thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” Acts 8.20
GRAPES “You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?” Matthew 7.16
HEART “He who has clean hands and a pure heart…he will receive a blessing from God.” Psalmm 24.4-5
HELP “For I, the Eternal your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you. ‘Fear not, I will help you.” Isaiah 41.14
HOME “Even the sparrow finds a home.” Psalm 84.3
HUNGRY “If your enemy is hungry, feed him.” Romans 12.20
JESUS “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” Matthew 1.21
KING “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.” Exodus 1.8
LOVE “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Leviticus 19.18
MONEY “The love of money is the root of all evils.” 1 Timothy 6.10
MOUNTAIN Then Moses went up on the mountain.” Exodus 24.15
NEIGHBOR “But he…said to Jesus, ‘Who is my neighbor?” Luke 10.29
NOISE “Make a joyful noise to the Eternal!” Psalm 100
POOR “Blessed is he who considers the poor!” Psalm 41.1
PRAYER “Hear my prayer, O God, and give ear to my cry.” Psalm 39.12
PARENTS “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.” Luke 2.41
PRISON “I was in prison and you came to me.” Matthew 25.36
SING “Sing praises to God, sing praises!” Psalm 47.6
SHARE “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry?” Isaiah 58.7
STORM “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea.” Matthew 8.24
RAIN “…your Father who is in heaven…sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5.45
RIVER “and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” Matthew 3.6
RICH “Thus says the Eternal: ‘Let not the rich man glory in his riches.” Jeremiah 9.23
TENT “So he (Abraham) build an alter there and called upon the name of the Eternal, and pitched his tent there.” Genesis 26.25
TOOTH “…it was said, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil.” -Jesus Matthew 5.38
SEASON “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…” Ecclesiastes 3.1
INHERIT “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5.5
SALT “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its tast, how shall its saltiness be restored?” Matthew 5.13
WORSHIP “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” -Jesus John 4.24
WORLD “You are the light of the world…Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works.” -Jesus Mathhew 5.14
FORGIVE “And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’” Luke 23.34
LAW “On these two commandments depend all the law and prophets.” Matthew 22.40
FAMINE “The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end; and the seven years of famine began to come” Genesis 41.53
QUEEN “…and women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven…” Jeremiah 7.18
SHEEP “All we like sheep have gone astray.” Isaiah 53.6
SEA “Some went down to the sea in ships.” Psalm 107.23
SEED “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.” Matthew 13.24
Who are our enemies?
Goal:
To explore the meaning of “friend” and “enemy” and how it feels to be a friend, to have a friend, to be an enemy and to have and enemy.
Activity:
Read “My Friend the Monster”
Questions for discussion:
Why were Hal and Humbert enemies?
What made them friends?
Think about people who are really different from you. How are they different? How does this make you feel about them?
Discuss how often people feel afraid or hostile around people who are different from them. Try to help you child make this connection in his or her own life. How could you feel less afraid? How did Hal and Humbert overcome their fear and prejudice?
Think about the word enemy. Make a list of things you think an enemy does and is. If your child has ever had a personal “enemy,” talk about how that came to be. If not, use an example from the world today. Discuss: do you think there are “natural” enemies among human beings in the world? (Predators and prey might be considered natural enemies.) Or are enemies something we create? How does someone or some group become an enemy?
Jonah and the Large Fish
GOD SAID TO JONAH, "Go at once to the great city of Nineveh and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me." Jonah knew that if he gave the people of Nineveh God’s warning, they would beg for forgiveness. Jonah was also sure that they would be forgiven, since God was a merciful God. Jonah didn’t like the Ninevites and didn’t want them to be forgiven, so he took a ship to Tarshish, a town in the opposite direction from Nineveh, and the one farthest away.
While that ship was sailing to Tarshish, a terrible storm came up. The sailors were very afraid, and they threw all their cargo into the sea to lighten the ship in the water. Jonah, meanwhile, was fast asleep below deck.
The captain woke Jonah and begged him to call upon his God to keep them from dying. Then the sailors questioned him. "Where do you come from? Why are you here? When they found out that he was running away from his God, they cried, "What is this you have done? What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?"
Jonah answered, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you."
Still they tried to get back to land, but the storm got worse. Finally, they realized that they would have to throw Jonah into the sea if the rest of them were to be saved. So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea. The sea stopped its raging, and the sailors were certain that God had caused the storm.
God then provided a large fish to swallow Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three nights and three days. Then Jonah prayed to God for deliverance; God spoke to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out upon the dry land.
Again, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, and this time Jonah went. The people of Nineveh listened to Jonah, and they begged God to forgive them. God heard their cries and was full of mercy for the Ninevites, just as Jonah knew God would be. Therefore they were forgiven. This made Jonah angry, but God finally convinced him that the people of Nineveh were worth saving.
Do UUs pray?
Goal:
to introduce a way of thinking about prayer that reflects our liberal tradition.
Activities:
Read: Can UUs Pray?
Make Prayer Beads
Used-to-Thinks
Did you ever think something when you were younger and then, when you got to be a little older, find out it wasn’t that way at all?
For example, when I was in first grade, I used to think that children in the third grade were practically grownups! But then when I got to be in the third grade, I didn’t feel grown-up at all. But then I thought the sixth-graders were really old!
For some reason it’s fun to tell other people about your "used-to-thinks." I’ve been collecting "used to thinks" for quite a few years now — some of them are my own, some of them my children told me, and some of them other children told me. Here are some of the "used-to-thinks" I have collected. I wonder whether you used to think any of these things?
I used to think that we lived on the inside of the world ball, not on the outside.
I used to think that when you shut off the TV the program would stop, and then, when you turned it on again, it would begin right where it was when you stopped it.
I used to think you grew bigger on your birthday.
I used to think that when people said that Christmas was just around the corner, the people around the corner were having Christmas.
I used to think that when there were double lines down the middle of the highway, motorcycles were supposed to go in the space between them.
I used to think that ladies who wore high heels had heels on their feet that went down inside their shoes.
I used to think that after you’ve gotten as old as you are going to get, you begin to get younger again. When someone told me how old they were, I wondered whether they were on their way to older or younger.
Children are not the only ones who have "used-to-thinks." Almost every day, now that I have grown up, I find out something that makes something that I thought I knew into a "used-to-think." (Share some grown-up "used-to-thinks" of your own.)
Do any of you have "used-to-thinks?" (Pause while others in the group share their "used-to-thinks.")
But it isn’t just grownups and children who have "used-to-thinks." All the people who are alive together at one time think certain things that people living after them find out aren’t true at all.
The people who lived in Greece several thousand years ago used to think that it was the trees shaking that made the wind blow.
People used to think that tomatoes were poisonous.
The people who lived when my grandmother did used to think that it was positively dangerous to go as fast as fifteen miles an hour. They used to think that there never could be a flying machine — it would fall out of the air.
People used to think that we would never, never get to the moon, or to Mars, or away from our earth at all.
I guess that as long as there are people in the world there will be "used-to-thinks," because there is always going to be more to find out, and there are always going to be new things to find out about what we think we already know. Sometimes, as we get older, we understand things that we couldn’t have understood before — just because we have grown some and have had more experiences. Every time you find yourself with a new "used-to-think," you ought to feel pretty good, because it means you’ve learned something that you didn’t know before.
UU Identity for Adolescents (14-18)
All the questions within the Adolescence category for UU Identity.
Have people always gone to church?
Goal:
To discover the origins of Shabbat/Sabbath as told in the biblical story and to learn the importance to both Judaism and Christianity of a day of rest and worship.
Materials:
A copy of the book The Creation by Stephen Mitchell (or another children’s book that tells the Biblical creation story)
Large piece of mural paper divided into 6 sections, or 6 separate pieces of paper labeled:
First day (light and darkness/day and night)
Second day (sky and earth and seas)
Third day (all kinds of plants
Fourth day (sun, moon, and stars)
Fifth day (living creatures of sky and sea)
Sixth day (living creatures of earth)
Preparation:
Read Background
Activities:
Conversation and Story
Make a mural of the story. Explain that a mural is a big picture with many parts that tells a story from beginning to end. You could divide the sections among family members and put your mural together at the end, or have each family member draw every section and create more than one mural.
When the mural is done and put together, invite everyone to sit and “rest” to affirm the creative efforts of all.
