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?
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.
What are some other famous things in the Bible?
Goal:
To learn some of the famous sayings of Jesus. To learn the “golden rule” in six different world religions.
Materials:
Make copies of “The Golden Rule in Six World Religions” Page 1 and Page 2
Bibles
Introduction:
Many of the beliefs and practices of Unitarian Universalists come from Jesus’ ideas about the best way to live and treat each other. The expressions in this lesson will be ones your children will hear over and over in their lives. Familiarize them with the meaning behind these famous sayings and help them apply it to their own lives.
Activities:
1. Read each saying. Find it in the Bible: The first word in parentheses is the name of the book in which the quote is found, followed by the chapter number, then the verses, or exact line numbers. (The expression to read something “chapter and verse” itself comes from reading the Bible.) Discuss the questions that follow each famous saying.
2. Make a Golden Rule Poster
First, find the “Golden Rule” in the Bible. (Matthew 7: 12) Then, distribute copies of The Golden Rule in Six World Religions. Color the religious symbols, then cut out the squares and put them together in any design you would like to make a Golden Rule poster.
3. See What is the Golden Rule? from the Early Childhood section
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.
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
If I Were a Founder…
If I were helping to found a religious group with others whom I like to be with,
I would want us to celebrate or honor . . .
I would want us to meet . . . (where?)
When? (day of the week, frequency?)
Two things we would do are …
Something we would never do is …
The most important thing about us would be …
Free to Believe
"Hey Dad," called Raychel," is it okay if I go over to Heather’s house for dinner tonight?"
"Didn’t you go over there twice already this week, honey?"
"But tonight is special. There’s a meeting of a club from Heather’s church called the Handmaidens. She asked me to join. They play games and go on camping trips and they do good stuff like helping poor people. She said there are some things club members have to believe and some things they have to promise to do-but it’s no big deal. I think it sounds cool."
"Wait a minute here, my dear," Raychel’s dad liked rhyming words when he could. "What church is Handmaidens connected to? You already have a church."
"I don’t know much about the church," said Raychel, "All I know is that they have a girls’ group called the Handmaidens and a boys’ group called the Soldiers. Heather’s brother, John Peter, has asked Tony to join that one. Sometimes the two groups do things together. It sounds really neat."
"I think we should know more about what you are supposed to believe and what you are supposed to do to be a member of this club before you decide to join," said her dad.
"But Dad," argued Raychel, "We’re Unitarian Universalists. Didn’t you tell us we’re free to believe anything we want? What if I decide to believe the things the Handmaidens believe? That’s okay isn’t it?"
"It might be okay, but only after you have done a lot of hard thinking about it. Unitarian Universalists don’t just believe anything. We ask lots of questions and make sure that the beliefs –and the things people do because of them — are things that make this world a better place," explained Raychel’s dad.
"Tell you what though, you go to your friend’s tonight and tomorrow we’ll all talk about it. Then, if you still want to, you can join them."
The next day, Tony and his parents joined Raychel’s family for dinner. At the dinner table, as usual, everybody was talking at once. Raychel’s dad, Val, stood up and banged his spoon on the table to get everyone’s attention. In a big, booming voice he said, "Hear ye, hear ye, the dining table will come to order.
"Raychel Morgan, will you tell us about your visit to the Handmaidens?"
"It was boring," sighed Raychel. "First they read from the Bible, and everyone recited the Handmaiden’s Creed, which was all about obedience to authority and the leaders — whoever they are. Then we played a game with words from the Bible. Heather’s mother talked to us about how important it was to be a Handmaiden and how we had to try and get more kids to be Handmaidens so more people would get the message and be saved. I wanted to ask, "What message?" and, "Saved from what?" but nobody else was asking questions. Anyway, I didn’t like it."
"Sounds a little different from our church," said Raychel’s dad.
"It was really different from our church and our youth group," Raychel continued. "But when they asked me about our church I couldn’t think of anything to say. They knew exactly what to say about their church and what they believed. But what do UUs believe?"
"Raychel has asked a very important question," said her dad, "Can anyone here sitting give answer to that question?" He was having fun talking like a real judge.
"Well, what about the words we say at the beginning of church," Tony offered, "you know" love is the doctrine of this church, the quest of truth is its sacrament and service is its prayer…?"
"I can say the words, but I don’t get what they mean," said Raychel.
"Those words are a perfect place to begin," said Raychel’s father. "We believe that love is the strongest power in the world–stronger than hate and stronger than fear. I like to call this power God, because that’s the best word I know for a power that is so much bigger and stronger than any person. Your mom doesn’t like to use the word God, because it makes her think of an old man sitting up on a cloud. But even though she doesn’t use the same word to describe this power of love, she believes in it the same way I do. And ‘doctrine’ simply means something that is taught. So the first line means that we teach love."
"What about the next line, ‘the quest for truth is its sacrament?’ What does that mean?" asked Raychel.
"Well," continued Raychel’s dad, "a sacrament is an object or an act that is considered very, very special in a religion. Other words used to describe these things are ‘sacred’ or ‘holy.’ A quest is a journey to find something. So the second line means that we consider searching for truth to be a very special and important part of our religion. And to us, searching for truth means more than never telling a lie."
"Like what?" asked Raychel, getting confused again.
"For one thing, it means that what might be true for us today might not be true tomorrow if we learn something new."
"You mean like when people used to think the world was flat until someone noticed it was really round?" asked Tony.
"Or that only birds could fly until someone invented an airplane?" added Raychel.
"That’s it," answered Raychel’s dad.
"Or that someone named God invented the world in seven days even though the study of science has given us different facts to believe," added Raychel’s mom. "You see, some people believe that God told the truth many years ago to men who then wrote it down in a book like the Hebrew or Christian Bible or the Islamic holy book, the Koran. They believe that this one truth is the only truth they need to know to live a good life. So they don’t question it."
"Other people, like Unitarian Universalists," she continued, "keep asking questions because we believe there is always more to know, always new ways of thinking and acting that can make the world a better place."
"So what does ‘and service is our prayer’ mean?" asked Raychel, "How can service be a prayer?"
"Most Unitarian Universalists believe words alone aren’t enough. We have to work to make a better world, not just talk about it," said Raychel’s mom.
And for a moment, strange as it seems, everybody in this noisy wonderful family was quiet.
"So," said Raychel’s dad, "what do you think?"
"I think Unitarian Universalism is a hard religion to explain," answered Raychel. "But from now on, when I’m asked, I’m going to say, "we believe in love, we believe in searching for truth, and we believe in making the world a better place."
"I think that’s a very good answer Raychel," said her dad. "It says a lot about how we think in just a few words. And in this family, anything said in just a few words is amazing indeed!
"So, Raychel. Do you think you’ll be joining the Handmaidens next week?"
"Well, dad," said Raychel, "I think I ask too many questions to make a good handmaiden."
Why do we have funerals?
Goal:
To better understand the reason for death rituals.
Preparation:
1. Locate one of the following books in your local library:
• The Happy Funeral by Eve Bunting
• Grandpa’s Slide Show by Deborah Gould
• Saying Good-bye to Grandma by Jane Resh Thomas
2. Read background information from Lessons of Loss on different religious and cultural beliefs and practices regarding the afterlife and rituals for mourning, including a section on UU beliefs and theology.
Activities:
• Read your selected book.
• Use the questions below to stimulate discussion.
• Summarize by saying that many people find it difficult to accept the reality of a death, especially when the deceased is much beloved and significant in the mourner’s life. However, death rituals, such as wakes, funerals, and sitting Shiva (a Jewish tradition), help to make the death more real and to enable the mourner to adjust to a world in which the deceased is physically not present. Use material from the background information as appropriate to your situation.
Questions for discussion:
The Happy Funeral
• How does Laura’s family prepare for the funeral?
• What happens at the funeral home?
• How does Laura feel as she attends her grandfather’s funeral?
• What rituals are included in the funeral?
• What do you think the family gains from holding a funeral?
Grandpa’s Slide Show
• Why do people bring food to the house after Grandpa dies?
• Why does Dad say that at the funeral, “we’ll need to act calm”? What happens there? How do people react?
• What happens after the funeral?
• What do Sam and Douglas learn about attending a funeral?
Saying Good-bye to Grandma
• How did Suzie feel about seeing her grandmother’s body at the wake? What was it like when she got there?
• What happened during the funeral?
• Where did Suzie and her family go after the funeral service?
• Why did everyone go back to the church for dinner?
• How do you think Suzie felt at the end of the day? Do you think she was glad she went to the funeral? Why or why not?
Guided Mediation
10 minutes
Invite participants into a guided mediation. Begin by asking them to find a comfortable position either sitting with a straight spine on a cushion or lying on the rug on the floor. Ask them to close their eyes and take a couple of long, slow, deep breaths. Continue by saying something like the following guiding words from On the Path by Wayne Arnason: "Now I’d like you to take a cleansing breath by first exhaling all of your discouragements and disappointments of this past week, breathing them out as you exhale…And now slowly inhale hope and vision…And now take another cleansing breath by exhaling pain and sadness…And now exhale tension and frustration…And inhale relaxation and peace." (Pause for 10 seconds).
"Now let come into your awareness one of your favorite places in nature, a place that you visit on a regular basis, perhaps in your backyard or in a nearby park or woods or near your congregation. A place nearby that is special to you, where you can feel a sense of peace…Now let your imagination take you to that place." (Pause for 20 seconds.)
"Find a comfortable spot to sit in this place…And experience the energy of this place…Feel your inner self becoming quiet, calm…As you sit, feel yourself connecting with the essence of this place, its own inner energy…Feel how this energy can help to hold you, to heal you, to nurture you." (Pause for 20 seconds.)
"Now invite yourself to communicate with the essence of this special place. You may imagine this essence of energy taking on a form, or you may wish to experience it in a more general way…Let the essence become very real to you…Now express your gratitude to this essence for helping to nurture you…Ask this essence how it would like to be treated…Ask if it has a message for you. Be still within and listen for an answer." (Pause for 30 seconds.)
"Now feel your sense of gratitude for having this special place available to you." (Pause for 10 seconds.)
"And when you are ready, bring your awareness back to this room and open your eyes."
When all participants have opened their eyes, gather in a circle and invite them to share how they experienced the guided mediation.
