God is in Each One of Us
Once there was a boy named Svetaketu (Svayta-kaytu) who went away to school to learn all about God. When he came back home his father could see that although he had learned many things there were still some things, some very important things, that he did not yet understand. When his father told him that there was more for him to learn, Svetaketu said, "Please, Father teach me," and his father said, "So be it, my son."
Svetaketu’s father said, "Go bring me a fig from that large tree over there." Svetaketu ran to pluck a fig and brought it to his father saying, "Here it is, sir." Then his father said, "Cut it in two," and Svetaketu cut the fig in two saying, "I have done as you asked." Then his father said, "What do you see in the fig?," and Svetaketu answered, "All these little tiny seeds." Then Svetaketu’s father said, "Cut one of the tiny seeds in two," and Svetaketu did. Svetaketu’s father then asked, "What do you see now?," and Svetaketu answered, "Nothing at all."
Then Svetaketu’s father said, "But, my son, I want you to know that even though you can’t see it, there is an unseen power in that seed which can grow such a seed into a great tree like the one over there. And, Svetaketu, the unseen power that is in the seed is the same power that is in the whole world. That power is God. That power is Spirit and God’s spirit-power is in you, too, Svetaketu."
When Svetaketu heard his father’s words he felt very small and very big to think that he asked his father to teach him more about the spirit-power of God that was in him.
And so his father did and Svetaketu learned that even though this spirit-power is unseen by our ordinary eyes, we can see it with our inner eyes. It is there in such mysteries as growing aod loving.
And that spirit-power is in each one of us. It is in everyone here at church. It is in everyone in (your town or area). It is in everyone in our (state). It is in everyone in our (country). It is in each and everyone in the whole world.
A Hosanna Day
"Hosanna, hosanna," said Simcha over and over again. She loved the sound of the word and it made her feel good inside to say it. It was such a happy word. "Hosanna, praise God, hosannnaaaaaa." She tried saying it all different ways.
It was a beautiful day–not a cloud in the sky. She knew it would be hot later, but right now, as the sun came up, it was cool and the earth smelled sweet. She was going to Jerusalem with her family to spend Passover with her favorite aunt and uncle. It would be a long walk, and they would have to leave soon so that they could be there before the heat of early afternoon. She remembered the narrow streets that wound through the city and she thought of how cool her aunt’s house would be. Her mother climbed onto the donkey and took the baby in her arms. Father held the donkey’s halter as they walked along. Simcha danced and skipped all around the donkey, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Hold on there, young lady," said Father, laughing. "You’ll have us all choking in dust and you’ll be too worn out to make it all the way to the city.
Simcha calmed down. Her parents were talking grown-up talk, so she stopped listening. "I wonder if we will see Jesus," she thought. She had heard about Jesus. He was a great storyteller — she loved to listen to stories. She had heard that he was a kind person who cared about people who were poor or sick. He wanted to help people and make their lives better. He loved children, too. Maybe if she saw him he would tell her a story. "Hosanna, praise God," she whispered quietly to a bird sitting along the road, and the bird sang a song to her that Simcha thought sounded like "hosanna." Simcha was so happy. She felt as though she could dance ail the way to Jerusalem.
As they got closer to the city, there were more and more people. Everyone who could, went to Jerusalem for Passover. She was glad she had people to stay with, because she knew the city would be very crowded. Many people would have to sleep on the ground outside the walls.
Suddenly, everyone seemed to be shouting. Simcha stretched her neck to see over the crowd. People were moving back to make a path leading up to the gate of the city. Simcha ducked under the arms of some grown-ups and found herself right at the edge of the path. It was dry and dusty. Passing feet stirred up little puffs of dust that made her sneeze. Everyone was shouting, "Hosanna." They had pulled branches off the palm trees and were waving them to cool themselves in the hot sun. Simcha thought someone very important must be coming. It couldn’t be Romans because everyone was shouting "Hosanna" and that was such a happy word. The Romans were mean and made everyone sad.
Then she saw the man on the white donkey coming up the road. He was an ordinary looking man, but something special seemed to glow in his face. As he got closer, she saw his eyes. They seemed so very sad. She wanted to make him happy. She saw the donkey’s feet kicking up dust and she was afraid it would make him sneeze, too. She took off her cloak and spread it on the path in front of him. Others saw her, and soon everyone was spreading their cloaks on the road, too. As the donkeys came closer to her, the man turned to her and smiled. He stopped the donkey and reached out his hand to touch her head. "Thank you," he said. His voice made her feel warm inside.
"Come, Jesus, we will be late," said the man holding the donkey’s reins.
"In good time," said Jesus. "This child has been very kind to me. It is always the children who must teach us. It was a little boy who shared his meal so that I could feed the five thousand who had come to hear me. When a child shares, the whole world seems to follow. The prophet said,’A little child shall lead them.’ We have seen that here today. If we could all be as children, the world would be a better place."
Just then, Simcha’s mother and father caught up to her and saw what had happened. How proud they were of their daughter.
Jesus rode on into the city. Simcha picked up her cloak, folded it carefully, and held it against her cheek. "Hosanna," she thought. "This has truly been a ‘Praise God’ day. Hurray for Jesus"
Who was Moses?
Goals:
To hear the story of Moses: his early life, his calling by God and his leadership of the Hebrew people to freedom.
(for older kids) To consider the meaning of persecution and oppression.
Materials for making a mural:
Sheet of mural paper long enough to contain the 4 parts of the Moses story
Paint, brushes, water (or markers or crayons if you prefer)
Activities:
Read the Background for Moses in the Bulrushes, Background for Moses and the Burning Bush, Background for Let My People Go. After each story draw or paint pictures on the mural to tell that part of the story as you discuss the questions.
Be sure your kids know the meaning of the words:
descendant (a person with a long line of ancestors—those who lived before)
midwives(women who help deliver babies)
persecute (to bother or harm someone because of his or her beliefs)
bondage (slavery)
boils (big sores on your skin)
multitude (many, many people)
Read the 1st story: “Moses in the Bulrushes.”
Discuss:
When people are being persecuted, they often have to make very hard choices. Moses’ mother had to give him up so that he could live. Did she love him even though she gave him up? How do you think his sister, Miriam, felt?
Most of the times when the ancient Israelites were persecuted, it was because they believed in one god instead of the goads their neighbors worshiped. Sometimes they were forced to worship the gods of others or die. What are other examples of hard choices people might have to make?
Pharoah’s daughter felt pity for Moses. What is pity? What did her feelings of pity cause Pharoah’s daughter to do?
Read the 2nd story: “Moses and the Burning Bush”
Discuss:
Sometimes people get a felling that they must do something—that they are “called” to help others. Martin Luther King, Jr. felt called to help black people. Gandhi felt called to help oppressed of India. Dorothea Dix, a Unitarian, felt called to help the poor, imprisoned, and the insane. What was Moses “called” to do?
Moses, Dix, King, and Gandhi are people who dedicated their lives to serving others. Who are some others who have dedicated their lives to serving others? Have you heard about any other people who felt “called” to do something special? What did they do? Is there something you feel you should dedicate your life to? What is it?
Read the 3rd story: “Let My People Go”
Discuss:
What would you have done if you were Pharaoh?
How did the Hebrews feel about Moses at the beginning of the story? Do you think the miracles convinced them? How would you feel about leaving your home to wander in the wilderness?
The story of the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt has become an important symbol for freedom fighters around the world, and a symbol of how freedom can be gained even when it seems impossible. What are some other examples of people being oppressed? Who? Where? When? By whom?
What does “sacred” mean?
Goals:
To begin to see the sacred in the beauty and mystery of nature.
For parents:
In Sharing Nature With Children, Joseph Cornell wrote: “The unutterable beauty of a blossom…the roar of wind in the trees: At one time or another in our lives, nature touches you…and me…and all of us in some personal, special way. Her immense mystery opens to us a little of its’ stunning purity, reminding us of a life that is greater than the little affairs of humanity. I have never underestimated the value of such moments of touching and entering into nature. We can nourish that deeper awareness until it becomes a true and vital understanding of our place in this world.”
Activities:
1. Read: a story book about trees (from your local library). Here are some to look for:
The Tree in the Ancient Forest by Carol Reed-Jones
The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry
The Season’s of Arnold’s Apple by Gail Gibbons
Once There Was a Tree by Natalia Romanova
A Tree Is Nice by Janice Udry
Mighty Tree by Dick Gackenback
When Dad Cut Down the Chestnut Tree by Pam Ayers
Trees by Harry Behn
2. Bark Rubbing
Choose a nice day to take a walk around the park, your neighborhood, or the woods around your house. Bring along several sheets of white paper and pencils. Make bark rubbings of as many different kinds of trees as you can find. Pick up as many different leaves as you can find on the ground. When you get back inside, see if you can identify what kind of tree the leaves and bark rubbings you took come from. A good tree identification book borrowed from the library is fun to look through. Or use the web if you don’t have ready resource for tree identification.
Here’s one site: http://forestry.about.com/library/tree/bltredex.htm
3. Adopt a tree
Choose a tree in your yard, woods, or neighborhood to adopt as your family tree. In choosing the tree, tell your family that you’ll be watching it for a whole year, drawing pictures and telling stories about the way it changes. Once you’ve chosen your tree, take a few minutes to feel it, smell it, look at it and listen to it. Take a picture of your tree. Make a bark rubbing. Collect leaves from the ground. When you get back inside, identify your tree and learn all you can about it. If you read the story The Tree in the Ancient Forest, consider a comparison between the “ancient tree” and your family tree. Revisit your tree each month. Discuss or record changes with drawings or photos. Collect samples of leaves or fruit or bark that falls from your tree throughout the year for your wonder and beauty table. Make up stories using the tree as the protagonist: what do you think it would be like to be your tree?
4. Wonder and Beauty Table
Set aside a special place in your house to put your bark rubbings and leaves. Encourage your family to add things from nature to this table throughout the year.
5. Be Careful Consumers of Paper Products
Make a list, or a collage of pictures, of all the products in your house that come from paper. Talk about how much you use paper products. Here are some questions to think about:
How often are we using paper plates and cups? Paper towels?
Are we throwing out paper that could be recycled?
Are we intentionally buying recycled paper products?
Is it possible for our family to plant a tree?
Unitarian Universalist Saints
Links to Sections in this page:
Samuel Joseph May
Elizabeth Blackwell
Whitney Young
Amos Peck Seaman
Samuel Joseph May (1797-1871)
by Patricia Hoertdoerfer
"What crime have these men committed?" Samuel May asked the other stagecoach passengers as he looked out on 30 black men, who were handcuffed and fastened along a heavy chain that was attached to a wagon.
The man next to May turned and said, "They are only slaves some planter has purchased and he’s taking them home."
May thought about his situation and said, "I never fully realized before how great a privilege it is to live where human beings cannot be treated in this manned."
Samuel May was hardly ever away from his hometown of Boston, but when he took this trip South, it changed his life. He decided to dedicate his life to helping people gain their human rights.He studied and became a Unitarian minister, preaching the message of love toward all people.His religion was practical and active, making him work everyday to relieve the suffering and to free the oppressed. What concerned him most was the loss of human rights. He spoke out against slavery and demanded freedom for black people.
May led Unitarians and people from Syracuse, New York, to help black people reach freedom. They helped slaves escape from the southern part of the United States where people were allowed to own slaves and head north to Canada where slavery was forbidden. Samuel May’s home became a stop for many slaves along the road to freedom. The act of helping slaves escape to the North was called the Under-ground Railroad, and May was a good conductor on the Underground Railroad.
Samuel May worked most of his life to rid our country of its worst form of human oppression–slavery. It was not an easy goal for him, and it sometimes meant violent struggle to reach freedom. As he said, "May the sad experience of the past prompt and impel us to do all that righteousness demands at our hands–all that righteousness demands at our hands. Today people are still suffering and many black people are not treated equally. Yet many liberties have been gained and many people have been helped because of people like Samuel May and other Unitarian leaders who acted with dedication and courage.
Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910)
by Elizabeth Gillis
"Elizabeth, it’s of no use trying. Thee cannot gain admission to these schools. Thee must go to Paris and don masculine attire to gain the necessary knowledge.
That is what Elizabeth Blackwell was told by a Quaker friend who tried to help her get into medical school. It was in the 1840s and young ladies did not go to medical school!
But Elizabeth did not go to Paris or dress up like a man. She thought she had the right to study medicine like any man. She applied to many schools and was rejected by all of them. Finally,she was accepted by a medical school in Geneva, New York. The faculty had presented her request to the students. If one student failed to agree, they said, she would not be admitted.They thought it was a great joke and voted to have her enter the medical school.
She completed her studies and graduated.Elizabeth described her graduation day:
"After the degree had been conferred on the others, I was called up alone to the platform. The president, in full academic costume, rose as I came on the stage and going through the usual formula of a short Latin address, presented my diploma. I said, ‘Sir, I thank you; it shall be the effort of my life, with the help of the Most High,to shed honour on my diploma.’ The graduates applauded. As I came down, I was much touched by the graduates making room for me, and insisting that I should sit with them for the remainder of the exercises.
What had begun as a joke to many ended in respect for the young woman who was so deter-mined to be a doctor. However, the medical school was censured for doing such a daring thing.
Dr. Blackwell, a Unitarian for much of her life, had a long career after becoming the first American woman to obtain a degree in medicine.
Whitney Young (1921-1971)
by Denise Tracy
"Where are you going!" his mother asked.
"I’m running away," said the child.
"Where will you go?"
The boy was silent. His suitcase was half full.He had put in some clothes. Now he was putting in the important stuff. His favorite books and a toy or two. He was leaving a lot behind. But where he was going he wouldn’t need much. You see, he was going to start a new world where everything was fair and equal.
"Where will you go? " asked his mother again.
"Somewhere where the color of my skin won’t matter replied the boy with a quiver in his voice.
"What happened?" the mother asked quietly.
"I was walking down the street and two white boys called me a ‘nigger.’ Then they made me get off the sidewalk so they could pass. I hate them."By now he was crying. "I wish I had never been born and I wish 1 had never been born black."
"Whitney, your color is beautiful. It’s lust that some people don’t see it that way. Do you know that when I was your age I wanted to run away from home thinking I could find a place where the color of my skin wouldn’t matter?"
"You did!" The boy was surprised by how well his mother knew him. Sometimes he thought she could even read his mind.
"Yes, I did. I thought I’d go start all over again in a new place."
"What happened?" asked Whitney.
"Well, my momma saw me packing my bag and said she’d tried to run away and that her momma had caught her and her momma’d remembered the time she’d packed her suitcase,too. All of us have had decisions to make about how to deal with the unfairness of the world."
"Why did you and your momma and your momma’s momma decide not to go?"
"Well, my momma’s momma told her and momma told me and now I’m telling you, we Youngs don’t run from evil, we face it unafraid, and we change it."
"How do you change evil?"
"Well, your momma’s momma, my momma, and me all understood that if you believe what some whites want you to–that our color is the problem–then hatred grows. It festers inside you and you grow up bitter. Your momma’s momma, my momma, and me all give you a heritage of pride. Those boys on the street feel small inside–that’s why they pick on you so they will feel bigger. If you know that their behavior comes from their own ignorance and smallness nothing they can say can hurt you. But let me tell you something else. For three generations our family has been watching the world change and we’ve been helping it along. It’s your turn to change evil."
"But what do I do?"
"You’ll know when the time comes."
Whitney Young began to unpack his bag. He’d live in this world and he’d change evil. He came from a long line of people who chose not to run away, not to hate but to change. He felt proud.
When Whitney Young grew up he became the dean of a small college and the director of the National Urban League. As the director of the National Urban League, he allied himself with other black•and white people who believed in equality. He started job programs to deal with the evil of unemployment. He wrote grants to train black people to be executives. He founded schools to help black youths who had dropped out of school to get their diplomas so they could find good jobs.
Whitney Young was a Unitarian Universalist. He worked at changing evil wherever he saw it- not by hating it, but by tackling it, understanding it, and changing it.
Amos Peck Seaman (1788-1864)
by Mary Hamilton
Amos Peck Seaman was called the "King" of Minudie, Nova Scotia, in Canada. From very humble beginnings he became a successful business man and generous Universalist leader.
Amos was born in a tiny hut in the small parish of Sackville in eastern Canada on a very cold January day. As Amos grew, he spent many evenings sitting beside his mother as she darned and re-darned their few clothes. Here he learned to read from the Bible, and to count sticks of wood for the fire. In later years, as he sat each evening to write in his daily journal, he would remember quiet hours with his mother.
By the time he was 8, Amos knew he must leave his parents’ home. He was an extra mouth to feed and there was nothing he could do in Sackville to bring extra food into the home. He found an old birch bark canoe, and he crossed the Bay of Fundy, arriving in Minudie, Nova Scotia, with no shoes on his feet and only the clothes on his back.
Perhaps it was his name that led Amos Seaman to the sea. He spent these early years working around the docks and shipyards and out sailing on the many ships. By the time he was 22 he was, indeed, a man of the sea. With his brother Job as a business partner, he began trading with the Boston merchants, and soon he was carrying goods between Nova Scotia, New England, and the West Indies in ships built in his own shipyards.
On May 12, 1814, Amos Seaman and Jane Metcalfe were married. With Jane’s help, Amos was able to attend school to further his education. Amos seemed to have a magic touch. He succeeded with whatever business he tried. In 1834 he purchased the 7,000 acre Minudie estate. He gradually enlarged it, even reclaiming some land from the sea, until it was the largest estate in Nova Scotia. The many sandstone deposits on the estate were excellent for the production of grindstones. Soon, thousands of high-priced grindstones were being shipped to American markets.
There was little in the town of Minudie that wasn’t touched by Amos Seaman. His businesses included the first steam-powered grist mill, a steam sawmill, and a coal mine. Along with all of this, he kept a fatherly eye on the people of Minudie, doing what he could to improve their lives. Of course, he liked to have things done his way, and soon became known as "King" of Minudie.
Because he never had an education until he grew up, he knew how important it was for his 11 children (seven boys and four girls) and their friends to go to school, even if they thought it might be more fun to play! He gave the town the lumber to build a fine schoolhouse.
On one side of the school, he built a very special church. He was a Universalist, and he believed that everyone could come and worship in his church, even if they didn’t believe as he did.Some of the people were happy to join him, but many of the others weren’t happy there. When he learned this, he made the town another gift — a Catholic church which was built on the other side of the school house.
Amos "King" Seaman lived a long time ago,but all three of the buildings — the school, the Universalist church, and the Catholic church — still stand today in Minudie, Nova Scotia. Amos Seaman was an important Universalist leader who believed that every person has the right to worship as she or he sees fit.
The Birth of Buddha: A Story from India
THIS IS THE WONDER TALE about the birth of Buddha. It is an older story than the one abut the birth of Jesus.
Buddha’s mother was a Queen who lived in a grand palace in the faraway country of India. It was summer time. For almost a week the King and Queen and all the people of their land had been celebrating the annual summer festival. Each evening hundreds of men and women had gathered in the King’s palace gardens to dance and be happy. Daily the King and Queen, sitting each on a royal chair hoisted on the shoulders of strong men, had been carried in procession through the streets of the city. All the while musicians made music with harps and drums and the people crowded about their rulers singing and throwing garlands of flowers into the royal chairs. And many were the gifts that the King and Queen gave away in return. The people said:
"Our Queen Maya is beautiful as a water lily, and as pure in her thoughts as the white lotus flower."
At the end of the last day of the festival, the tired Queen went to her own room and lay down on her couch to rest. Soon she was fast asleep and dreaming.
She dreamed that four beautiful and strong angels were lifting her up from her couch and carrying her off. Higher and higher they flew with her, until they were near the top Of a very great mountain.
The angels showed her a palace gleaming like gold. They led her up its marble steps. They showed her through one beautiful room after another until finally she came to a bedroom that seemed to have been made just for her.
In her dream, she heard the angels tell her to lie down on the couch to rest. Presently, she saw a pure white elephant quietly enter the room. Gentle as an angel he seemed as he came up to her couch and stood beside her. On the end of his trunk he carried a large lotus flower, white as the cleanest snow, and he gave it to the Queen.
That very moment when the Queen took the flower, the room was filled with a heavenly light. In her dream she heard a terrific earthquake. Even the deaf heard the great roar, and the blind were suddenly able to see. Men who had been dumb and unable to speak began at once to talk together. Lame persons rose from their beds and walked. Beautiful music was heard everywhere. Harps played without anyone touching the strings. Trees at once began to blossom with new flowers. Lotus buds of all colors burst into bloom everywhere. Even the wild animals became gentle. None roared or howled or frightened children anywhere.
In the morning when the Queen awoke from her dream, she found herself in bed in her own palace as if nothing had happened. At once, she told the King the story of her dream, and the two were filled with wondering. The King said:
"I will call my sixty-four counselors immediately."
The sixty-four counselors hurried at once to the palace. The King welcomed them with refreshments of rice and honey, and told them his wife’s dream.
"What does the dream mean? What is it that is going to happen" he asked. The chief counselor answered:
"Do not be anxious, O King! The dream is a good one. Your Queen is going to have a baby boy. When he is grown this child will either be King in your place or he will become a great teacher who will teach the people of many countries to know what they do not now understand. He will free them from their evil ways and will lead them to live in peace."
When the King heard these words from his chief counselor, he was very pleased, for the King did not yet have a boy child who could be taught to become a King.
Months afterwards, when the good Queen Maya realized that her baby would soon be born, she said to her husband:
"O King, I wish to go to the city of my parents."
Since the King wished to please his Queen, he consented, and ordered that her royal chair be made ready for her. He chose the strongest and best of his servants to take her safely to her mother’s home.
The royal procession had gone but halfway to the Queen’s former home, when they passed by a most
beautiful park. On catching sight of the masses of flowers among the trees, Maya the Queen insisted that she must get down out of her chair and spend a while walking through the grove. She wanted to stand under the trees and to breathe in the sweet perfume of their flowers.
Queen Maya walked into the beautiful grove. like singing with the birds that flitted about her. never before seen a lovelier spot.
A whole hour passed, but it seemed scarcely more than a few moments. Queen Maya began to feel that her baby was soon going to be born.
Quickly a couch was prepared for her and a curtain She felt She had thrown around her. When the baby was born, four angels appeared holding in their hands the four corners of 1 golden net. Into this net the baby was laid as if in a cradle, The angels spoke sweetly to the mother, and said:
"Be joyful, O Lady. A mighty son is born to you."
Presently four kings stood beside the four angels, and the angels gave the newborn child into the hands of the four kings. They in turn laid the child down on an antelope’s skin that was soft to the touch. Before long the mother thought she saw her babe lift himself up on his feet. He stood for a moment and looked around in all directions, He even took one step and another and another until he had walked seven steps. All the while one angel held a white umbrella over him and the other angels laid garlands of flowers before him.
Then the child lay down again upon his antelope blanket and soon fell asleep just like any other small baby.
As servants carried the mother and babe back to the palace angels sang above them in the sky. The King, hearing the strange music, ran to meet his Queen. When he saw his newborn boy child he danced for gladness. The King’s greatest wish had come true. He had a son! A Prince had been born who would some day rule the kingdom of the Sakyas! And the King called his son’s name Siddhartha Gautama.
But the young child never did become a King. When he was old enough to choose for himself, he decided there was something more important for him to do than to be a King. He felt he could not learn what he needed to know if he stayed on in a rich King’s palace. He wanted to know how it feels to be poor and hungry, and to work for one’s own food.
So in the darkness of night the young Prince fled from the palace, taking with him nothing but the clothes he had on. Even these clothes he soon exchanged for the clothes of a beggar. Walking from town to town, begging his food in the streets, sleeping in the woods, he hunted for men who were thought to be wise. He asked them questions. He also spent hours sitting alone in the shade of the forest thinking. He wondered about sickness and about dying, about what happens after dying and what happens before one is born.
So it came about after some years that this young man became wiser than those who tried to teach him. Even today, after two thousand five hundred years, the name of this man is honored every day by millions of people.
But he is not called by the name that his father gave him. He is called the Buddha. This name means "the man with a light." But the Light that Buddha had was no ordinary light such as the light of a lamp. His Light was for the heart and for the mind. His Light is not the kind that eyes can see. Nor is his Light the kind that burns the fingers.
Buddha’s Light you can feel only with your heart when you know you are at peace with yourself. Buddha’s Light is the Light of Truth.
Also see Buddha’s Teachings
Faith is the Gift of God
Four hundred years ago, there was a little country tucked in among the high mountains of Hungary called Transylvania, or "The Land Through the Forest." The King of that land was John Sigismund. Crowned king when he was only 21 years old, he was already brave and thoughtful–and he needed to be, for he and his little country had some big troubles.
King John’s father died of an illness when King John was a baby, so he had to make his way without a father to guide him. As a boy, John was never very strong or healthy; he often felt dizzy and weak or had a stomach ache, but he did not give in to these feelings any more than he could help. He learned to play all the sports that other young men at his court enjoyed, such as sword fighting, horseback riding and deer bunting in the forest.
King John’s country was right next to two large, powerful countries that fought with each other a lot. King John worried because he did not want his little country to get into their quarrel. But even worse than that–King John’s own people often fought each other in "The Land Through the Forest." They fought because they belonged to four different kinds of churches. The churches were Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, and Unitarian. The people in each church said, "Our ideas about God, and Jesus, and what a church should be like, are the only true ideas." "Everyone," they thought, "should believe what our church tells them to believe." People only wanted to believe in the teachings of their own church.
Sometimes the people fought with words– arguing and saying bad things about each other, whether they were true or not. Other times, the church that had members in government fought by taking people’s jobs away, or people’s money. Often people were put in prison or even put to death. When times were at their worst, people even tried to kill King John himself, because they hoped a new king might make their church the one, true church. Actually, this kind of fighting about churches happened in a lot of countries in that part of the world. King John thought for a long time and then he made a decision. He called the best speaker from each church to come to a place called Torda for a debate instead of a fight. A debate is an argument with rules: each person takes a turn to speak about his or her ideas. There is no quarreling because only one person speaks at a time. A judge decides who has the best ideas. The debate began each day at five in the morning and it lasted 10 days.
The speaker from the Unitarian church was a man named Francis David. He argued that no one has the right to force people to believe anything about God.
After 10 days, King John ordered the debate to end. But he did not announce a winner; he did not say that any of the four churches was the best. This probably surprised many people. King John did listen to the argument of Francis David though, that no one should be forced to believe in any religion but should be able to choose for himself or herself. Then, King John made an important announcement that was called the Edict of Torda. The edict told the people that from that time on, his subjects could debate about their ideas of religion, but they must not fight, punish, or kill each other about religion. Every church and every person would be free to follow their own beliefs. This was a new and strange idea for those times, and many people were angry with King John for this law, but he stuck to it. Unitarians especially remember King John, because his law made it safe for them to be Unitarians.
Make-Your-Own Prayer Bead Bracelets
These hand-made bracelets will help you to remember some of the good things you can pray about. They’re easy and fun to create and make cool family gifts!
One Saturday night we invited all the families in our church to come to the church hall and make prayer beads. We gave everyone four lumps of polymer clay (we used Sculpy but you could use other brands like Fimo) in four different colors:
We used red, a happy color, for the thankful bead, because we are Thankful for things that make us feel happy and loved.
We used yellow, a bright color, for the Hopeful bead, because things look bright and sunny when we’re Hopeful.
We used green, the color of growing things, for the improve bead, because when we Improve, we grow.
We used Blue, the color that people use to describe a sad mood, for the Sorry bead because we are sad or blue when we’re Sorry.
We also had clay in lots of other colors so people could decorate their beads with stripes, dots, stars, or whatever. Finally, everyone poked a small hole down the middle of each bead with a thin wooden skewer so we could put string through the beads. These hand-made bracelets will help you to remember some of the good things you can pray about. They’re easy & fun to create and make cool family gifts!
After we had all made our beads, we baked them according to the directions, put silk cord through them, and tied them around our wrists for prayer bracelets. I’11 bet there were lots of bedtime prayers that night!
What do I say when someone asks me, “What do UUs believe?”
Goal:
To help kids learn how to respond to questions about Unitarian Universalism.
Materials:
The Unitarian Universalist Principles and Purposes in Simplified Language printout
Story: “Stefania’s Story"
What Am I? printout
Activities:
Show the simplified version of the UU Principles.
Read Stefania’s Story.
Discuss:
Was Stefania’s decision difficult? Why? What do you think happened next?
Have you ever been in a similar situation? What was your decision? Was it hard or easy?
What principle (or principles) does Stefania’s story fit?
Read the following situations, or present them in your own words. Invite responses. Discuss the different choices in each situation. Affirm your kids positive and confident responses and their search for their own answers.
You and your friends are sitting on the beach after a swim, talking a Sunday school. Someone says, “I know that Jesus was God.” You could: say nothing, say “No, he wasn’t,” or ________________________________.
Someone says to you that the world began the way it says in the Bible. You could: get mad and say they don’t know what they’re talking about; say, “I guess so”; or _________________________.
You and a classmate are walking home from school. The classmate says that going to church every Sunday is the most important thing about religion. You could: agree; say, “That’s silly!”; or __________________.
As you walk home from school you and your friend pass his church. He says “That’s my church, The Church of Our Savior. What’s yours?” You tell him____________. Your friend says, “Oh, I know about your church. My father says you don’t believe in anything.” You could: yell, “Oh yes we do,” and run off; say “I guess we don’t”; or _______________________________.
You and a friend walk by your church on the way home from school. You tell her that it is your church and give its name. She says she goes to Emmanuel Baptist. She asks you what your church is like and what you believe. You could: say, “I don’t really know what we believe,” say, “We have good parties at our church;” or _________________________________.
