Contents Welcome 2 Calendar Connections 3 Stories for all Ages 4 Other Elements for All Ages 6 Book Recommendations 8 Honoring UU Identity 11 Chapel 13

Sessions for Preschool and Kindergarten Session 1. Learning from Water; How to Navigate 14 Expectations that Push and Pull at Us Session 2. Expecting New Beginnings 18 Session 3. The Magic of Being Set Free from 21 Expectations Session 4. Expecting Change 23 Session 5. Expecting Pressure from Others 27

Sessions for 1st - 5th Grade Session 1. Learning from Water; How to Navigate 31 Expectations that Push and Pull at Us Session 2. Expecting New Beginnings 34 Session 3. The Magic of Being Set Free from 39 Expectations Session 4. Expecting Change 42 Session 5. Expecting Pressure from Others 46

Youth Resources Session 1. Learning from Water; How to Navigate 50 Expectations that Push and Pull at Us Session 2. Expecting New Beginnings 53 Session 3. The Magic of Being Set Free from 56 Expectations Session 4. Expecting Change 59 Session 5. Expecting Pressure from Others 63

Family and Parent Resources 67 Opportunities for Support and Connection 70 Online Zoom Labs RE Leader FB Page Pinterest Page Inspiration FB Page Spotify Playlist Related Resources from Katie Covey 72

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Welcome Welcome to a new year of Soul Matters! There’s no better way to kick things off than with September’s theme of “What Does It Mean to be a People of Expectation?” Here’s the list of all the ways we are inviting you to explore “Being a People of Expectation:” Session 1. Learning from Water; How to Navigate Expectations that Push and Pull at Us Session 2. Expecting New Beginnings (First Day of School, Covenants, Room Set Up) Session 3. The Magic of Being Set Free from Expectations (Magic) Session 4. Expecting Change (Ongoing Revelation like a growing plant, not a holy grail) Session 5. Expecting Pressure from Others’ Expectations (Finding our Patronus, our true inner self)

This month, I’m grateful for the way preparing this packet has deepened my own journey with expectation. I hope you find the same gift. I especially loved exploring the connection between expectation and the UU idea of Ongoing Revelation, the belief that we should expect our truths to change and grow. When we were first dating, my Presbyterian (now) husband was astounded to find out that UU’s expect to change as we seek our truth. Quite different from the Nicene Creed! And I am so grateful that we are engaged in the culture change promoting anti-racism, anti-oppression and multiculturalism. In addition, in my first position as a Director of Religious Education, in 1984, I was honored to serve a congregation with Rev. Walter Royal Jones, Jr., the chair of the national committee which crafted the current wording of our Principles and Sources. “Roy,” as he was known, loved words, and I hear echoes of his love in the Principles and Sources rhythms. And I recognize that faithfulness to Ongoing Revelation means that we should expect those words to change. We’ve already added the Sixth Source, in 1995. Currently, we are in discussion about adding an 8th Principle, as urged by the Black Lives UU Organizing Collective. And I believe there’s room for a 7th Source - that of our own UU History and Heritage. What a delight to participate in a faith in which we expect change! Finally, I loved finding the connection between magic and expecting (and embracing) confusion. One of the ways magic works is to surprise our expectations and confuse us. That quarter shouldn't come out of an ear, that card shouldn’t disappear! It confounds us, delights us and opens us to expect the unexpected in our regular lives. There’s also a “Selective Attention Test” in the Youth Session #3 which I invite you to try. The answer is at the end of the session. Can’t say anymore until you take the test! In this spirit of being wonderfully surprised, I hope this entire packet leads you and the children you companion to expand your expectations of life, yourself and others in so many wonderful ways this month!

Katie, on behalf of the entire Soul Matters Team DRE for Soul Matters [email protected]

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Calendar Connections

September 2019 - Expectation

Click on the name on each event for more information or inspiration.

Interfaith: • Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year - Sept. 29 - Oct. 1 • Al-Hijra/Muharram - Islamic New Year (day and month) - begins Aug. 31 - Sept. 28 • Mabon/Autumn Equinox - Wicca - Sept. 22 (more here) • Rumi’s birthday - Sept. 30

Unitarian Universalist:

• Ingathering/Water Communion Ritual - Early Sept. - date varies by congregation • The first meeting of the Transcendentalist Club - Sept. 19 (1836) (more here and here) • “Universalism Day”: John Murray preaches first sermon in US (1770) - Sept. 30

National & Cultural: • Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15) • Suicide Prevention Month, World Suicide Prevention Day is Sept. 10 • Labor Day – Sept. 04 (*first Monday) • International Literacy Day - Sept. 08 • Grandparents Day - Sept. 10 • 9-11 Remembrance - Sept. 11 • International Peace Day Sept. 21 (more here) • World Gratitude Day - Sept. 21

For Fun and On the Fringe: • Johnny Appleseed Day - Sept. 26 • Talk Like a Pirate Day - Sept. 19 • Hobbit Day - Sept. 22 • Banned Books Week - Sept.23-29 (more here) • “Battle of the Sexes” Tennis Match - Sept. 20 (1973)

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Stories for All Ages These are “tellable” tales without pictures. See “Book Recommendations” for picture books to read. And don’t forget other elements for all ages, listed in the next section, such as personal sharings and this month, magic tricks!

The Strong Man Who Cried, in Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible by Marc Gellman (Author), Oscar de Mejo (Illustrator) https://www.amazon.com/Does-God-Have-Big- Toe/dp/0064404536/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Does+God+have+a+Big+Toe&qid=1560948520&s=gateway&sr=8-1 An excellent collection of Midrash tales from Jewish tradition. This is not a picture book, but mine it for stories to tell. This story for expectation is based on Gen 29:9-11. Theme Message: Jacob and Rachel both didn't fit expectations, then they met and decided they were okay with that.

The Van Gogh Cafe (any of the stories) by Cynthia Rylant (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Van-Gogh-Cafe-Cynthia-Rylant/dp/0152057501 “At the Van Gogh Cafe, anything can happen. Clara's dad owns the cafe, and she's seen it all--from food that cooks by itself to poems that foretell the future. This award-winning collection of vignettes by Newbery medalist Cynthia Rylant is a treat to be relished. So bring your appetite for the unexpected, because at the Van Gogh Cafe, your order of tea and toast comes with a side of magic!” - Amazon Not a picture book. Theme Message: Magic is about making unexpected connections. How can we create the magic of unexpected connections happen in our own lives?

The Hungry Coat Video: https://www.questformeaning.org/family-quest/the-hungry-coat-2/ Story: https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/tales/session6/123344.shtml

From Tapestry of Faith, Moral Tales, Welcome, One and All Book: The Hungry Coat: A Tale from Turkey by Demi (Author, Illustrator) https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Coat-Tale- Turkey/dp/0689846800/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1VHVD9M9ECEOH&keywords=the+hungry+coat+by+demi&qid=1560958 825&s=books&sprefix=The+Hungry+Coat+by%2Cstripbooks%2C156&sr=1-1 “Once upon a time in Turkey there lived a funny, little wise man named Nasrettin Hoca. He wore a huge, white turban and a worn-out coat made of patches upon patches. Riding about on his little gray donkey, he liked to help whomever he could. ... But when he is suddenly ignored at a friend's banquet, he realizes it is his patchwork coat that is turning people away from him. He leaves the party and returns later, wearing a brand-new coat. Now Nasrettin is warmly welcomed. But instead of eating the delicious foods placed before him, he feeds them to his coat...” - Amazon Theme Message: You might expect a certain behavior based on appearances, but the lesson here is not to judge by appearances. The expectations and assumptions that arise from appearance deceive and divide us.

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Water Not Wine from Doorways to the Soul: 52 Wisdom Tales from Around the World by Elisa Davy Pearmain (Editor) https://www.amazon.com/Doorways-Soul-Wisdom-Tales- Around/dp/1556357400/ref=sr_1_1?crid=KAXYJ9CUK1BK&keywords=doorways+to+the+soul&qid=1560959951&s =gateway&sprefix=Doorway+to+the+Soul%2Caps%2C176&sr=8-1 This collection of wisdom tales is highly recommended for your bookshelf! These are “telling tales” without pictures. Theme Message: The importance of acting on expectations.

The Saucer and the Cat https://philipchircop.wordpress.com/2018/03/24/the-saucer-and-the-cats/ “A famous art collector is walking through a small town when he notices a cat lapping milk from a saucer in the doorway of a store. He does a double take, recognizing that the saucer is extremely old and very valuable. Thinking quickly he walks casually into the store and offers to buy the cat for two dollars…” - from the story Theme Message: Sometimes we think something will turn out a certain way, and it doesn’t. We have our expectations foiled. And so we have to live with it and learn from the lesson.

The Ugly Duckling Original online by Hans Christian Anderson http://read.gov/books/pageturner/ugly_duckling/#page/4/mode/2up If you are like us, you like to use the original story as a foundation to capture the sense of it. Craft this online version from the Library of Congress to create your tale for the telling. Theme Message: When we expect one thing, a duck, and get another thing, a swan, we can be confused by what we expect and not see the real true identity.

The Empty Pot by Demi (Author) Online from Tapestry of Faith, Creating Home: https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/home/session13/60162.shtml “The Empty Pot is Demi's beloved picture book about an honest schoolboy. A long time ago in China there was a boy named Ping who loved flowers. Anything he planted burst into bloom. The Emperor loved flowers too. When it was time to choose an heir, he gave a flower seed to each child in the kingdom. "Whoever can show me their best in a year's time," he proclaimed, "shall succeed me to the throne!" Ping plants his seed and tends it every day. But month after month passes, and nothing grows. When spring comes, Ping must go to the Emperor with nothing but an empty pot. Demi's exquisite art and beautifully simple text show how Ping's embarrassing failure is turned triumphant in this satisfying tale of honesty rewarded.” - Amazon Theme Message: We all feel the pressure of trying to meet expectations. But it is better to be honest.

Water Communion Stories, Songs, even a Reminder Poster Search the UU Religious Educators Facebook page for “Water” and check out the suggestions for stories, songs and even Robin Slaw’s beautiful reminder graphic she shared. See especially Gregory Boyd’s ‘Water Communion for 3 Voices,” Tim Atkins’ “A Drop’s Journey,” and Joy Berry’s “Dog at the Well.” This is a closed group, but if you are a religious educator, you simply request to be added. It is a great resource!

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Other Elements for All Ages “For All Ages” doesn’t always have to be a story.

Magic Tricks - Confounding our Expectations! Find someone who can perform magic tricks. Share how magic is tricking what we expect to happen. A quarter shouldn’t burst from your ear. A card shouldn’t disappear! If you are brave there are a few very simple tricks you or someone might learn here. Theme Message: Magic confounds our expectations. You expect to see nothing and then out comes a rabbit from a hat! Having our expectations radically upended helps us loosen our everyday expectations a little bit, allowing us to question all the things and people we expect to “never change” or “never get better.”

A Sharing from someone who is “expecting” Invite an expectant parent from your congregation to share a story from their experience of waiting and expecting. Include expectant adoptive parents. Theme Message: New beginnings are times when we don’t know what to expect. Who will this new person be? What will they be like? Those of us in times of expecting learn patience with the unfolding of the unknown.

Expecting a Rainstorm From Tapestry of Faith, Deep Fun, https://www.uua.org/youth/library/deepfun/bond-building Explain that you are going to start a repetitive motion and that it will travel around the room to the right until it comes back to you, at which point you will start another motion. Tell the members not to change what they are doing until the person on their left has changed. The order of the motions is: rubbing hands together rubbing hands on thighs snapping fingers clapping hands stomping feet and clapping hands Once you reach #5, repeat the motions in descending order. The last motion to be passed around is stillness and silence. This works well in worship if you omit the explanation and see if everyone can pick up on what is happening and follow along. Theme Message: Rain is one way illustrating the fluidity of water. Sometimes it is soft and gentle, sometimes it is pounding and hard. Water reminds us that we can expect change and need to stay fluid in our lives as our expectations change.

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Song for All Ages Hymns and songs that can be used as a Story for All Ages. Here’s a way to invite the music people into multigenerational worship. Ask them to offer the Song for All Ages with you or instead of the minister lay leader or religious educator.

STLT #396 I Know This Rose Will Open Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxXxcM72ctY Commentary and origin of the song: http://farfringe.com/stlt396-i-know-this-rose-will-open/ “I Know This Rose is the answer to my invitation (to the deep Self). The way I hear/feel it, I am the rose; opening is in my nature. Even when it comes time to let go of this body practice, I know this rose will open. And although I may feel afraid of the changes, afraid of the unknown I can’t control, afraid of allowing the ego to follow the calling of something deeper, I know those fears will burn away (in the fire of transformation, this very physical practice of loving and living and letting go). And as my fear burns away, I know, I trust that the wings of my heart, my soul, will unfurl their (my) wings. Yes, I know this rose will open. I am the rose. We are all the rose. Opening.” Theme Message: Calling us to be a people of expectation and expect the opening, the fear, and the transformation.

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Book Recommendations

Two Bad Ants By Chris Van Allsburg (author, illustrator) https://www.amazon.com/Two-Bad-Ants-Chris- Allsburg/dp/0395486688/ref=sr_1_1?crid=31PFLJZLB56NX&keywords=two+bad+ants+by+chris+van+allsburg&qid= 1560948895&s=gateway&sprefix=Two+Bad+Ants%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1 Hair raising adventures in a kitchen from the ant’s point of view. Amazing illustrations for projecting. Theme Message: The ants did not know what to expect when they ventured outside of their little world. There were unexpected consequences to their choice. We learn that there are unexpected consequences to our choices, too.

10,000 Dresses by Marcus Ewert (Author), Rex Ray (Illustrator) https://www.amazon.com/10-000-Dresses-Marcus- Ewert/dp/1583228500/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1M3IQAFZWJ022&keywords=10%2C000+dresses&qid=1560957707&s=bo oks&sprefix=10%2C000%2Cstripbooks%2C168&sr=1-1 “Every night, Bailey dreams about magical dresses: dresses made of crystals and rainbows, dresses made of flowers, dresses made of windows. . . . Unfortunately, when Bailey's awake, no one wants to hear about these beautiful dreams. Quite the contrary. "You're a BOY!" Mother and Father tell Bailey. "You shouldn't be thinking about dresses at all." Then Bailey meets Laurel, an older girl who is touched and inspired by Bailey's imagination and courage. In friendship, the two of them begin making dresses together. And Bailey's dreams come true!” - Amazon Theme Message: Sometimes we have to defy the expectations (gender) laid upon us to be true to our own selves.

Amazing Grace (also suggested for First - Fifth Grades Session 3) by Mary Hoffman (Author), Caroline Binch (Illustrator) Book: https://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Grace-Grace-picture-Books- Hoffman/dp/0803710402/ref=sr_1_1?crid=23RPZNVEMMQ43&keywords=amazing+grace+by+mary+hoffman&qid =1560957950&s=books&sprefix=Amazing+Grace%2Cstripbooks%2C172&sr=1-1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMHkU2Cdxl0 “Grace loves stories, whether they're from books, movies, or the kind her grandmother tells. So when she gets a chance to play a part in Peter Pan, she knows exactly who she wants to be…” - Amazon Theme Message: Defying expectations (for being female and Black) to be Peter Pan. There is a pressure to be as expected, which we can resist.

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The Hungry Coat Video: https://www.questformeaning.org/family-quest/the-hungry-coat-2/ Story: https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/tales/session6/123344.shtml

From Tapestry of Faith, Moral Tales, Welcome, One and All Book: The Hungry Coat: A Tale from Turkey by Demi (Author, Illustrator) https://www.amazon.com/Hungry-Coat-Tale- Turkey/dp/0689846800/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1VHVD9M9ECEOH&keywords=the+hungry+coat+by+demi&qid=1560958 825&s=books&sprefix=The+Hungry+Coat+by%2Cstripbooks%2C156&sr=1-1 “Once upon a time in Turkey there lived a funny, little wise man named Nasrettin Hoca. He wore a huge, white turban and a worn-out coat made of patches upon patches. Riding about on his little gray donkey, he liked to help whomever he could. A friend to all, Nasrettin is a popular figure. But when he is suddenly ignored at a friend's banquet, he realizes it is his patchwork coat that is turning people away from him. He leaves the party and returns later, wearing a brand-new coat. Now Nasrettin is warmly welcomed. But instead of eating the delicious foods placed before him, he feeds them to his coat! How Nasrettin Hoca teaches his friends a lesson about appearances is the heart of this hilarious and clever story. With good humor and luminous illustrations inspired by traditional Turkish paintings, Demi brings to life Turkey's most famous folk hero and imparts a timeless tale with a moral that will resonate with readers everywhere.” - Amazon Theme Message: You might expect a certain behavior based on how a person looks, but the lesson here is not to judge by appearances.

The Empty Pot by Demi (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Empty-Pot- Demi/dp/0805049002/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1HSC1W4AAHB7J&keywords=the+empty+pot+by+demi&qid=1560959222 &s=books&sprefix=The+Empty%2Cstripbooks%2C159&sr=1-1 Online from Tapestry of Faith: https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/children/home/session13/60162.shtml “The Empty Pot is Demi's beloved picture book about an honest schoolboy. A long time ago in China there was a boy named Ping who loved flowers. Anything he planted burst into bloom. The Emperor loved flowers too. When it was time to choose an heir, he gave a flower seed to each child in the kingdom. "Whoever can show me their best in a year's time," he proclaimed, "shall succeed me to the throne!" Ping plants his seed and tends it every day. But month after month passes, and nothing grows. When spring comes, Ping must go to the Emperor with nothing but an empty pot. Demi’s exquisite art and beautifully simple text show how Ping's embarrassing failure is turned triumphant in this satisfying tale of honesty rewarded.” - Amazon Theme Message: We all feel the pressure of trying to meet expectations. But it is better to be honest.

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The Ugly Duckling (Caldecott Honor Book) by Hans Christian Andersen (Author), Jerry Pinkney (Illustrator) https://www.amazon.com/Ugly-Duckling-Caldecott-Honor-Book/dp/068815932X “For over one hundred years The Ugly Duckling has been a childhood favorite, and Jerry Pinkney's spectacular adaptation brings it triumphantly to new generations of readers. With keen emotion and fresh vision, the acclaimed artist captures the essence of the tale's timeless appeal: The journey of the awkward little bird—marching bravely through hecklers, hunters, and cruel seasons—is an unforgettable survival story; this blooming into a graceful swan is a reminder of the patience often necessary to discover true happiness.” - Amazon Theme Message: When we expect one thing, a duck, and get another thing, a swan, we can be confused by what we expect and not see the real true identity.

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Honoring UU Identity Each month we highlight history, wisdom tales and liturgy that are widely embraced among UU congregations and have a connection to the theme. It’s an effort to lift up how the theme shows up in our UU identity and culture. We also include resources which are becoming more widely embraced because they are helping us change and grow our UU culture. Ultimately, the centerpiece of our UU identity is the willingness to evolve, question and expand our UU identity.

I. UU History & Historical Figures

The Original Water Communion Who expected that this would become a beloved tradition for so many congregations? Proof positive that ours is a living tradition of ongoing revelation. We can expect and savor the change. “In 1980, two Unitarian Universalist women—Carolyn McDade and Lucile Schuck Longview—were asked to create a worship service for the Women and Religion Continental Convocation of Unitarian Universalists. As they shaped that service, McDade and Longview wanted to create a new ritual “that spoke to our connectedness to one another, to the totality of life, and to our place on this planet.” They included a new, inclusive symbol of women’s spirituality: water…” https://www.uua.org/worship/holidays/water- communion/original-water-ritual

Annie B. Jordan Willis (1893 - 1977) and the History of the Universalist Mission School, Suffolk, VA As a way of honestly addressing the ways we UUs have fallen short of our expectations and ideals, UU’s remember the sad and hard tale of a school of hope which was dashed, by not listening to the African- American woman who was its principal. At first, Miss Annie and her father expected the Universalists to be helpful, based on the belief in a loving God, but then the ugliness of racism overcame the beliefs and the white board of Universalists closed the school. “...In 1917, responsibility for the school in Suffolk passed to the Universalist General Sunday School Association. The Sunday School Association promised to raise enough money for the mission. In return, the school would provide materials to Universalist Sunday Schools to help white children learn respect for African American culture and accomplishments. The relationship between the two organizations went well for a number of years. Meanwhile, Miss Annie married Richard L. Willis and had a daughter. When her father died in 1920, he left the school in her hands. It was a wise decision to make Miss Annie the school’s principal. She believed in the worth of every child and wanted to use education to lift up the entire community. And she did. The Depression years were difficult for the Suffolk Mission; families lost jobs and there was terrible hardship. Annie found a way to make sure her school children had at least one good meal a day. Universalist Sunday Schools up North sent clothing, toys, and school supplies in big boxes that were eagerly received by the community. Suffolk schoolchildren climbed trees to cut mistletoe to sell to

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northerners at Christmastime and sold tickets to an end of year show that was brought the whole community together. In 1938, the white and predominantly male Universalist leadership decided to change things at the Suffolk school without even discussing it with Miss Annie. Because she had no other source of funds, they forced her to go along with their plans. She was to give up the teaching she loved and to offer social services rather than education…” Read more at the UU Teach In2 Resources: Black UU Ancestors 4 Stories at https://www.uuteachin.org/copy-of-teachin2-education-child-yo

Thomas Potter/John Murray story (Universalism Day is September 30th) https://www.uuworld.org/articles/john-murray-day https://www.uuworld.org/articles/john-murray-conversion Thomas Potter waited expectantly and faithfully for 10 years for a preacher who believed in a loving God. John Murray expected the winds to send him on his way, but instead he had to adjust to and trust the unexpected shifts in life’s weather.

Your Own Historical Figure Honor a member from your past who has contributed to your congregation being a people of expectation. Maybe it’s someone who helped your congregation to defy expectations of stagnation and grow. Maybe it is a group of people who regularly explored how the congregation should change. Maybe it was a person who helped create something no one thought would succeed. Perhaps it was leaders who expected the worst and found out something new. Maybe it was a social justice team that defied and challenged harmful societal expectations. The key is to deepen your congregation’s engagement with the monthly theme by identifying and celebrating someone from your church’s history who helped shape its identity as a community of expectation.

II. UU Wisdom Tales

Higgins: a Drop with a Dream From the UU Worship Web https://www.uua.org/worship/words/reading/higgins Theme Connection: “All this happened because Higgins had a dream and his dream came true. Because he knew that although he was just a drop in the bucket, enough drops in the bucket make a bucketful, and when there are enough buckets with the wind behind them, then justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." - from the story. Expect the best from others and you will get it. III. Beloved UU Liturgy

STLT#1 May Nothing Evil Cross This Door Theme Connection: “By faith made strong, the rafters will withstand the battering of the storm. This hearth, through all the world grow chilled, will keep you warm.” Expect to be sheltered.

STLT #396 I Know This Rose Will Open Theme Connection: “I know my fear will burn away.” Expect transformation.

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Chapel

This chapel template is for programs that want to use our story and meditation recommendations for their pre-session worships rather than in the sessions themselves. This template can also support smaller programs that are worship-centered plus a few activities. Just use our story and meditation recommendations to create a robust worship experience and then pick an activity or two from the session guides to complete your lesson plan.

Expectation Centerpiece Choose a color for a cloth, a chalice, an offering box, a way of sharing Joys and Sorrows (candles or rocks in water). For “How are we a people of Expectation?” • Cloth Color: Black for magic • Chalice: Silver • Items: A variety of objects representing Expectation from the sessions: o Growing plants o Magic props o A bowl of water, or fountain o A Moebius strip and Moebius hearts o A school bell or lunch box or other item representing school. Entering

Note: Post these and the following ritual words on the wall so that guests and newcomers can join in. When you offer Multigenerational services, offer these same words as a whole community of children, youth and adults. Invite the singing bowl. (Ring the bowl) “To this quiet place of beauty, we come from busy things Pausing for a moment for the thoughts that quiet brings.” Centering Music for Expectation

Celebration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lu41LulQos Children around the world sing this song. Expect good times this year! Chalice Lighting “We light this chalice for the warmth of love, the light of truth and the energy of action.” (or your own congregation’s words) Offering (optional) “We drop our coins in. We get back pride, to help other people feels good inside.”

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Sharing of Joys and Concerns “We listen to each other, it is a holy act To share our joys and sorrows, with grace it flows on back.” You may always say, “Pass.” If you wish to share, say your name, then light a candle or drop a rock in the water for your joy or concern. “For all the joys and concerns which remain unspoken, we light this candle/add this rock.” Meditation Pick a meditation from one of the sessions below. Story Pick a story from a session below or from the “For All Ages” section in this packet. Reflection Engage the children in a discussion of the message/ take away of your story. Extinguishing the Chalice We gather the warmth of love, the light of truth, and the energy of action into our hearts Back into the world of do and say Carry it forward into the dawning day. Go Now in Peace, Amen. Move your limbs to express the actions: gather using a cupping motion from the flame of the chalice to your heart, spread that outward again.

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Preschool and Kindergarten Sessions

Session 1 Learning from Water; How to Navigate Expectations that Push and Pull At Us The Practice of Learning from Water

Introduction Focus Question: What does water have to teach us about navigating the currents of life’s expectations? Practice: The skill and practice of being flexible. Session Goal: Learn something about ourselves by learning from water. Calendar Connections: Water Communion Wonder Box The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly.

What Does Water Have to Teach Us? Wonder Box prop: a small cup of water • What’s in the Wonder Box? A bit of water. • Can you stick your finger in gently? • Today we learn from water, as part of celebrating the UU ritual of Water Communion. • Water tells us to sometimes resist and sometimes flow. • We expect to hold on and let go as we live our life. • We need to learn to be flexible like water. • Here are ways water flows: o a waterfall, o a flooding river o the tip of a wave as it curls just before breaking o A brook running through the rocks • Here are ways water resists: o Ice on a pond o Drinking water to hold in your body when you are dehydrated. o A ripple in a still pool o A lake behind a dam

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Water Meditation Prep: cue up a video of water and water noise, such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkLRith2wcc. Or locate or make a simple water fountain (here) and (here.) It also helps to darken the room. Water sometimes holds on and sometimes lets go. We are going to meditate to the sound of water. The sound of water makes us feel like we are floating. You can lie down on the rug or sit and listen to my words. Let’s be very quiet and still. A beautiful waterfall of white light is flowing down on you. It flows down on your head, helping your head to relax. You feel your head relaxing. It moves down over your neck and shoulders. Your neck and shoulders are relaxing. Now it flows down over your arms. You feel your arms relaxing. It flows down your back. Your back is letting go and relaxing. It flows over your chest and stomach, helping your chest and stomach relax. You feel your chest and stomach relax. It moves down over your legs and feet. You feel your legs and feet letting go and relaxing. The beautiful waterfall of white light is flowing over your whole body. You are very peaceful and relaxed. From https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/meditate/water.htm (Pause for a moment) Now I invite you to take an imaginary journey: You are walking down a path and come to a pond of water. You look down and the water is a mirror reflecting you. (take a pause) You toss a pebble into the water and watch the ripples as they bump into one another, or merge together to become an even greater ripple. You walk further down the path and it arrives next to a river. The flow of the river is sometimes blocked by rocks and grasses. But the river flows around them. Feel how connected the water is with everything. Water teaches us to let go and hold on in a never- ending stream. Feel the letting go and holding on of the water. Gently say goodbye to the river, say goodbye to the path. When you are ready, take a deep breath, and sit up. What was in your water meditation? (turn down the water video, and then turn it off when sharing is complete.)

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Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas.

Bartholemew and the Oobleck By Dr. Seuss Book: https://www.amazon.com/Bartholomew-Oobleck-Caldecott-Honor- Classic/dp/0394800753/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2SB3V38GW3ZP4&keywords=bartholomew+and+the+oobleck+by+dr.+se uss&qid=1561165831&s=books&sprefix=Bartho%2Cstripbooks%2C166&sr=1-1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zIElmFb0gQ (condensed to 4 min.)

“In this Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, join Bartholomew Cubbins in Dr. Seuss’s classic tale of one king’s magical mishap...What he gets is a storm of sticky green globs called Oobleck, which soon causes a royal mess. But with the assistance of the wise page boy Bartholomew, the king...learns that the simplest words can sometimes solve the biggest problems. - Amazon Theme Connection: Oobleck is not what anyone expected. Instead of rain or snow, Oobleck came down in big green globs. No one expected the pageboy to have the solution.

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Activities

Oobleck From Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/deepfun/bond-building The perfect way to illustrate holding on (the oobleck hardens) and letting go ( the oobleck “melts.”) Materials: Cornstarch, water, food coloring, measuring cups and a large bowl. Measure out 1/4 cup of cornstarch for each person in the group. Add five tablespoons of water per 1/4 cup and mix. Add more water little by little until the concoction is malleable. Add some food coloring. This is some crazy stuff to make and play with. When you squeeze it, its dry and hard, but release it and it melts into a puddle. Dive in! Make sculptures and watch them melt. Talk about metaphors for life. Think of new names for the stuff.

Rainstorm From Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/deepfun/bond-building Darken the room. Have the group sit in a circle. Explain that you are going to start a repetitive motion and that it will travel around the circle to the right until it comes back to you, at which point you will start another motion. Tell the members not to change what they are doing until the person on their left has changed. The order of the motions is: rubbing hands together rubbing hands on thighs snapping fingers clapping hands stomping feet and clapping hands Once you reach #5, repeat the motions in descending order. The last motion to be passed around is stillness and silence. Theme Message: Rain is a metaphor for the fluidity of water. Sometimes it is soft and gentle, sometimes it is pounding and hard. Water reminds us that we can expect change and need to stay fluid in our lives as our expectations change.

“Sunshine” - experiences outdoors, in nature, or with movement Offer the Oobleck outside.

Service Scoop the Oobleck into Ziplock bags. Give a bag to your family, and to other people in the congregation.

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Session 2 Expect New Beginnings The Practice of Celebrating “Firsts.” Introduction Focus Question: How can we expect new beginnings? Practice: The skill of celebrating “first times.” Session Goal: Create a ritual to celebrate what the group can expect at the beginning of the year. Calendar Connections: The first day of school and Sunday School, New Year’s: Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year - Sept. 29 - Oct. 1; Al-Hijra/Muharram - Islamic New Year (day and month) - begins Aug. 31 - Sept. 28 Wonder Box The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly. Prop in the Wonder Box: a lunch bag • What is in the Wonder Box? • It’s a lunch sack. • It’s the start of school for many of us. • Who is starting Preschool or Kindergarten? • This month is a month exploring “Being a people of Expectation.” • Today’s wonder box is about expecting new beginnings, like a new school year. • It is also a new year for our siblings in the Jewish and Muslim faiths. • We don’t know what the new year will bring. • Anything can happen. We don’t know what to expect. • We can prepare our hearts and our minds to be open and welcoming to new experiences. Meditation for the First Day of School Let yourself relax. Take in a nice, slow, deep breath. And then let it out. Breathe in. And out. Deep. Slow. Breathing in. And breathing out. (Pause) And let your bodies relax. Let your muscles relax. Let your face relax. Let your mind relax. Whatever you’ve been carrying around with you all day that you don’t need right now, let it go. Let all of you— body, mind, and spirit—deeply and fully relax. Keep breathing. (Pause) Think about something that makes you happy. It might be a person or something you like to do. Send that feeling of happiness and joy into your heart. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness from your heart out to your family. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness from your heart and your family out to your friends. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness from your heart , your family and your friends to all the people in your school. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness to all the teachers. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness to all the people in your entire school. Take a deep breath. Hold that happiness for all in your heart for a few more moments. And then slowly, as you’re ready, come back to this room and open your eyes. Adapted from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sscbS74nQXQ Soul Matters – RE Resources – Expectation 19

Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas.

School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex (Author), Christian Robinson (Author) Book : https://www.amazon.com/Schools-First-Day-School- Adam/dp/1596439645/ref=sr_1_2?crid=PAEZ98TBEQ4V&keywords=schools+first+day+of+school&qid=156121272 6&s=books&sprefix=Schools+fir%2Cstripbooks%2C165&sr=1-2 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3sR52xU9-Y “It's the first day of school at Frederick Douglass Elementary and everyone's just a little bit nervous, especially the school itself. What will the children do once they come? Will they like the school? Will they be nice to him? The school has a rough start, but as the day goes on, he soon recovers when he sees that he's not the only one going through first-day jitters.” - from Amazon Theme Connection: Everyone gets a little nervous when it is the first time of anything, going to school and coming to church. You don’t know what to expect. But by being yourself and making friends, first days can be fun. Activities

Creating a New Beginnings Celebration The first meeting for Sunday School has some important expectations. Getting ready for firsts helps everyone be comfortable and know what to expect. You should expect to: • Welcome new friends o How will new children be welcomed and made to feel a part? o How will new people learn the chalice lighting, songs, closing words, etc.? • Check in with existing friends o How will old friends catch up with each other? • Prepare the room o What needs to be cleaned out? o What needs to be added? Pictures, toys, etc. • Create a chalice or check in ritual o Can you find a chalice for the room? o Do you want to make one? o Find a chalice lighting in a UU resource such as a hymnbook. Or use: • https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/youth/bridges/workshop4/183293.sh tml o Make a picture of each action on a poster and hang it on the wall. • Choose a group song, chant or movement. o What do the children remember? ▪ What is easy to remember? Or use: http://www.recessionals.org/uploads/1/6/8/9/16895834/letusopenoureyes.nor ton.pdf

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• Establish closing words o Mine the hymnbooks, prayer books, and online for favorite words. o Or use: http://www.recessionals.org/uploads/1/6/8/9/16895834/nowweblessyouonyour_way.rathbun.pdf o Make up hand motions to go with the closing song. Reflect on being a people of expectations and how we expect to celebrate and start anew for the best possible start.

Tell Me About My Grade Invite children from an older group to share what it was like to be in Kindergarten and Preschool. Invite the children to speak about what it was like to be in the Preschool and Kindergarten last year, in order to reassure the children just starting school this year. Invite the children to ask questions of each other about the We can support and reassure each other in this, our UU church.

New Beginning Games from Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/adults-ministry/deepfun/bond-building

Red Light / Green Light You can expect to stop and go with this favorite game. Choose one person (the caller) and send them to the far end of the space. The caller remains stationary, turned away from the rest of the group. When they call “Green light!” the group moves towards them. When they call “Red light!” they have to stop. The caller turns around quickly and if she sees any members of the group still moving, those players have to return to the beginning. The goal of the game is to touch the caller without being seen moving. Fingerplay Where is Thumbkin? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRNDu3O2VQY When we don’t know what to expect, it helps to make friends. Introduce all the finger friends to each other!

“Sunshine” - experiences outdoors, in nature, or with movement After setting up the room and rituals, go outside to play the game.

Service Make a sign saying “Welcome!” for the door. Remind the children to provide a service to other children in school and in church by welcoming them and helping them feel at home. As UU’s we expect new beginnings and know that friends help us when we don’t know what to expect.

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Session 3 The Magic of Being Set Free from Expectations The Practice of Suspending Expectations

Introduction Focus Question: How can we set ourselves free from expectations? Practice: The skill of suspending expectations and being open to the unexpected. Session Goal: Name the delight we receive from giving up expectations, using the example of magic. Calendar Connections: flexible

Wonder Box The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly. Prop: a piece of paper [Practice the “Walk Through Paper” trick as seen at https://www.care.com/c/stories/4051/easy-magic-tricks- for-kids/] • Do you like magic? • What if I told you I could walk through this piece of paper? • It’s magic. I’ll show you ...[ perform the trick] • We expect one thing and in magic, another thing happens. • This is confusing and fun! • Why is magic so fun? • It’s because it confuses our expectations. • So sometimes confused expectations are delightful and make us smile. • What would it be like to suspend our expectations and be delighted in the world • One Meditation Center shares: o “... Imagine how free you would feel if every day you were able to just “go with the flow,” trusting that the Universe was organizing everything perfectly. Well, this is exactly what the Universe is doing, but by imposing your ideas of how things should be, you end up struggling against the current. o This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have desires or plans for the future. Desires and plans are fine; it’s your attachment to their outcome—your expectations—that causes the challenges. Being nonattached and letting go of expectations is like saying, “This is what I think I want, but if there’s something even better, it’s okay to send that instead.” That’s when the magic begins!” - https://chopra.com/articles/no-expectation-zone-letting-go-of-expectations- during-meditation • What would it be like to live in a magical universe? Try this meditation to bring magic into your life. Meditation

Magic Meditation: What if You Were a Wizard? (Start at min. 1:00; 10min. long so fade it out to shorten it) Invite the group to relax and watch and listen to this Magic Meditation. Start the video after the introductory words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy5KYlj1KPE Follow up the Magic Meditation Invite their responses to the meditation. This could be a more fun meditation with its imagery of being a wizard. How can I open up to more magic in my life? I am the magician of my life.

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Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas.

Amazing Grace (also suggested For All Ages) by Mary Hoffman (Author), Caroline Binch (Illustrator)

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Grace-Grace-picture-Books- Hoffman/dp/0803710402/ref=sr_1_1?crid=23RPZNVEMMQ43&keywords=amazing+grace+by+mary+hoffman&qid =1560957950&s=books&sprefix=Amazing+Grace%2Cstripbooks%2C172&sr=1-1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMHkU2Cdxl0 “Grace loves stories, whether they're from books, movies, or the kind her grandmother tells. So when she gets a chance to play a part in Peter Pan, she knows exactly who she wants to be…” - Amazon Theme Message: Defying expectations (for being female and Black) to be Peter Pan. Being yourself creates magic! Activities Guest Magician See if there is anyone in the congregation who knows some magic tricks and ask them to visit. Older children and youth might know some magic, don’t forget to check in with them!

Simple “Magic” Play From https://www.preschoolrainbow.org/activities-circle.htm Two little Blackbirds sitting on a wall, (hold up pointer finger from each hand that has a string tied to it) One named Peter, The other named Paul. Fly away Peter! (put one hand behind your back) Fly away Paul! (put the other hand behind your back) Come back Peter! (switch fingers to the middle man behind your back so that when you "come back" the strings magically disappear) Come back Paul! (same action as above)

In this version the child is amazed because it looks as if there was a magic trick that happened.

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Rainbow Squish Bags The magic of mixing two colors to create a new color. Materials: Zipper zip lock bag, shaving cream and food coloring. Description: Each child has their own bag almost full of plain white shaving cream, they then choose two colors they like and add three drops of each of the two colors. For example, 3 drops yellow and 3 drops blue the bag is then zipped shut (and should be taped also). Then the child squishes the bag, mixing the yellow and blue to create green! This is magic to them! You could ask the children before they begin squishing, "What new color do you think will appear?" Be prepared for each child to want to make more than one!

Bug In The Rug Game The magic of a "who's missing" game. Materials: A Large sheet or blanket. Description: Teachers lay a large sheet on the floor. The group of children sit around it. One child steps away from the group and closes his / her eyes. The teacher taps a child and he / she gets under the "rug". The child that was away from the group with their eyes closed comes back. Now the rest of the children chant: Bug in the rug, Bug in the rug. Who's that bug in the rug? The child has to guess who is under the rug by looking around to see who is missing. The child under the rug is then revealed.

Sunshine - connection to Nature, outdoors Take a Magic Walk. What magic appears? An ant carrying a huge crumb? A bird singing? Let what happens, happen and let it pour through you like sunlight.

Service If there is a guest magician, offer a short show to parents as they arrive. Invite the children to teach their parents “Bug in a Rug” magic!

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Session 4 Expect Change The Practice of Opening to Ongoing Revelation

Introduction Focus Question: What should we expect of life? Practice: The skill of staying open to change. Session Goal: Understand looking for truth as growing a plant, not finding a holy grail. Calendar Connection: First meeting of the Transcendentalist Club, Sept. 19, 1836 Wonder Box Credit: The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly.

Expecting Change Leader Script: (say in your own words) Wonder Box - pipe cleaner or play dough • What is in the Wonder Box? • It’s a pipe cleaner. • First, it is nearly straight. • Now I change it by bending it. • Now I change it by bending it some more. • I know that pipe cleaners are meant to change. • We are meant to change, too. • We need to expect change. • What changes have you experienced? (a move, growing up, changing a favorite food) • Our church is changing. • We continue to look for things that are true and help us understand life. • Our church changes. • Right now we are trying to understand why some people are treated badly and we try to help. • We never know for sure what truth we will find. • It is like growing a plant, instead of finding a one jewel. Meditation

Flower Meditation Now we close our eyes and sit relaxed and still for our meditation. Take a deep breath. We breathe in and out slowly and deeply. Imagine you are a growing plant. You can move just like a growing plant with me. First, we are a seed. We curl up like a little seed, small and growing in the ground. The sun shines down on our spot in the soil. The rain falls down and keeps us moist. A little root grows out of us and pushes down into the soil. Now a little stem grows up out of us and pushes to reach the sunlight. A small leaf uncurls, then more and more leaves. [Invite the children to uncurl and finally stand up]. A bud appears. It turns into a flower with petals. Each petal is beautiful. As we grow, we change. We

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are happy to be changing. We receive the rainfall and warm in the sunshine. We nod our head and say thank you for letting me change and grow. I love changing and growing. We make a special smile, called a flower smile. Now we become children again, and smile at your friends around you who are also growing and changing. Response to Meditation Invite the children to share what reflections they felt in the meditation. Consider offering again and invite them to share if they were a different flower. Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas.

Henry Builds a Cabin By D.B.Johnson Book: https://www.amazon.com/Henry-Builds-Cabin-Book/dp/0358112028 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDdedveMoRk “Henry the bear builds a cabin with help from his friends. A thoughtful meditation on what a home can be, inspired by the life of Henry David Thoreau.” Theme Connection: Simplify, simplify says Thoreau who loved nature. Henry simplifies what kind of home he needs. We celebrate his connection to nature and his ideas that changed our church. Activities

Expect Change, Grow a Plant Make your own connection with nature and grow a plant. Offer plants in whatever fits your geography. It might be clippings from a houseplant to plant and grow, or seeds from produce. Provide soil and a pot from recycled materials. Or it might be a gift of a fall flower, like a marigold. Add a small decorative sign with “Expect Change.” on it. Fingerplays and Songs

Five Little Flowers Five little flowers, all in a row. The first one said, "We need rain to grow!" The second one said, "Oh my, we need water!" The third one said, "Yes, it is getting hotter!" The fourth one said, "I see clouds in the sky." The fifth one said, "I wonder why?" Then BOOM went the thunder And ZAP went the lightning! That springtime storm was really frightening! But the flowers weren't worried–no, no, no, no! The rain helped them to grow, grow, GROW!

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We All Change and Grow Sung to: "The Farmer In The Dell" The farmer plants the seeds The farmer plants the seeds Hi, Ho the Dairy O The farmer plants the seeds The rain begins to fall... The sun begins to shine.... The plants begin to grow... The buds all open up... We all change and grow...

Pipe Cleaner Play Invite the children to experiment with changing their own pipe cleaners.

“Sunshine” (connection with nature and our bodies)/ Movement Commune with nature like Henry David Thoreau! Where would you build a cabin? Where would you read a Book? Cook a meal? Take a walk?

Service Make extra plants and share them with someone who needs them, or with your minister or lay leader. Include a little sign saying, “Expect Change” and review with the children what that means.

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Session 5 Expecting Pressure from Others’ Expectations The Practice of Overcoming Expectations

Introduction Focus Question: How can we see the true inside person? Practice: The practice of following our inner self rather than outside expectations Session Goal: See our true self as inside our hearts, called the soul. Calendar Connection: Universalism Day Wonder Box The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly. Seeing the Inside Person Prop: Make or locate a small mask that covers the eyes and decorate it to be a kitty or other identity. • What is in the wonder box today? • It is a mask. A mask covers your face. • Now I am a kitty. Meow, meow! • Am I really a kitty? • No, I’m not really a kitty. It’s me inside of a kitty mask. • The real me is inside. • My outside is just like a mask. • You see my face and my clothes. • The real me is inside in my heart. • It's called my soul. • It is my heart, mind and spirit all together. • It is my love and my true self. • Love and understanding do not come from what I look like on the outside. • It comes from a voice “in here” [put hand on heart] calling me to be the person I was born to be. Meditation The Soul Is like a Wild Animal Invite the group to find a comfortable way to relax. Take a few deep breaths and center themselves. Read these words: We are going to find the wild animal which is your soul. A tough and yet also shy wild animal. “Just like a wild animal, the soul is tough it knows how to survive in hard places. And yet the soul, despite its toughness, is also ... shy—just like a wild animal. It will flee from the noisy crowd and seek safety in the deep underbrush. If we want to see a wild animal, we know that the last

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thing we should do is go crashing through the woods yelling for it to come out! But if we will walk into the woods quietly and sit at the base of a tree, breathing with the earth ..., the wild creature we seek may eventually show up.” http://www.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/heart-and-soul/ Sit for a few moments and imagine walking into a woods and sitting at the base of a tree, breathing with the earth and fading into our surroundings, to seek the wild creature that is our soul. [Spend some moments in silence] Return gently to this place, take a deep breath, and return to our group. Meditation Response Invite sharing. What did you experience? Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas.

Flight School by Lita Judge (Author, Illustrator) Book: https://www.amazon.com/Flight-School-Lita- Judge/dp/1442481773/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TNOTIUO2XDRA&keywords=flight+school+lita+judge&qid=1561223380& s=books&sprefix=Flight+School%2Cstripbooks%2C155&sr=1-1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGLNTWKD5qI “Although little Penguin has the soul of an eagle, his body wasn’t built to soar. But Penguin has an irrepressible spirit, and he adamantly follows his dreams to flip, flap, fly! Even if he needs a little help with the technical parts, this penguin is ready to live on the wind.” - Amazon Theme Connection: It is what is inside you that matters. Activities

Make a Mask Free form from cardboard: https://artfulparent.com/making-cardboard-masks-kids/ Super Simple from plates: https://www.danyabanya.com/lion-mask-craft/ Make simple masks, such as in the examples above. Use cereal box cardboard or cardstock and pre-cut the mask shape. Invite the children to decorate the mask with tissue paper, markers and feathers. Use a popsicle stick and tape to make it easy to hold up to the face and then remove, for the game, below.

Who’s Inside Game with Masks Sit in a circle with the masks. Invite the children, one at a time, to hold up their mask to their face. The rest of the group chants ”Who’s inside, who’s inside, Let us see now who’s inside, please.” The masked child removes their mask and says their name, “Caden!” The group chants, “It’s Caden inside, it’s Caden inside, We see Caden!” Repeat for each child. Then invite everyone to hold up their mask at the same time. Everyone says, “Who’s inside, Who’s inside, Let us see now who’s inside, please.” and then everyone pops out and says, “It’s us inside, it’s us inside, we see all of us!”

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“Sunshine” / Movement (connection with nature and our bodies) Go outside and take an Inner and Outer Walk. Nature can be a place where your shy soul emerges. Can you sit quietly and feel the inside part of you smile?

Service Offer to teach the congregation how to make Möbius strip hearts after the service, also suggested for the Youth Group, so you could help them.

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First through Fifth Grade Sessions

Session 1 Learning from Water: How to navigate the expectations that push and pull at us. The practice of knowing when to resist and when to lean into expectations Introduction Focus Question: What does water have to teach us about navigating the currents of expectations? Practice: The skill and practice of knowing when to resist and when to lean into the expectations that push and pull us Session Goal: One voice in our heads tells us to expect the worst. Another tells us to expect the best. Being a person of expectation is about balancing these competing voices. The currents of water offer a helpful metaphor: sometimes we need to resist the current; other times we need to trust the current to carry us. Calendar Connections: Water Communion Wonder Box The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly.

What Does Water Have to Teach Us? Wonder Box prop: a small cup of water • What’s in the Wonder Box. A bit of water. • Today we try to find expectation in water, as part of celebrating the UU ritual of Water Communion. • Water reminds us that we can expect times when we need to resist the current other times, we need to trust the current to carry us... • We need to learn to be fluid like water. As we reflect on the UU ritual of Water Communion, we can imagine the interconnected waters of the planet, some holding on and some letting go. • Here are a variety of water elements which can symbolize water teaching us to expect letting go: o a waterfall, o a flooding river o the tip of a wave as it curls just before breaking o A brook running through the rocks • Here are a variety of water elements which can symbolize water elements teaching us to expect holding on: o Ice on a pond o Drinking water to hold in your body when you are dehydrated. o A ripple in a still pool o A reservoir behind a dam How do these bodies of water symbolize resisting and flowing? What qualities does water have which can be a metaphor for expecting to hold on and let go?

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Water Meditation Prep: cue up a video of water and water noise, such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkLRith2wcc. Or locate or make a simple water fountain (here) and (here.) It also helps to darken the room. Water is a symbol of resisting and flowing. What better way to access this understanding than by meditating with water? The sound of water reverberates inside our bodies, calming the mind, and encouraging a feeling of floating. Invite the group to find a relaxing position, close their eyes and take some deep breaths. Then offer the following meditation and visualization: A beautiful waterfall of white light is flowing down on you. It flows down on your head, helping your head to relax. You feel your head relaxing. It moves down over your neck and shoulders. Your neck and shoulders are relaxing. Now it flows down over your arms. You feel your arms relaxing. It flows down your back. Your back is letting go and relaxing. It flows over your chest and stomach, helping your chest and stomach relax. You feel your chest and stomach relax. It moves down over your legs and feet. You feel your legs and feet letting go and relaxing. The beautiful waterfall of white light is flowing over your whole body. You are very peaceful and relaxed. From https://www.buddhanet.net/e- learning/buddhism/meditate/water.htm

(Pause for a moment) Now I invite you to take an imaginary journey: You are walking down a path and come to a pond of calm, still, serene water. You look down and the water is a mirror reflecting you. The water teaches you something about what you need to hold on to or what you need to let go. What does the water teach you? (take a pause) You toss a pebble into the water and watch the ripples as they bump into one another, or merge together to become an even greater ripple. What moods surface as you watch the ripples? What do you need to be aware of in the ripples? What do the ripples teach you? You walk further down the path and it arrives next to a river. The flow of the river is sometimes blocked by rocks, grasses. You become the river. What are you holding on to? What do you need to let go of? What does the river teach you? (Pause) Watch as the water simply flows around the obstruction and continues on its journey. All the elements are connected. Feel how fluid the water is. Feel how connected the water is with everything. The grass gets sustenance from the water, rocks are rubbed smooth and reshaped by the flow of the water. Water teaches us to let go and hold on in a never-ending stream. Feel the letting go and holding on of the water. As you become the river, you hear it murmuring. What is it saying? (pause) Gently say goodbye to the river, say goodbye to the path. When you are ready, take a deep breath, open your eyes and return to here and now. (Wait while everyone has time to return.) If you are willing, share what you experienced. (turn down the water video, and then turn it off when sharing is complete.) adapted from https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/adults/harvest/workshop6/142156.shtml Sharing from the Visualization Did the water teach you something about resisting and flowing? What did you see in the still, calm water? What did the river say to you? Allow enough silence and reflection so the participants feel respected and treated gently.

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Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas.

Bartholemew and the Oobleck The perfect way to illustrate holding on (the oobleck hardens) and letting go ( the oobleck “melts.”) By Dr. Seuss Book: https://www.amazon.com/Bartholomew-Oobleck-Caldecott-Honor- Classic/dp/0394800753/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2SB3V38GW3ZP4&keywords=bartholomew+and+the+oobleck+by+dr.+se uss&qid=1561165831&s=books&sprefix=Bartho%2Cstripbooks%2C166&sr=1-1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zIElmFb0gQ (condensed to 4 min.) “In this Caldecott Honor–winning picture book, join Bartholomew Cubbins in Dr. Seuss’s classic tale of one king’s magical mishap. Bored with rain, sun, fog, and snow, King Derwin of Didd summons his royal magicians to create something new and exciting to fall from the sky. What he gets is a storm of sticky green globs called Oobleck, which soon causes a royal mess. But with the assistance of the wise page boy Bartholomew, the king (along with young readers) learns that the simplest words can sometimes solve the biggest problems. - Amazon Theme Connection: Oobleck is not what anyone expected. Instead of rain or snow, Oobleck came down in big green globs. No one expected the pageboy to be the solution. Oobleck teaches us about fluidity. Activities Oobleck From Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/deepfun/bond-building The perfect way to illustrate holding on (the oobleck hardens) and letting go ( the oobleck “melts.”) Materials: Cornstarch, water, food coloring, measuring cups and a large bowl. Measure out 1/4 cup of cornstarch for each person in the group. Add five tablespoons of water per 1/4 cup and mix. Add more water little by little until the concoction is malleable. Add some food coloring. This is some crazy stuff to make and play with. When you squeeze it, its dry and hard, but release it and it melts into a puddle. Dive in! Make sculptures and watch them melt. Talk about metaphors for life. Think of new names for the stuff.

Rainstorm From Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/deepfun/bond-building Darken the room. Have the group sit in a circle. Explain that you are going to start a repetitive motion and that it will travel around the circle to the right until it comes back to you, at which point you will start another motion. Tell the members not to change what they are doing until the person on their left has changed. The order of the motions is: rubbing hands together rubbing hands on thighs snapping fingers clapping hands stomping feet and clapping hands Once you reach #5, repeat the motions in descending order.

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The last motion to be passed around is stillness and silence.

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Theme Message: Rain is a metaphor for the fluidity of water. Sometimes it is soft and gentle, sometimes it is pounding and hard. Water reminds us that we can expect change and need to stay fluid in our lives as our expectations change.

“Sunshine” - experiences outdoors, in nature, or with movement Offer the Oobleck outside.

Service Take a role in your congregational Water Service or Communion, such as passing the microphone, pouring the water into the communal bowl or other help.

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Session 2 Expect New Beginnings The Practice of Celebrating “Firsts”

Introduction Focus Question: How can we handle the many expectations that come with new beginnings? Practice: The skill of celebrating “first times” (rather than being overwhelmed by them) Session Goal: Create a ritual about what the group can expect at the beginning of the year. Calendar Connections: The first day of school and Sunday School, New Year’s: Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year - Sept. 29 - Oct. 1; Al-Hijra/Muharram - Islamic New Year (day and month) - begins Aug. 31 - Sept. 28 Wonder Box The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly. Prop in the Wonder Box: a lunch bag

• What is in the Wonder Box? • It’s a lunch sack. • When we go to school, we sometimes pack a lunch. • It’s the start of school for many of us. • This month is a month exploring “Being a people of Expectation.” • Today’s wonder box is about expecting new beginnings, like a new school year. • Today’s lens is about managing all the conflicting expectations that come with new beginnings. o New beginnings mean new friends, but will they like us? o New beginnings mean learning new things, but am I smart enough? • It is a new school year for many. • What grade or level are you entering? • It is also a new lunar year for our siblings in the Jewish and Muslim faiths. • We don’t know what the new year will bring. • Anything can happen. We don’t know what to expect. • We can prepare our hearts and our minds to be open and welcoming to new experiences by preparing rituals for a new beginning. • It is also a new lunar year for our siblings in the Jewish and Muslim faiths. • We don’t know what the new year will bring. • Anything can happen. We don’t know what to expect. • We can prepare our hearts and our minds to be open and welcoming to new experiences.

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Meditation for the First Day of School Let yourself relax. Take in a nice, slow, deep breath. And then let it out. Breathe in. And out. Deep. Slow. Breathing in. And breathing out. (Pause) And let your bodies relax. Let your muscles relax. Let your face relax. Let your mind relax. Whatever you’ve been carrying around with you all day that you don’t need right now, let it go. Let all of you— body, mind, and spirit—deeply and fully relax. Keep breathing. (Pause) Think about something that makes you happy. It might be a person or something you like to do. Send that feeling of happiness and joy into your heart. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness from your heart out to your family. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness from your heart and your family out to your friends. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness from your heart , your family and your friends to all the people in your school. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness to all the teachers. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness to all the people in your entire school. Take a deep breath. Hold that happiness for all in your heart for a few more moments. And then slowly, as you’re ready, come back to this room and open your eyes. Adapted from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sscbS74nQXQ Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas

First Day in Grapes by L King Perez (Author), Robert Casilla (Illustrator) Book :https://www.amazon.com/First-Day-Grapes-King- Perez/dp/1620141906/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=First+Day+in+Grapes&qid=1561209924&s=books&sr=1-1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcVqNrPctuA

“When Chico starts the third grade after his migrant worker family moves to begin harvesting California grapes, he finds that self-confidence and math skills help him cope with the first day of school.” - from Amazon Theme Connection: Chico doesn’t know what to expect on his first day. We don’t know what to expect when we start new beginnings but….

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The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi (Author, Illustrator) Book: https://www.amazon.com/Name-Jar-Yangsook-Choi/dp/0440417996/ref=pd_sbs_14_3/133-6196444- 0465105?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0440417996&pd_rd_r=e9798663-94f3-11e9-bb63- 9f01c3232729&pd_rd_w=pkfac&pd_rd_wg=ipcrX&pf_rd_p=588939de-d3f8-42f1-a3d8- d556eae5797d&pf_rd_r=XFFH1743QZYWDXWXY5BF&psc=1&refRID=XFFH1743QZYWDXWXY5BF Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS5XRO1AUT4

“Being the new kid in school is hard enough, but what about when nobody can pronounce your name? Having just moved from Korea, Unhei is anxious that American kids will like her. So instead of introducing herself on the first day of school, she tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week. Her new classmates are fascinated by this no-name girl and decide to help out by filling a glass jar with names for her to pick from. But while Unhei practices being a Suzy, Laura, or Amanda, one of her classmates comes to her neighborhood and discovers her real name and its special meaning. On the day of her name choosing, the name jar has mysteriously disappeared. Encouraged by her new friends, Unhei chooses her own Korean name and helps everyone pronounce it—Yoon-Hey.” – Amazon

Theme Connection: Unhei doesn’t know what to expect on her first day of school. As the day unfolds, she finds her center and gains confidence. On days of firsts, no one knows what to expect. Activities

Creating a New Beginnings Celebration The first meeting for Sunday School has some important expectations. Getting ready for firsts helps everyone be comfortable and know what to expect. You should expect to: • Welcome new members o How will new participants be welcomed and made to feel a part? o How will new people learn the chalice lighting, songs, closing words, etc.? • Check in with existing members o How will group members catch up with each other? • Prepare the room o What needs to be cleaned out? o What needs to be added? Pictures, lighting, etc. • Create a chalice or check in ritual o Can you find a chalice for the room? o Do you want to make one? o Find a chalice lighting in a UU resource such as a hymnbook. Or use: https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/youth/bridges/workshop4/183293.shtml o Write it on a poster and hang it on the wall. • Create a group Covenant o What promises will we make to each other about how we will act together? o Making a Group Covenant from Tapestry of Faith, Families, Jr. High School at https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/youth/families/workshop1/105585.shtml • Choose a group song, chant or movement. o What do the children remember?

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o What is easy to remember? Or use:http://www.recessionals.org/uploads/1/6/8/9/16895834/letusopenoureyes.norton. pdf o Who can write it up and post it on the wall? • Establish closing words o Mine the hymn books, prayer books, and online for favorite words. o Or use: http://www.recessionals.org/uploads/1/6/8/9/16895834/nowweblessyouonyour_way.rathbun.pdf

Write these as a checklist and check them off as they are accomplished. Guide the group in establishing ways they want to engage in each of these. Reflect on being a people of expectations and how we expect to celebrate and start anew for the best possible start.

Tell Me About My Grade Invite the children to speak about what it was like to be in the grade last year, in order to reassure the children just starting the grade this year, i.e. this year’s Second Graders share what First Grade was like. Invite each group of children from each grade to share. Invite the children to ask questions of each other about the grade, i.e. this year’s First Graders ask questions of the Second Graders about what their First-Grade year was like. We can support and reassure each other in this, our UU church.

Guests Invite a congregant or guest who has a connection to the Jewish faith and can reflect on the celebration of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Invite a congregant or guest who has a connection to the Muslim faith and can reflect on the celebration of the Islamic New Year, Al-Hijra/Muharram. This is also suggested for Youth Group, so you might coordinate and invite the same guest.

Video about Muharram - Islamic New Year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvPJlOKDA20

Video about Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1znjiyEMKc

New Beginning Games from Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/adults-ministry/deepfun/bond-building

Red Light / Green Light You can expect to stop and go with this favorite game. Choose one person (the caller) and send them to the far end of the space. The caller remains stationary, turned away from the rest of the group. When they call “Green light!” the group moves towards them. When they call “Red light!” they have to stop. The caller turns around quickly and if she sees any members of the group still moving, those players have to return to the beginning. The goal of the game is to touch the caller without being seen moving. Variation: Tie the group into pairs with rope and have them hop toward the caller. Try it with one of the pair closing his eyes.

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“Sunshine” - experiences outdoors, in nature, or with movement After setting up the room and rituals, go outside to play the game.

Service If you were able to invite a guest from Jewish or Muslim faith, serve as hosts for that person, and invite them to coffee hour. Introduce them to your minister or lay leader and help them feel welcome. Offer to give them a tour of your facility. Then, make sure to write a thank you card to them for sharing their faith with you. Remind the children to provide a service to other children in school and in church by welcoming them and helping them feel at home. As UU’s we expect new beginnings and know that friends help us when we don’t know what to expect.

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Session 3 The Magic of Being Set Free from Expectations The Practice of Suspending Expectations

Introduction Focus Question: How can we set ourselves free from expectations? Practice: The skill of suspending expectations and being open to the unexpected. Session Goal: Name the delight we receive from giving up expectations, using the example of magic. Calendar Connections: flexible Wonder Box The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly. Prop: a piece of paper and scissors Practice the “Walk Through Paper” trick as seen at https://www.care.com/c/stories/4051/easy-magic- tricks-for-kids/] • Do you like magic? • What if I told you I could walk through this piece of paper? • It’s magic. I’ll show you ...[ perform the trick] We expect one thing and in magic, another thing happens. This is confusing and fun! See if there is anyone who knows some magic tricks and ask them to share. You might send a note beforehand asking the group to come prepared to share any magic tricks they know. • Why is magic so fun? • It’s because it confuses our expectations. • So sometimes confused expectations are delightful and make us smile. • What would it be like to suspend our expectations and be delighted in the world • One Meditation Center shares: o “... Imagine how free you would feel if every day you were able to just “go with the flow,” trusting that the Universe was organizing everything perfectly. Well, this is exactly what the Universe is doing, but by imposing your ideas of how things should be, you end up struggling against the current. o This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have desires or plans for the future. Desires and plans are fine; it’s your attachment to their outcome—your expectations—that causes the challenges. Being nonattached and letting go of expectations is like saying, “This is what I think I want, but if there’s something even better, it’s okay to send that instead.” That’s when the magic begins!” - https://chopra.com/articles/no-expectation-zone- letting-go-of-expectations-during-meditation • What would it be like to live in a magical universe? Try this meditation to bring magic into your life.

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Meditation

Magic Meditation: What if You Were a Wizard? ( Start at min. 1:00; 10min. long) Invite the group to relax and watch and listen to this Magic Meditation. Start the video after the introductory words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy5KYlj1KPE

Follow up the Magic Meditation Invite their responses to the meditation. This could be a more fun meditation with its imagery of being a wizard. How can I open up to more magic in my life? I am the magician of my life. Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas

Amazing Grace (also suggested For All Ages) by Mary Hoffman (Author), Caroline Binch (Illustrator) Book: https://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Grace-Grace-picture-Books- Hoffman/dp/0803710402/ref=sr_1_1?crid=23RPZNVEMMQ43&keywords=amazing+grace+by+mary+hoffman&qid =1560957950&s=books&sprefix=Amazing+Grace%2Cstripbooks%2C172&sr=1-1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMHkU2Cdxl0 “Grace loves stories, whether they're from books, movies, or the kind her grandmother tells. So when she gets a chance to play a part in Peter Pan, she knows exactly who she wants to be…” - Amazon Theme Message: Defying expectations (for being female and Black) to be Peter Pan. There is a pressure to be as expected, which we can resist. Peter Pan includes magic. Activities

Confusing and Delighting our Expectations with Magic Here are some magic tricks which are easily learned and very satisfying! Spend some time trying them out. Share them with friends and family! Especially recommended are: 1. Rubber Pencil 2. Spoon Bending 3. Disappearing Coin 4. Magnetic Pencil 5. Walk Through Paper 6. And one to save for outside - Egg Trick https://www.care.com/c/stories/4051/easy-magic-tricks-for-kids/

Games from Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/adults-ministry/deepfun/affirming

Carousel Remember the magic of a Merry Go Round? Offer this affirmation game and feel the magic of compliments that you don’t expect.

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Break the group into two equal groups and have them form two circles, one inside the other. Those on the inside circle close their eyes and wait while those in the outside circle think of a compliment, they have always wanted someone to say to them. Then the outside circle slowly rotates around the inner, whispering these compliments in each person’s ears. When they have gone all the way around, let the silence settle and the inner circle can slowly open their eyes. Let those on the outer and inner circles switch places and repeat the process.

Sunshine - connection to Nature, outdoors While you are outside, suspend your expectation of what should be and see what happens. What magic appears? An ant carrying a huge crumb?

Service Teach your magic tricks to people in the congregation after the service, also suggested for the Youth Group.

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Session 4 A People of Expectation Expect Change The Practice of Opening to Ongoing Revelation Introduction Focus Question: What should we expect of life? Practice: The skill of staying open to change. Session Goal: Understand ongoing revelation and the search for truth as similar to growing a plant, rather than finding a horcrux, as in Harry Potter or a holy grail, as in King Arthur. Calendar Connection: First meeting of the Transcendentalist Club, Sept. 19, 1836 Wonder Box The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly. Ongoing Revelation - Expecting Change Leader Script: (say in your own words) Wonder Box - pipe cleaner or play dough • What is in the Wonder Box? It’s a pipe cleaner. First, it is nearly straight. Now I change it by bending it. Now I change it by bending it some more. I know that pipe cleaners are meant to change. We are meant to change, too. In fact, we need to expect change. • What changes have you experienced? (a move, growing up, changing a favorite food) • Unitarian Universalism expects change. o Our faith expects and encourages change. It’s called Ongoing Revelation. o Orthodox Christian faith sees one revelation, one truth that is unchangeable, that Jesus Christ came to this world to save us and that the Bible is the single, and unchanging source of truth o UU faith sees ongoing revelation, an ongoing search for ever-changing truth. • One example from history is how our UU predecessors changed American faith in the 1800’s. o Have you ever heard of Henry David Thoreau (author of Walden) or Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women?) o These were Unitarians in the 1800’s who were connected with an idealistic philosophical and social movement called Transcendentalism. o They loved nature and saw it as a source of truth and didn’t look to the Bible as the only source of spirituality. o Their first meeting of the Transcendentalist Club was Sept. 19, 1836. o These thinkers changed the way religion was done in their day and influence us today. They helped us think differently about how we should expect to find truth. • Another example from the present day is how we are looking for on-going revelation by expanding our UU sources. o In 1995, we added the 6th Source of “Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.” o Currently, we are in discussion about adding an 8th Principle, that commits us to include and listen to multicultural and multiracial voices, as urged by the Black Lives UU Organizing Collective. o Our ongoing revelation is like growing a plant, instead of finding a horcrux, as in Harry Potter or a holy grail, as in the legend of King Arthur. It takes tending, and you never can predict exactly what you will see as the plant grows.

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Meditation

Lectio Divina with the Transcendentalists Expectation of the Meaning of Life

In this form of meditation from Christian tradition, you read and notice and listen. Invite the group to get into a comfortable position. (Listening) Read the passage slowly, two or three times and notice what word or phrase speaks to you. What am I hearing? (Repetition) Repeat the word or phrase over and over, allow it to sink into and act on your heart, notice any feelings, thoughts, questions arising and allow these to touch your life. - How is this touching me? (Listening) Listen for what you sense the Lord [Spirit of Life] is saying to you now. Take this to heart and ask for the grace to be taught and formed... What new insight am I being invited to embrace? What am I hearing? How is this touching me? How will I respond? - adapted from http://www.wccm.org/content/what-lectio-divina

Readings from Transcendentalists. To be read slowly. Excerpted from Tapestry of Faith, Faith Like a River, Workshop 13. https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/adults/river/workshop13/178794.shtml Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Talk of mysteries! — Think of our life in nature, — daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it, — rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks! the solid earth! the actual world! the common sense! Contact! Contact! Who are we? where are we? — Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods

Simplify, simplify. — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Very early I knew that the only object in life was to grow. — Margaret Fuller

Take a deep breath and return to us now.

Response to Meditation Invite the children to share what reflections they felt in the meditation.

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Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas

Henry Builds a Cabin By D.B.Johnson Book: https://www.amazon.com/Henry-Builds-Cabin-Book/dp/0358112028 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDdedveMoRk “Henry the bear builds a cabin with help from his friends. A thoughtful meditation on what a home can be, inspired by the life of Henry David Thoreau.” Theme Connection: Simplify, simplify says Thoreau as used in the meditation. Henry simplifies what kind of home he needs. We celebrate his connection to nature. Activities

Expect Change, Grow a Plant Make your own Transcendentalist connection with nature and grow a plant. Offer plants in whatever fits your geography. It might be clippings from a houseplant to plant and grow, or seeds from produce. Provide soil and a pot from recycled materials. Or it might be a gift of a fall flower, like a marigold. Add a small decorative sign with “Expect Change.” or “Ongoing Revelation” on it.

Games from Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/adults-ministry/deepfun/affirming

The Interconnected Web Materials: A large ball of yarn, scissors. Have the group stand in a circle. The person holding the ball of yarn begins by choosing someone across the circle to affirm. They say something nice about someone else and throw the ball, while holding on to the end of the yarn. That person catches it and chooses a new person. The process continues until everyone is holding onto part of the web. Have the group raise the web above their heads to see how neat it is. Pass around scissors so that everyone can cut a piece of the web to keep as a memento of the community or find a place to hang up the web.

Forest Trail (Remember anyone can opt out if they don’t feel comfortable. This, like other activities has the ability to trigger those who have experienced trauma. Make sure you explain the activity, so people know what they are getting into.) Have the group form a double line with people facing each other and standing about three feet apart. Have them extend their arms forward and imagine that they are trees in a forest. Then have one person stand at the end of the aisle, close their eyes and start walking through. They must get through the interweaving of branches in order to proceed through to the other side. Sometimes the branches may be stiff and require a firm push to get past, other times they are as soft as ferns. When they reach the end, they can open their eyes, return to one of the lines and become part of the forest. Let everyone have a turn.

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“Sunshine” (connection with nature and our bodies)/ Movement Play the Games outdoors. Commune with nature like Thoreau and Emerson!

Service Make extra plants and share them with someone who needs them, or with your minister or lay leader. Include a little sign saying, “Expect Change” or “Ongoing Revelation” and review with the children what that means.

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Session 5 Expecting Pressure from Others’ Expectations The Practice of Overcoming Expectations

Introduction Focus Question: How can we be better at leaving external standards behind? Practice: The practice of overcoming our own and others’ expectations. Session Goal: Begin to integrate our true inner selves with a service to the world. Feel the healing power of love, a gift from our Universalist heritage. Calendar Connection: Universalism Day, Sept. 30 Wonder Box The Idea for the Wonder Box comes from Tapestry of Faith’s Wonderful Welcome by Aisha Hauser, and Christina Leone Tracy, who presented it at General Assembly. Prop – mirror What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror?

Looking Good in the Eyes of Others vs. Understanding the Gift of Being the Person You were Born to Be Share these reflections by Parker Palmer, American Quaker author and educator, much beloved by UU Religious Educators as well: “As young people, we are surrounded by expectations that may have little to do with who we really are, expectations held by people who are not trying to discern our selfhood but to fit us into slots. In families, schools, workplaces, and religious communities, we are trained away from true self toward images of acceptability; under social pressures … our original shape is deformed beyond recognition; and we ourselves, driven by fear, too often betray true self to gain the approval of others... Falling into line with such external standards and expectations always tempts the human ego, with its incessant need to look good in the eyes of others… [What is the alternative?] Hasidic Jews call it the spark of the divine in every being. Christians may call it spirit, though some (e.g., the Quakers) call it the inner teacher, and Thomas Merton (a Trappist monk) called it true self. Secular humanists call it identity and integrity… And there are common idioms for it in everyday speech, as when we say of someone we know and care about, “He just isn’t himself these days”, or, “She seems to have found herself.” Today I understand vocation quite differently—not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received. Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation does not come from a voice “out there” calling me to become something I am not. It comes from a voice “in here” calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth by God. There is a Hasidic tale that reveals, with amazing brevity, both the universal tendency to want to be someone else and the ultimate importance of becoming one's self: Rabbi Zusya, when he was an old man, said, “In the coming world, they will not ask me: ‘Why were you not Moses?' They will ask me: ‘Why were you not Zusya?'” - http://www.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/heart-and-soul/ Invite reflections on the expectations which surround them and how or when they express who they really are.

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Meditation

Finding Your Patronus, the protector of your inner self Invite the group to find a comfortable way to relax. Take a few deep breaths and center themselves. Read these words: This meditation is based on the Patronus in Harry Potter. The Patronus in our world protects you from the outer expectations which are thrown upon you, and which harm your true inner self. “As Professor Lupin told Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban, the Patronus is ‘a kind of Anti-Dementor – a guardian which acts as a shield between you and the Dementor.’ It’s also ‘a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon – hope, happiness, the desire to survive – but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can’t hurt it.’ The Patronus is the most famous (and famously difficult) defensive charm. The aim is to produce a silvery-white guardian or protector, which takes the form of an animal... It is usual, but not inevitable, for a Patronus to take the form of an animal commonly found in the caster’s native country. Given their long affinity with humans it is perhaps unsurprising that among the most common Patronuses … are dogs, cats and horses. However, every Patronus is as unique as its creator and even identical twins have been known to produce very different Patronuses.” from https://www.pottermore.com/features/what-is-a-patronus Sit for a few moments and imagine walking into the woods. At first the woods are dark and threatening. You hear rustling behind you. The woods are filled with animals which are the outer expectations which pressure and threaten your true inner self. You catch glimpses of these animals. What outer expectations are threatening you? What animal form do these outer expectations take? [Pause] Now imagine that you find a wand in your hand. You are able to conjure up your Patronus to protect yourself. You say the spell, “Expecto Patronum!” and a silvery-white animal appears. Look deeply into your true inner self to find out what animal your Patronus is. Watch as your Patronus expels the threatening outer expectations from the woods. [pause] The woods fill with light and beauty. There are flowers blooming. You watch your Patronus as it looks at you and gives you a special gift. This gift gives you understanding of your true inner self. What is the gift? [pause] Say goodbye to your Patronus. Return gently to this place, take a deep breath, and return to our group.

Meditation Response Invite sharing. What did you experience?

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Story Remember you can use the video for the story if you can’t find or don’t have the book. Also check the For All Ages and Book Recommendation sections in this packet for ideas

Fly, Eagle, Fly: An African Tale by Christopher Gregorowski (Author), Niki Daly (Illustrator), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Foreword) Book: https://www.amazon.com/Fly-Eagle-African- Tale/dp/1416975993/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DVAGKJ70MU0O&keywords=fly+eagle+fly&qid=1561299962&s=books&sp refix=Fly+Eagle%2Cstripbooks%2C169&sr=1-1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bgl4tVcRHs “After a stormy night, a farmer, searching for his lost calf, finds a baby eagle that has been blown out of its nest. He takes it home and raises it with his chickens. When a friend comes to visit one day, he tells the farmer that an eagle should be flying high in the sky, not staying on the ground. "But this eagle walks like a chicken, eats like a chicken, even thinks like a chicken," the farmer replies. Twice, the farmer's friend tries to get the eagle to fly, but it sees the chickens on the ground and drops down each time. At last the friend, followed by the farmer, carries the young eagle back into the mountains and places the great bird on a rocky ledge, just before sunrise. As the air is filled with golden light and the sun appears, the friend cries, "Fly, Eagle, fly!" and the eagle raises its wings and soars upward, out of sight.” - Amazon Theme Connection: The pressure of other people’s expectations can make us think we should be chickens, but inside there is a gift which should soar in us. Activities

Self and Service - The Möbius Strip Once we know our inner self, we can use our inner self in service to the outer world. “The Möbius Strip, which is this very unusual 3D shape that only has one side. If you take a finger and trace what seems to be the outside surface, you suddenly find yourself on what seems to be the inside, and vice versa. So the inside and the outside continually flow into each other ... The first time I saw this I thought, ‘that’s exactly how life is!’ – whatever is inside of us flows out to help shape the outer world, and whatever is outside flows in to help shape our inner world. https://www.dumbofeather.com/conversations/parker-palmer-is-living-the-questions/ “Möbius strips are named after German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius who discovered the non-orientable band in 1858. A non-orientable band is one that has only one boundary. Try this: take a pencil and draw a line on both “sides” of the loop. How many times did you have to lift up the pencil? Now make a loop without the twist. Draw a line around both sides of the second loop. How many times did you lift the pencil? What happens when you twist the loop more than once...By the way, another German, Johann Benedict Listing, discovered it at the same time!” https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/mobius-strip-hearts

Make a Möbius Strip Step by Step with a more elegant cut: https://www.instructables.com/id/Mobius-Strip/ Video of a very simple one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z30c5wvoS_s There are several suggestions for experiments here: https://brilliant.org/wiki/mobius-strips/ Make a Möbius Heart https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/mobius-strip-hearts

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More about the Möbius Strip (including an animated clip of Escher’s Möbius Strip II with ants crawling around on It. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mathematical-madness-mobius-strips-and- other-one-sided-objects-180970394/

Expectations and Racial Justice Leader Script: • By helping to create an anti-racist, anti-oppression, multi-cultural world, free of racist expectations we allow all people their inherent dignity and worth. • We allow all people to share their deepest, truest inner self in service to the world. • For this, a Sunday on September 30 called “Universalist Day” we celebrate the healing power of love. • Imagine what a better world that will be. So, what can people do as an antidote to our racist culture? Understand each other. Listen to each other.

Watch this video: Being 12 https://www.wnyc.org/story/people-sometimes-think-im-supposed-talk-ghetto-whatever-kids-race/ What are the expectations of being a person of color? As suggested by Black Lives UU Teach In Resources https://www.blacklivesuu.com/teach-in-resources/

“Sunshine” (connection with nature and our bodies)/ Movement Go outside and take an Inner and Outer Walk. Hold the healing power of love, a gift from our Universalist heritage, in your mind, heart and spirit. Listen for your inner voice, your shy soul and see what it has to say. Nature can be a place where your shy soul emerges. Can you sit quietly and feel the inside part of you smile?

Service Offer to teach the congregation how to make Möbius strip hearts after the service, also suggested for the Youth Group, so you could help them.

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Youth Here are a variety of components for use in your Middle School/Sr. High Groups. In addition, check out: The Stories for All Ages section in this packet One of your adult worship services on “Being A People of Expectation” Session 1 Learning from Water: How to navigate the expectations that push and pull at us. The practice of knowing when to resist and when to lean into the expectations that push and pull us Introduction Focus Question: What does water have to teach us about navigating the currents of expectations? Practice: The skill and practice of knowing when to resist and when to lean into the expectations that push and pull us Session Goal: One voice in our heads tells us to expect the worst. Another tells us to expect the best. Being a person of expectation is about balancing these competing voices. The currents of water offer a helpful metaphor: sometimes we need to resist the current; other times we need to trust the current to carry us. Calendar Connections: Water Communion Reflections

What Does Water Have to Teach Us? • Today we turn to the metaphor of water to explore lessons about navigating the expectations of our lives. This is part of celebrating the UU ritual of Water Communion. • Water reminds us that we can expect times when we need to resist the current and times when we need to let go and trust the current to carry us. • We need to learn to be fluid like water. As we reflect on the UU ritual of Water Communion, we can imagine the interconnected waters of the planet, some holding on and some letting go. • Here are a variety of water elements which can symbolize water teaching us to expect letting go: o a waterfall, o a flooding river o the tip of a wave as it curls just before breaking o A brook running through the rocks • Here are a variety of water elements which can symbolize water elements teaching us to expect holding on: o Ice on a pond o Drinking water to hold in your body when you are dehydrated. o A ripple in a still pool o A reservoir behind a dam How do these bodies of water symbolize resisting and letting go? What qualities does water have which can be a metaphor for expecting to hold on and let go?

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Water Meditation Prep: cue up a video of water and water noise, such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkLRith2wcc. Or locate or make a simple water fountain (here) and (here.) It also helps to darken the room. Water is a symbol of the fluidity that invites us to trust the currents of life and expect that life will support us and carry us. What better way to access this understanding than by meditating with water? The sound of water reverberates inside our bodies, calming the mind, and encouraging a feeling of trust, safety, being held up and carried by a life force other than your own. Invite the group to find a relaxing position, close their eyes and take some deep breaths. Then offer the following meditation and visualization: A beautiful waterfall of white light is flowing down on you. It flows down on your head, helping your head to relax. You feel your head relaxing. It moves down over your neck and shoulders. Your neck and shoulders are relaxing. Now it flows down over your arms. You feel your arms relaxing. It flows down your back. Your back is letting go and relaxing. It flows over your chest and stomach, helping your chest and stomach relax. You feel your chest and stomach relax. It moves down over your legs and feet. You feel your legs and feet letting go and relaxing. The beautiful waterfall of white light is flowing over your whole body. You are very peaceful and relaxed. From https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/meditate/water.htm (Pause for a moment) Now I invite you to take an imaginary journey: You are walking down a path and come to a pond of calm, still, serene water. You look down and the water is a mirror reflecting you. The water teaches you something about what you need to hold on to or what you need to let go. What does the pond teach you? (take a pause) You toss a pebble into the water and watch the ripples as they bump into one another, or merge together to become an even greater ripple. What moods surface as you watch the ripples? What do you need to be aware of in the ripples? What do the ripples teach you? You walk further down the path and it arrives next to a river. The flow of the river is sometimes blocked by rocks, grasses. You become the river. What are you holding on to? What do you need to let go of? (Pause) Watch as the water simply flows around the obstruction and continues on its journey. All the elements are connected. Feel how fluid the water is. Feel how connected the water is with everything. The grass gets sustenance from the water, rocks are rubbed smooth and reshaped by the flow of the water. Water teaches us to let go and hold on in a never-ending stream. Feel the letting go and holding on of the water. As you become the river, you hear it murmuring. What does the river teach you? (pause) Gently say goodbye to the river, say goodbye to the path. When you are ready, take a deep breath, open your eyes and return to here and now. (Wait while everyone has time to return.) If you are willing, share what you experienced. (turn down the water video, and then turn it off when sharing is complete.) adapted from https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/adults/harvest/workshop6/142156.shtml

Deep Sharing from the Visualization Offer enough time for deep sharing of the visualization. This could take the entire rest of the time, if the group is open to sharing. Did the water teach you something about expecting to hold on or let go or both? What did you see in the still, calm water? What did the river say to you? Allow enough silence and reflection so the participants feel respected and treated gently.

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Activities

Oobleck From Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/deepfun/bond-building The perfect way to illustrate holding on (the oobleck hardens) and letting go ( the oobleck “melts.”) Materials: Cornstarch, water, food coloring, measuring cups and a large bowl. Measure out 1/4 cup of cornstarch for each person in the group. Add five tablespoons of water per 1/4 cup and mix. Add more water little by little until the concoction is malleable. Add some food coloring. This is some crazy stuff to make and play with. When you squeeze it, its dry and hard, but release it and it melts into a puddle. Dive in! Make sculptures and watch them melt. Talk about metaphors for life. Think of new names for the stuff.

Rainstorm From Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/deepfun/bond-building Darken the room. Have the group sit in a circle. Explain that you are going to start a repetitive motion and that it will travel around the circle to the right until it comes back to you, at which point you will start another motion. Tell the members not to change what they are doing until the person on their left has changed. The order of the motions is: rubbing hands together rubbing hands on thighs snapping fingers clapping hands stomping feet and clapping hands Once you reach #5, repeat the motions in descending order. The last motion to be passed around is stillness and silence. Theme Message: Rain is a metaphor for the fluidity of water. Sometimes it is soft and gentle, sometimes it is pounding and hard. The changing forms of rain reminds us that we can expect to go through changes ourselves and need to stay fluid as the “rains” shift and shape us in new ways...

“Sunshine” - experiences outdoors, in nature, or with movement Offer the Oobleck outside.

Service Invite the younger kids to try the Oobleck! Or teach them the Rainstorm.

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Session 2 Expecting New Beginnings The Practice of Celebrating “Firsts.” Introduction Focus Question: How do we manage all conflicting expectations that come with new beginnings? Practice: The skill of pausing before we begin. Session Goal: Create a ritual to pause and process our expectations as we enter new beginnings or “as we start new things”. Calendar Connections: The first day of school and Sunday School, New Year’s: Rosh Hashanah - Jewish New Year - Sept. 29 - Oct. 1; Al-Hijra/Muharram - Islamic New Year (day and month) - begins Aug. 31 - Sept. 28 Reflection

This month is a month exploring “Being a people of Expectation.” • Today’s lens is about managing all the conflicting expectations that come with new beginnings. o New beginnings mean new friends, but will they like us? o New beginnings mean learning new things, but am I smart enough? • It is a new school year for many. • What grade or level are you entering? • It is also a new lunar year for our siblings in the Jewish and Muslim faiths. • We don’t know what the new year will bring. • Anything can happen. We don’t know what to expect. • We can prepare our hearts and our minds to be open and welcoming to new experiences by preparing rituals for a new beginning. Meditation for the First Day of Youth Group Let yourself relax. Take in a nice, slow, deep breath. And then let it out. Breathe in. And out. Deep. Slow. Breathing in. And breathing out. (Pause) And let your bodies relax. Let your muscles relax. Let your face relax. Let your mind relax. Whatever you’ve been carrying around with you all day that you don’t need right now, let it go. Let all of you— body, mind, and spirit—deeply and fully relax. Keep breathing. (Pause) Think about something that makes you happy. It might be a person or something you like to do. Send that feeling of happiness and joy into your heart. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness from your heart out to your family. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness from your heart and your family out to your friends. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness from your heart , your family and your friends to all the people in your group. Take a deep breath. Send that happiness to all the advisors.

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Take a deep breath. Send that happiness to all the people in your entire congregation. Take a deep breath. Hold that happiness for all in your heart for a few more moments. And then slowly, as you’re ready, come back to this room and open your eyes. Adapted from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sscbS74nQXQ Activities

Creating a New Beginnings Ritual The first meeting for youth group has some important expectations. You should expect to: • Welcome new members o How will new participants be welcomed and made to feel a part? o How will new folks learn the songs, closing words, etc.? • Check in with existing members o How will group members catch up with each other? • Prepare the room o What needs to be cleaned out? o What needs to be added? Pictures, lighting, etc. • Create a chalice or check in ritual o Can you find a chalice for the room? o Do you want to make one? o Find a chalice lighting in a UU resource such as a hymnbook. o Write it on a poster and hang it on the wall. • Create a group Covenant o What promises will we make to each other about how we will act together? o Making a Group Covenant from Tapestry of Faith, Families, Jr. High School at https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/youth/families/workshop1/105585.shtml • Choose a group song, chant or movement. o What do folks remember from any Cons or regional events? o What is easy to remember? o Who can write it up and post it on the wall? • Establish closing words o Mine the hymnbooks, prayer books, and online for favorite words.

Write these as a checklist and check them off as they are accomplished. Guide the group in establishing ways they want to engage in each of these. Reflect on being a people of expectations and how we expect to celebrate and start anew for the best possible start.

Guests Invite a congregant or guest who has a connection to the Jewish faith and can reflect on the celebration of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Invite a congregant or guest who has a connection to the Muslim faith and can reflect on the celebration of the Islamic New Year, Al-Hijra/Muharram. Videos about Muharram - Islamic New Year Everything you needed to know about Muharram. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6y3GDDWn4g Soul Matters – RE Resources – Expectation 56

Videos about Rosh Hashana - Jewish New Year Rock Anthem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_M5-qthA8w (turn on captions if you want to read the lyrics)

New Beginning Games from Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/adults-ministry/deepfun/bond-building

Red Light / Green Light You can expect to stop and go with this favorite youth group game. Choose one person (the caller) and send them to the far end of the space. The caller remains stationary, turned away from the rest of the group. When they call “Green light!” the group moves towards them. When they call “Red light!” they have to stop. The caller turns around quickly and if she sees any members of the group still moving, those players have to return to the beginning. The goal of the game is to touch the caller without being seen moving. Variation: Tie the group into pairs with rope and have them hop toward the caller. Try it with one of the pair closing his eyes.

Vampire Expect to die! Needed: an enclosed, large space free of sharp objects. This will help all of you Unitarians get back to your Transylvanian roots. Choose one person to be the referee. Everyone except the referee closes his or her eyes and begins milling around the room. The referee will keep you from colliding with anything but warm, living flesh. They will also pick one person to be the vampire and whisper it in her ear. The vampire keeps their eyes closed like everyone else, but when she bumps into someone, there’s a difference. She snatches him and lets out a blood-curdling scream. Then he becomes a vampire as well. He is now on the prowl, seeking new victims. Only when two vampires snatch and feast on each other by mistake do they transform themselves back into regular mortals. Continue playing until your voices are hoarse.

“Sunshine” - experiences outdoors, in nature, or with movement After setting up the room and rituals, go outside to play the games.

Service If you were able to invite a guest from Jewish or Muslim faith, serve as hosts for that person, and invite them to coffee hour. Introduce them to your minister or lay leader and help them feel welcome. Offer to give them a tour of your facility. Then, make sure to write a thank you card to them for sharing their faith with you.

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Session 3 The Magic of Being Set Free from Expectations The Practice of Suspending Expectations

Introduction Focus Question: When are we set free from expectations? Practice: The skill of suspending expectations and being open to the unexpected. Session Goal: Name the delight we receive from giving up expectations, using the example of magic. Calendar Connections: flexible Reflection

Confounded by Expectations Leader Script: • We used to say, “blinded by expectations,” and we now think about how that wording sounds if someone who was vision impaired was in the group. • Would it be demeaning? • It could be called “ableist,” meaning that it discriminates against someone with a disability. • Instead, today, we are reflecting on how we can be confused by expectations and using magic to illustrate it. [See if there is anyone who knows some magic tricks and ask them to share. You might send a note beforehand asking the group to come prepared to share any magic tricks they know.] • Why is magic so fun? • It’s because it confuses our expectations. • So sometimes confused expectations are delightful and make us smile. • What would it be like to suspend our expectations and be delighted in the world • One Meditation Center shares: o “One of the biggest causes of suffering in the world today is expectations. Imagine how free you would feel if every day you were able to just “go with the flow,” trusting that the Universe was organizing everything perfectly. Well, this is exactly what the Universe is doing, but by imposing your ideas of how things should be, you end up struggling against the current. o This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have desires or plans for the future. Desires and plans are fine; it’s your attachment to their outcome—your expectations—that causes the challenges. Being nonattached and letting go of expectations is like saying, “This is what I think I want, but if there’s something even better, it’s okay to send that instead.” That’s when the magic begins!” - https://chopra.com/articles/no-expectation-zone- letting-go-of-expectations-during-meditation • What would it be like to live in a magical universe? Try this meditation to bring magic into your life.

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Meditation

Magic Meditation: What if You Were a Wizard? ( Start at min. 1:00; 10min. long) Invite the group to relax and watch and listen to this Magic Meditation. Start the video after the introductory words. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy5KYlj1KPE

Follow up the Magic Meditation Invite their responses to the meditation. This could be a more fun meditation with its imagery of being a wizard. How can I open up to more magic in my life? I am the magician of my life. Activities

Confusing and Delighting our Expectations with Magic Here are some magic tricks which are easily learned and very satisfying! Spend some time trying them out. Share them with friends and family! Especially recommended are: 1. Rubber Pencil 2. Spoon Bending 3. Disappearing Coin 4. Magnetic Pencil 5. Walk Through Paper 6. And one to save for outside - Egg Trick https://www.care.com/c/stories/4051/easy-magic-tricks-for-kids/

Games from Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/adults-ministry/deepfun/affirming

Carousel Remember the magic of a Merry Go Round? Offer this affirmation game and feel the magic of compliments that you don’t expect. Break the group into two equal groups and have them form two circles, one inside the other. Those on the inside circle close their eyes and wait while those in the outside circle think of a compliment, they have always wanted someone to say to them. Then the outside circle slowly rotates around the inner, whispering these compliments in each person’s ears. When they have gone all the way around, let the silence settle and the inner circle can slowly open their eyes. Let those on the outer and inner circles switch places and repeat the process.

Magical Tone Singing Have each person close their eyes release sound on a different tone. (“Om” or “Oooooooo”). Hold the tones as long as possible, taking staggered breaths so that the sound is constant. You don’t expect it, but listen as the voices come into harmony with each other. Selective Attention Test (a test showing how our expectations can fool and confuse us) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo Offer the video following the instructions on the screen. If you haven’t taken it yourself, try it! The magic is revealed at the end of this Session.*

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Sunshine - connection to Nature, outdoors Try the Egg Trick https://www.care.com/c/stories/4051/easy-magic-tricks-for-kids/ It works, but if you do it wrong you could end up with a cracked up egg! While you are outside, suspend your expectation of what should be and see what happens. What magic appears? An ant carrying a huge crumb? A bird singing? Let what happens, happen and let it pour through you like sunlight.

Service Teach your magic tricks to folks in the congregation after the service.

Answer to the Selective Attention Test A gorilla walks through the game and thumps his chest. About half the people don’t see the gorilla walk through. Folks are shocked that they didn’t see the gorilla. Those who see the gorilla are shocked that people missed the gorilla. For more information, check out Dan Simon’s video with more explanation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtKt8YF7dgQ. One real life example of this is motorists seeing cyclists on the road. If the motorist doesn’t expect to see a cyclist, will they simply not see them? Chances are 50/50 that they won’t. If you can miss a gorilla walking through a game, not seeing a cyclist might be just as easy. Theme Connection: When we are focusing our attention on a certain thing, we can miss all kinds of things which we don’t expect to see.

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Session 4 A People of Expectation Expect Change The Practice of Opening to Ongoing Revelation

Introduction Focus Question: How do we stay open to and expect “on-going revelation?” Practice: The skill of staying open to new ideas. Session Goal: Understanding the search for truth as growing a plant, not finding a holy grail. Calendar Connection: First meeting of the Transcendentalist Club, Sept. 19, 1836 Reflection

Ongoing Revelation - Expecting Change Leader Script: (say in your own words) • Unitarian Universalism expects change. o Our faith expects and encourages change. It’s called Ongoing Revelation. o Orthodox Christian faith sees one revelation, one truth that is unchangeable, that Jesus Christ came to this world to save us and that the Bible is the single, and unchanging source of truth. o UU faith sees ongoing revelation, an ongoing search for ever-changing truth.

• One example from history is how we changed American faith in the 1800’s. o Have you ever heard of Henry David Thoreau (author of Walden), Ralph Waldo Emerson (Unitarian minister, poet and philosopher), Nathanial Hawthorne (author of The Scarlett Letter), Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women,) Margaret Fuller (feminist and social activist) or Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (mother of the American Kindergarten)? o These were Unitarians in the 1800’s who were connected with an idealistic philosophical and social movement called Transcendentalism. o “It called on people to view the objects in the world as small versions of the whole universe and to trust their individual intuitions.” https://www.dictionary.com/browse/transcendentalist o Their first meeting of the Transcendentalist Club was Sept. 19, 1836. o These thinkers changed the way religion was done in their day and influence us today. • One example from now is how we are changing our very Principles and Sources today. o In 1995, we added the 6th Source of “Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.” o Currently, we are in discussion about adding an 8th Principle, as urged by the Black Lives UU Organizing Collective. o Our ongoing revelation is like growing a plant, like celebrity gardeners Shakira, Nicole Kidman and Jason Mraz, instead of finding a horcrux, as in Harry Potter or a holy grail, as in the legend of King Arthur. o It takes tending, and you never can predict exactly what you will see as the plant grows. o Ours is called a “living tradition.”

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Meditation

Lectio Divina with the Transcendentalists Expectation of the Meaning of Life In this form of meditation from Christian tradition, you read and notice and listen. Invite the group to get into a comfortable position. “(Listening) Read the passage slowly, two or three times and notice what word or phrase speaks to you. What am I hearing? (Repetition) Repeat the word or phrase over and over, allow it to sink into and act on your heart, notice any feelings, thoughts, questions arising and allow these to touch your life. - How is this touching me? (Listening) Listen for what you sense the Lord [Spirit of Life] is saying to you now. Take this to heart and ask for the grace to be taught and formed... What new insight am I being invited to embrace? What am I hearing? How is this touching me? What new insight am I being invited to embrace? How will I respond? You could also form a short mental prayer around your response. (Being) Stay quietly with whatever is happening, and trust this. Now is the time to stop pondering, and allow yourself to be with what is, knowing that the Lord[Universe] loves you and wants what is best for you.” - adapted from http://www.wccm.org/content/what-lectio-divina

Readings from the Transcendentalists. To be read slowly. Excerpted from Tapestry of Faith, Faith Like a River, Workshop 13. https://www.uua.org/re/tapestry/adults/river/workshop13/178794.shtml

Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Standing on the bare ground, — my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space, — all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature

Talk of mysteries! — Think of our life in nature, — daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it, — rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks! the solid earth! the actual world! the common sense! Contact! Contact! Who are we? where are we? — Henry David Thoreau, The Maine Woods

Simplify, simplify. — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Very early I knew that the only object in life was to grow. — Margaret Fuller

All around us lies what we neither understand nor use. Our capacities, our instincts for this our present sphere are but half developed. Let us confine ourselves to that till the lesson be learned; let us be completely natural; before we trouble ourselves with the supernatural. I never see any of these things

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but I long to get away and lie under a green tree and let the wind blow on me. There is marvel and charm enough in that for me. — Margaret Fuller, Summer on the Lakes

Our ideals are our better selves. — Amos Bronson Alcott [Father of Louisa May Alcott, author of “Little Women”]

If a test of civilization be sought, none can be so sure as the condition of that half of society over which the other half has power. — Harriet Martineau

You had better live your best and act your best and think your best today; for today is the sure preparation for tomorrow and all the other tomorrows that follow. — Harriet Martineau

Response to Meditation How do these words affect you? Are you among the UU’s who have been inspired by this Club of thinkers, who met first on Sept. 19, 1836? Share the following about Transcendentalists: “For much of America, indeed the world, Transcendentalism would become the first flowering of a non- European dominated American literature. In fact that flowering was simply a side-effect of a major theological revolution in American religion where the Bible and revealed religion began to take second place to a direct experience of the natural world. It should be noted this generation of thinkers, in addition to being heirs to the greatness of European thought and particularly the new thinking coming out of Germany, they were the first Americans to have access to translations of major religious writings from the East, including Hindu, Taoist and Buddhist texts. They made full use of this gathered wisdom in their deliberations. And their (both the texts and these spiritual thinkers) influence continues in Unitarian Universalism to the present moment.” from The Transcendentalist Club by James Ford https://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2007/09/the-transcendentalist-club.html

Reflect on the questions posed by Lectio Divina and share your answers with the group. When we understand how we are changed by becoming mindful of our inner lives, we understand that we are to expect change throughout our lives. What is your expectation for living a meaningful life? • What new insight am I being invited to embrace? • What am I hearing? • How is this touching me? • How will I respond?

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Activities

Expect Change, Grow a Plant Make your own Transcendentalist connection with nature and grow a plant. Offer plants in whatever fits your geography. It might be clippings from a houseplant to plant and grow, or seeds from produce. Provide soil and a pot from recycled materials. Or it might be a gift of a fall flower, like a marigold. Add a small decorative sign with “Expect Change.” or “Ongoing Revelation” on it.

Games from Deep Fun https://www.uua.org/youth/library/adults-ministry/deepfun/affirming

The Interconnected Web Materials: A large ball of yarn, scissors. Have the group stand in a circle. The person holding the ball of yarn begins by choosing someone across the circle to affirm. They say something they love about someone else and throw the ball, while holding on to the end of the yarn. That person catches it and chooses a new person. The process continues until everyone is holding onto part of the web. Have the group raise the web above their heads to see how neat it is. Pass around scissors so that everyone can cut a piece of the web to keep as a memento of the community or find a place to hang up the web. Variation: When someone catches the ball of yarn, they say a word that describes what they bring to the community.

Forest Trail (Remember anyone can opt out if they don’t feel comfortable. This, like other activities has the ability to trigger those who have experienced trauma. Make sure you explain the activity, so people know what they are getting into.) Have the group form a double line with people facing each other and standing about three feet apart. Have them extend their arms forward and imagine that they are trees in a forest. Then have one person stand at the end of the aisle, close their eyes and start walking through. They must get through the interweaving of branches in order to proceed through to the other side. Sometimes the branches may be stiff and require a firm push to get past, other times they are as soft as ferns. When they reach the end, they can open their eyes, return to one of the lines and become part of the forest. Let everyone have a turn.

“Sunshine” (connection with nature and our bodies)/ Movement Play the Deep Fun Games outdoors. Commune with nature à la Thoreau and Emerson!

Service Offer Buttons for sale to the congregation with “Expect Change” on them using an online button making company like Sticker Mule or order your favorites from Northern Sun as a fundraiser for the new work UU’s are engaged in, your choice. Lead the Deep Fun games with the younger kids after the service.

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Session 5 Expecting Pressure from Others’ Expectations The Practice of Overcoming Expectations

Introduction Focus Question: How can we be better at leaving external standards behind? Practice: The practice of overcoming our own and others’ expectations, especially as it relates to racism. Session Goal: Begin to integrate our true inner selves with a service to the world. Feel the healing power of love, a gift from our Universalist heritage. Calendar Connection: Universalism Day Reflection

Looking Good in the Eyes of Others vs. Understanding the Gift of Being the Person You were Born to Be Share these reflections by Parker Palmer, American Quaker author and educator, much beloved by UU Religious Educators as well: “As young people, we are surrounded by expectations that may have little to do with who we really are, expectations held by people who are not trying to discern our selfhood but to fit us into slots. In families, schools, workplaces, and religious communities, we are trained away from true self toward images of acceptability; under social pressures … our original shape is deformed beyond recognition; and we ourselves, driven by fear, too often betray true self to gain the approval of others... Falling into line with such external standards and expectations always tempts the human ego, with its incessant need to look good in the eyes of others… [What is the alternative?] Hasidic Jews call it the spark of the divine in every being. Christians may call it spirit, though some (e.g., the Quakers) call it the inner teacher, and Thomas Merton (a Trappist monk) called it true self. Secular humanists call it identity and integrity… And there are common idioms for it in everyday speech, as when we say of someone we know and care about, “He just isn’t himself these days”, or, “She seems to have found herself.” Today I understand vocation quite differently—not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received. Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation does not come from a voice “out there” calling me to become something I am not. It comes from a voice “in here” calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth by God. There is a Hasidic tale that reveals, with amazing brevity, both the universal tendency to want to be someone else and the ultimate importance of becoming one's self: ‘Rabbi Zusya, when he was an old man, said, “In the coming world, they will not ask me: ‘Why were you not Moses?' They will ask me: ‘Why were you not Zusya?'” - http://www.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/heart-and-soul/ Invite the youth to name the pressures on them. Invite reflections on the expectations which surround them and how or when they express who they really are.

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Meditation

Finding Your Patronus, the protector of your inner self Invite the group to find a comfortable way to relax. Take a few deep breaths and center themselves. Read these words: This meditation is based on the Patronus in Harry Potter. The Patronus in our world protects you from the outer expectations which are thrown upon you, and which harm your true inner self. “As Professor Lupin told Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban, the Patronus is ‘a kind of Anti-Dementor – a guardian which acts as a shield between you and the Dementor.’ It’s also ‘a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon – hope, happiness, the desire to survive – but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can’t hurt it.’ “The Patronus is the most famous (and famously difficult) defensive charm. The aim is to produce a silvery-white guardian or protector, which takes the form of an animal... It is usual, but not inevitable, for a Patronus to take the form of an animal commonly found in the caster’s native country. Given their long affinity with humans it is perhaps unsurprising that among the most common Patronuses … are dogs, cats and horses. However, every Patronus is as unique as its creator and even identical twins have been known to produce very different Patronuses.” from https://www.pottermore.com/features/what-is-a-patronus Sit for a few moments and imagine walking into the woods. At first the woods are dark and threatening. You hear rustling behind you. The woods are filled with animals which are the outer expectations which pressure and threaten your true inner self. You catch glimpses of these animals. What outer expectations are threatening you? What animal form do these outer expectations take? [Pause] Now imagine that you find a wand in your hand. You are able to conjure up your Patronus to protect yourself. You say the spell, “Expecto Patronum!” and a silvery-white animal appears. Look deeply into your true inner self to find out what animal your Patronus is. Watch as your Patronus expels the threatening outer expectations from the woods. [pause] The woods fill with light and beauty. There are flowers blooming. You watch your Patronus as it looks at you and gives you a special gift. This gift gives you understanding of your true inner self. What is the gift? [pause] Say goodbye to your Patronus. Return gently to this place, take a deep breath, and return to our group.

Meditation Response Invite sharing. What did you experience?

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Activities

Self and Service - The Möbius Strip “True vocation joins self and service, as Frederick Buechner asserts when he defines vocation as “the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need.” - Palmer “... I’m fascinated with the way our inner lives keep co-creating our external world—and how the external world then loops back to co-create us. The image I use is of the Möbius Strip, which is this very unusual 3D shape that only has one side. If you take a finger and trace what seems to be the outside surface, you suddenly find yourself on what seems to be the inside, and vice versa. So the inside and the outside continually flow into each other and co-create each other. The first time I saw this I thought, ‘that’s exactly how life is!’ – whatever is inside of us flows out to help shape the outer world, and whatever is outside flows in to help shape our inner world.” https://www.dumbofeather.com/conversations/parker-palmer-is-living-the-questions/ “Möbius strips are named after German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius who discovered the non-orientable band in 1858. A non-orientable band is one that has only one boundary. Try this: take a pencil and draw a line on both “sides” of the loop. How many times did you have to lift up the pencil? Now make a loop without the twist. Draw a line around both sides of the second loop. How many times did you lift the pencil? What happens when you twist the loop more than once...By the way, another German, Johann Benedict Listing, discovered it at the same time!” https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/mobius-strip-hearts

Make a Möbius Strip Step by Step with a more elegant cut: https://www.instructables.com/id/Mobius-Strip/ Video of a very simple one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z30c5wvoS_s There are several suggestions for experiments here: https://brilliant.org/wiki/mobius-strips/ Make a Möbius Heart https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/mobius-strip-hearts More about the Möbius Strip (including an animated clip of Escher’s Möbius Strip II with ants crawling around on it. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mathematical-madness-mobius-strips-and-other-one- sided-objects-180970394/

“Code Switching,” the “Talk” and the Pressure of Expectation Invite the group to watch how people of color are expected to "code switch" and how black parents must give their kids "the talk" that tells them they need to expect to have encounters with the police that could be deadly if they don't behave smartly. Here are some links: On the Expectation, Necessary and Burden of Code Switching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNbdn0yuUw8 (5 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iQuATmEbVw (9 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9fmJ5xQ_mc (4 min)

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The Talk & Expectation The painful and heart-breaking task of having to explain to your child that they need to expect that someday, someone might want to hurt you or kill you because of who you are. Black Parents on the Talk (5 min): https://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12401792/police-black-parents-the-talk How to Deal with the Police | Parents Explain (5 min): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coryt8IZ-DE Dear Child: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkw1CetjWwI Our spiritual calling is to help create an anti-racist, anti-oppression, multi-cultural world, free of racist expectations. Our job is to spread our belief that all people have inherent dignity and worth and walk our talk. • We strive to allow all people to share their deepest, truest inner self in service to the world. • For this, a Sunday on September 30 called “Universalist Day” we celebrate the healing power of love. • Imagine what a better world that will be and work for it.

“Sunshine” (connection with nature and our bodies)/ Movement Go outside and take an Inner and Outer Walk. Hold the healing power of love, a gift from our Universalist heritage, in your mind, heart and spirit. Let the Meditation, the image of the Möbius Strip and the expectations of race in our culture settle into your mind, heart and spirit as you move your body. Let them settle into your awareness as you connect with the power of the natural world.

Service Offer to teach the congregation how to make Möbius strip hearts after the service.

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Family and Parent Resources These resources help parents as they engage the question: “What does it mean to be a family of Expectation?” In addition to families using them at home, you might also use them to engage parents collectively, for instance in a Parent Circle that meets on Sunday afternoon or mid-week.

With Your Kids (Ideas to engage Expectation as a Family)

Stories To Read Together

Fly, Eagle, Fly: An African Tale by Christopher Gregorowski (Author), Niki Daly (Illustrator), Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Foreword) Book: https://www.amazon.com/Fly-Eagle-African- Tale/dp/1416975993/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DVAGKJ70MU0O&keywords=fly+eagle+fly&qid=1561299962&s=books&sp refix=Fly+Eagle%2Cstripbooks%2C169&sr=1-1 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bgl4tVcRHs “After a stormy night, a farmer, searching for his lost calf, finds a baby eagle that has been blown out of its nest. He takes it home and raises it with his chickens. When a friend comes to visit one day, he tells the farmer that an eagle should be flying high in the sky, not staying on the ground. "But this eagle walks like a chicken, eats like a chicken, even thinks like a chicken," the farmer replies. Twice, the farmer's friend tries to get the eagle to fly, but it sees the chickens on the ground and drops down each time. At last the friend, followed by the farmer, carries the young eagle back into the mountains and places the great bird on a rocky ledge, just before sunrise. As the air is filled with golden light and the sun appears, the friend cries, "Fly, Eagle, fly!" and the eagle raises its wings and soars upward, out of sight.” - Amazon Theme Connection: The pressure of other people’s expectations can make us think we should be chickens, but inside there is a gift which should soar in us. Family Discoveries

Confusing and Delighting our Expectations with Magic Here are some magic tricks which are easily learned and very satisfying! Spend some time trying them out. Share them with friends and family! Especially recommended are: 1. Rubber Pencil 2. Spoon Bending 3. Disappearing Coin 4. Magnetic Pencil 5. Walk Through Paper 6. And one to save for outside Egg Trick: https://www.care.com/c/stories/4051/easy-magic-tricks-for-kids/

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Self and Service - The Möbius Strip “True vocation joins self and service, as Frederick Buechner asserts when he defines vocation as “the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep need.” - Palmer “I’m fascinated with the way our inner lives keep co-creating our external world—and how the external world then loops back to co-create us. The image I use is of the Möbius Strip, which is this very unusual 3D shape that only has one side. If you take a finger and trace what seems to be the outside surface, you suddenly find yourself on what seems to be the inside, and vice versa. So the inside and the outside continually flow into each other and co-create each other. The first time I saw this I thought, ‘that’s exactly how life is!’ – whatever is inside of us flows out to help shape the outer world, and whatever is outside flows in to help shape our inner world. https://www.dumbofeather.com/conversations/parker- palmer-is-living-the-questions/ “Möbius strips are named after German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius who discovered the non-orientable band in 1858. A non-orientable band is one that has only one boundary. Try this: take a pencil and draw a line on both “sides” of the loop. How many times did you have to lift up the pencil? Now make a loop without the twist. Draw a line around both sides of the second loop. How many times did you lift the pencil? What happens when you twist the loop more than once...By the way, another German, Johann Benedict Listing, discovered it at the same time!” https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/mobius-strip-hearts

Make a Möbius Strip Step by Step with a more elegant cut: https://www.instructables.com/id/Mobius-Strip/ Video of a very simple one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z30c5wvoS_s There are several suggestions for experiments here: https://brilliant.org/wiki/mobius-strips/ Make a Möbius Heart https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/Möbius-strip-hearts More about the Möbius Strip (including an animated clip of Escher’s Möbius Strip II with ants crawling around on it. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/mathematical-madness-mobius-strips-and- other-one-sided-objects-180970394/ Family Movie Night Ideas

The Peanuts Movie (G) https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-peanuts-movie Theme Connection: Finding our inner true self is the most important thing, instead of trying to live up to others expectations.

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For You (Support for Parents as Faith Formation Guides)

Beyond the Golden Rule Beyond the Golden Rule, published by Teaching Tolerance, is a parent’s guide to preventing and responding to prejudice, from preschool through high school. It is a useful resource for families of all racial identities. The book is available in a PDF format that can be downloaded and printed. As suggested by Black Lives UU Teach-In Resources. https://www.blacklivesuu.com/teach-in-resources/ Theme Connection: Current discussion and reflection on racism in our faith is the most blatant example of fighting the pressure of expectations. Racism goes far beyond a “pressure” and is a system of oppression which permeates our culture.

Soulful Home Family Guides Explore the themes at home with your family by subscribing to our monthly parent guides, Soulful Home. Here’s the link to the Soulful Home page on our website: https://www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com/soulful-home-for-families.html

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Opportunities for Support and Connection Come play and think together! August and September Online Zoom Labs All Labs take place on Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/5857099120 Audio only: Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll) Meeting ID: 585 709 9120

RE Packet Brainstorming Labs First Wednesday of the Month at 1 pm ET. Brainstorm on the upcoming theme 2 months away. Brainstorm October’s RE packet on Belonging. Wednesday, August 7, 2019, 1 p.m. Eastern Time Brainstorm November’s RE packet on Attention. Wednesday, September 4, 2019, 1 p.m. Eastern Time

RE Leader Implementation Labs Second Wednesday of each month at 1 pm Eastern. Katie’s overview of the packet on the next month’s theme. Structured sharing of challenges, opportunities, and take-aways on ideas for the theme. These Labs will be recorded and posted on the YouTube Soul Matters Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe2pmT_ATh-pbkjF2m7rfOA Overview/Share on the theme of Expectation - August Meeting: Wednesday, Aug 14, 1 p.m. Eastern Overview /Share on the theme of Belonging - Sept. Meeting: Wednesday, Sept. 11, 1 p.m. Eastern Share Your Ideas for the Monthly Packets! Remember that that packet creation is a collaborative effort. We will reach out to you each month by email and Facebook to solicit your ideas for our monthly packets. But you don’t have to wait for those invitations. If you come across something that would be great for any of our upcoming themes, send it our way anytime at [email protected] September: Expectation October: Belonging November: Attention December: Awe January: Integrity February: Resilience March: Wisdom April: Liberation May: Thresholds June: Play

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Other Resources and Sources of Support:

RE Leader Facebook Page Don’t forget about our RE Leader Support Facebook page. Here is where our colleagues post bulletin board pictures, share books, and ideas. It’s a great ongoing source of support. Your colleagues are available to support you at the click of a button and with the ease of a post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/545202255591601/ Pinterest Page Check out the Pinterest page on Expectation. Images and links to the books, videos, activities and more as mentioned in this packet. https://www.pinterest.com/soulmattersre/2019-expectation-september/ Inspiration Facebook Page Offer your teachers and parents spiritual nourishment and inspiration by encouraging them to join the Soul Matters Inspiration Facebook Page. Use the memes for your congregational FB page, as well: https://www.facebook.com/soulmatterssharingcircle/ Soul Matters Spotify Music Playlists: Discover musical inspiration on each of our monthly themes through our playlists: https://www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com/spotify-lists.html Soulful Home Family Guides: Invite your parents to explore the themes at home with their family by subscribing to our monthly parent guides, Soulful Home. Here’s the link to the Soulful Home page on our website: https://www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com/soulful-home.html. There are three types of subscriptions: congregational, family and gift subscriptions. Check out them all! If you don’t purchase a congregational subscription, consider sharing the link in your church newsletter or the weekly emails you send to parents. Here’s a link to a PDF flyer you can post on your bulletin boards or hand out to new families.

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Related Resources from Katie Covey

Katie creates curriculum distinct from Soul Matters. You can learn more about all she offers at www.uure.com. If you have purchased her curriculum, here are sessions from them that relate to the theme of Expectation,

Elementary Ages

From Spirit of Adventure: Session #2 - Sports - Lessons for Life Session #4 - Sports - the Good and the Bad Session #35 - Web of Life - Blessing of the Animals

From Picture Book UU: Session #1 - The Big Orange Splot Session #3 - Henry Builds a Cabin

From Picture Book Bible Tales Session #3 - The Story of Cain and Abel Session #10 - Jonah and the Great Fish

From Picture Book World Religions Session # 7 - Islam - Sitti’s Secret Session #11 - Buddhism - The Brave Little Parrot

For Youth

From Lodestone, Magnetize Your Middle School

UU Unit Session #UU1 - Opening Brunch Race Unit (Free download!) Session #R1 - The Danger of a Single Story Social Nights September - 6-foot Banana Split Night

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Soul Matters RE Packet Author and Support Team: Packet Author: Katie Covey, Soul Matters Director of Religious Education

Special thanks to all the Soul Matters Religious Educators who send in suggestions for our monthly packets and participate in our monthly packet brainstorming calls.

Thanks also to the other Soul Matters Team members who contribute to the content and shape of these packets: Rev. Michelle Collins, Soul Matters Small Group & Special Projects Researcher Rev. Scott Tayler, Soul Matters Team Lead

© 2019-20 Soul Matters ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Packets are for use only by member congregations of the Soul Matters Sharing Circle. Learn how to join at http://www.soulmatterssharingcircle.com

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