LOVE CONNECTS US A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children Grades 4-5 BY MICHELLE RICHARDS AND LYNN UNGAR © Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association. This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at www.uua.org/tapestryoffaith. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THE AUTHORS ......................................................................................................................................................... 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................................................... 3 THE PROGRAM ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5 SESSION 1: A COVENANT IS A PROMISE ........................................................................................................................ 15 SESSION 2: A HERITAGE OF LOVE ................................................................................................................................... 25 SESSION 3: LOVE IS THE SPIRIT OF THIS CHURCH ...................................................................................................... 36 SESSION 4: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF ..................................................................................................... 52 SESSION 5: MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY LIVE ....................................................................................................... 63 SESSION 6: THE MORE WE GET TOGETHER .................................................................................................................. 73 SESSION 7: ONE PERSON MAKES A DIFFERENCE ........................................................................................................ 85 SESSION 8: THE POWER OF PEACE ................................................................................................................................ 94 SESSION 9: KINDNESS IS THE KEY ................................................................................................................................ 108 SESSION 10: PEACE INSIDE ............................................................................................................................................ 123 SESSION 11: SCIENCE AND RELIGION .......................................................................................................................... 136 SESSION 12: SEEING TRUTH/TRUE SEEING ................................................................................................................. 147 SESSION 13: A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE ................................................................................................................... 155 SESSION 14: OUR HERITAGE'S CALLING ...................................................................................................................... 168 SESSION 15: ALL WORK TOGETHER ............................................................................................................................. 177 SESSION 16: WE ARE ACTIVE CREATORS OF OUR FAITH ......................................................................................... 186 Note: If you add or delete text in this program, you may change the accuracy of the table of contents. The Table of Contents is an auto-generated list; if you change content and want an accurate representation of the page numbers listed in the TOC, click the table and click “Update Field.” Then, click “Update page numbers only.” Click OK. 2 ABOUT THE AUTHORS Michelle Richards is a credentialed religious educator and author of the Skinner House books Come Into the Circle: Worshiping with Children and the forthcoming Tending the Flame: The Art of Unitarian Universalist Parenting as well as the author of several independently published curricula. She served the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Elkhart (Indiana) for seven years as director of religious education before becoming a religious education and small congregation consultant for the Central Midwest District. Lynn Ungar is a graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry and holds a D.Min. in religious education from McCormick Theological Seminary. She co-authored the Tapestry of Faith curriculum Faithful Journeys and is the author of the 1996 meditation manual Blessing the Bread. Lynn served as a parish minister for ten years and a religious education director for three before taking up her current position as minister of lifespan learning for the Church of the Larger Fellowship, the online Unitarian Universalist congregation. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The sessions of this program focus on the covenant created by the Reverend James Vila Blake during the time he served the Unitarian Church in Evanston, Illinois. Many congregations have adopted or adapted this covenant to express the fundamental values that bond them as a community and as Unitarian Universalists. Rev. Blake was a poet with several volumes of published poetry to his credit. He received national attention when he calmly directed worshipers at the Third Unitarian Church to exit the building because of a fire which had been ignited during a service. His words, "There is reason for haste, but not alarm," encouraged everyone to leave the building quickly, in an orderly fashion, and without panic. Rev. Blake waited at the pulpit until all 140 worshipers had left, and then made his own exit. Less than a minute later, the entire meeting room was engulfed in flames from floor to ceiling. Tapestry of Faith Core Team The following UUA staff brought Tapestry to fruition: Judith A. Frediani, Curriculum Director, Tapestry Project Director Adrianne Ross, Project Manager Susan Dana Lawrence, Managing Editor Jessica York, Youth Programs Director Gail Forsyth-Vail, Adult Programs Director Pat Kahn, Children and Family Programs Director Alicia LeBlanc, Administrative and Editorial Assistant We are grateful to these former UUA staff members who contributed to the conceptualization and launch of Tapestry of Faith: Tracy L. Hurd Sarah Gibb Millspaugh Aisha Hauser Pat Hoertdoerfer Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley PREFACE As Unitarian Universalists, we belong to a beloved community with a heritage of love, truth-seeking, and peacemaking from our Unitarian and Universalist forebears. Although our theological beliefs can be diverse, our covenant with one another and the love we bring to it tie us together in a common bond. The covenanted community we share is embodied in the words of Reverend James Vila Blake which provide the structure for this program: Love is the spirit of this church, 3 And service its law. This is our great covenant: To dwell together in peace, To seek the truth in love, And to help one another. 4 THE PROGRAM Reveal ways in which we are called to help one another and to encourage spiritual growth in our Alone we can do so little, together we can do so congregations much. — Helen Keller, author and activist for people with disabilities Explore what it means for Unitarian Universalists Love Connects Us celebrates important ways Unitarian to be connected by love and covenant rather Universalists live our faith in covenanted community. than shared theological belief. Moved by love and gathered in spirit, we embrace our LEADERS responsibility toward one another and the world at large. We encourage one another's search for truth and It is suggested that adult leaders have experience with meaning. We strive to be active in peace-making and both the congregation and Unitarian Universalism. The other efforts to improve our world. ideal teaching team of two adult co-leaders for each session will have some diversity, which might be in The sessions explore our legacy, from both gender, age, race or ethnicity, socio-economic class, Universalism and Unitarianism, of living our connections theological beliefs and/or learning styles. If possible, in loving service, inquiry, and action for social justice. At leadership could include adults comfortable with leading the same time, the program builds active participants in songs or who can contribute musical accompaniment. our faith. Children learn how our actions create a new Additional adult or youth volunteers will be needed to heritage of connecting in love which will shape the faith help facilitate small groups in some sessions. of future generations. By exploring the key ideas of the Blake covenant, PARTICIPANTS participants grow in Unitarian Universalist identity, This program is written for fourth- and fifth-grade explore their connections to one another in our beloved children. You may find it useful to think about the communities, and discover ways they are called to act in developmental norms for this age group. Not all children our congregations and the wider world. arrive at each developmental stage at the same time, Crafts and games that use tying and knots makes but knowing what to expect overall can be quite helpful, tangible the concept of connections we share with one especially to first-time leaders. another. Participants physically explore what it means to In her book, Nurturing Children and Youth: A be linked to others and how one person's actions can Developmental Guidebook (Boston: Unitarian affect the whole system to which they belong.