SPIRIT OF LIFE
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Adults
WORKSHOP 1: SPIRIT OF LIFE: EXPLORING SPIRITUALITY FOR UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS
REVISED
BY REVEREND BARBARA HAMILTON-HOLWAY
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 9/29/2014 9:21:54 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
We covenant to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
The living tradition we share draws from... Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life. — Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association
This introductory workshop gets participants in touch with spiritual moments in their lives. Rather than offering opportunities to discuss or debate the existence of something external called "spirit," the activities help participants recognize and claim their own internal experiences of wonder, awe, and connection.
"Heart and mind" and "body and spirit" are phrases we use as metaphors to try to describe a goal of our human quest for wholeness. The experiences participants will have in this workshop become part of their own quest—a quest to live fully as individuals and to participate together in creating a loving and just world.
GOALS
This workshop will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
WORKSHOP-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | 0 |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Meeting One Another | 5 |
Activity 2: Introducing Spirit of Life | 10 |
Activity 3: Singing "Spirit of Life" | 5 |
Activity 4: What Does the Song Mean to You? | 10 |
Activity 5: Words of Wonder and Reverence | 10 |
Activity 6: Reflecting on Spiritual Moments | 15 |
Activity 7: Sharing in Groups of Three | 25 |
Faith in Action: Listening to Deepen Social Justice Projects | |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: In Poetry and Prayer | 30 |
Alternate Activity 2: Spiritual Journey Map | 30 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Before leading this introductory workshop, you may wish to engage in the following suggested practices for centering. A centered leader who is present and responsive while facilitating is likely to lead an effective workshop.
Reflection. Set aside some time to reflect on your personal experiences and understanding of spirituality. Either individually or together, co-leaders can use the workshop activities to spark and structure your reflection. Doing so will also prepare you to explain and lead the activities.
Practice. Set aside some moments to pray, to meditate, or to envision your good intentions for the workshop.
Review Workshop 1, Leader Resource 1, Accessibility Guidelines for Workshop Presenters, for general tips to make your workshop welcoming to people with physical disabilities and sensitivities.
WORKSHOP PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
As participants enter, invite them to sign in and create nametags.
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the group in a circle. Distribute Handout 1. Indicate the unison chalice-lighting words on the handout.
Invite a participant to light the chalice, while you lead the group in reciting the unison chalice-lighting words.
ACTIVITY 1: MEETING ONE ANOTHER (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Begin name sharing by affirming participants:
I'm so glad you are here. There is so much knowing in this room, and each one of us has something to offer us all.
Invite participants to think of an activity they enjoy or engage in frequently. Then, invite each to share their name and their activity. For example, "I'm Mary, and I enjoy jumping out of airplanes," or "I'm Bob, and I type at a keyboard all day."
A variation on this activity involves movement: Each person mimes the activity they describe, then all other participants mimic their motions.
You may begin by sharing your own name and activity, or invite a participant to go first. Ask participants to say their names clearly. If you are using a microphone, pass it during the sharing.
If the group has 20 or fewer participants, after all have shared their names and activities ask if anyone thinks they can repeat all the names. If the volunteer gets stuck on a participant's name, ask the participant to repeat their name.
ACTIVITY 2: INTRODUCING SPIRIT OF LIFE (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Offer an introduction to this workshop and Unitarian Universalist spirituality. Ask:
After engaging participants in a brief discussion, describe the workshop series. Spirit of Life helps participants:
Distribute your version of Handout 2.
Invite questions about the workshop or the series.
ACTIVITY 3: SINGING "SPIRIT OF LIFE" (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Invite participants to rise in body or spirit and sing "Spirit of Life" by Carolyn McDade, Hymn 123 in Singing the Living Tradition.
If your congregation has a tradition of using body movement or sign language to accompany this song, you may invite participants to share in this movement while they sing together.
Including All Participants
The invitation to "rise in body or spirit" accommodates participants of all physical abilities.
ACTIVITY 4: WHAT DOES THIS SONG MEAN TO YOU? (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Share with participants this excerpt from a 2007 article in UU World:
No other song, no other prayer, no other piece of liturgy is so well known and loved in Unitarian Universalism as "Spirit of Life" by Carolyn McDade.
It is our Doxology, or perhaps our "Amazing Grace." Many congregations sing it every Sunday, or at least enough to know the words by heart. Sermons have been devoted to this one song... It is sung at weddings and memorial services, around campfires and at demonstrations, at cradles and hospital bedsides.
In six short lines "Spirit of Life" touches so much that is central to our faith—compassion, justice, community, freedom, reverence for nature, and the mystery of life. It finds the common ground held by humanists and theists, pagans and Christians, Buddhists and Jews, gay and straight among us.
Engage participants in a reflection on the song "Spirit of Life," using the questions below. Allow a few short responses to each question. If you like, you or a volunteer may note participant responses on newsprint:
ACTIVITY 5: WORDS OF WONDER AND REVERENCE (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Share with participants:
As Unitarian Universalists, we have many ways of naming those things in life that inspire wonder, awe, and reverence. Whether or not we believe that there is divinity at work in our universe, we experience moments of what our Unitarian Universalist Principles name as "transcending mystery and wonder" and "an openness to the forces that create and uphold life."
Distribute Handout 3. Explain that this handout features some, but not all, of the words that describe an object of wonder and reverence in the hymns included in Singing the Living Tradition. Point out the variety among these words; the phrases speak to Unitarian Universalists in all our theological diversity.
Ask participants to spend a few minutes individually reading the list in Handout 3 and to circle at least three personally meaningful phrases—words that remind them of wonder or the Spirit of Life. Invite participants to write down their own phrases or words if none of the phrases speaks to them or if the list seems incomplete. Explain that they will use the words in activities that follow.
Including All Participants
To adapt this activity for people with vision limitations, form small groups and ask a volunteer in each small group to read up to 20 of the phrases aloud. Invite others in the group to respond by verbally indicating which words speak to them about the sacred, while another volunteer jots down tally marks on his/her handout to record the number of responses earned by each word or phrase. Invite each small group to tally up the responses to identify the phrases with the most positive responses. Reconvene the entire group and compare findings.
For participants with low vision, handouts can be printed with large font, or emailed to participants to use their own reader.
ACTIVITY 6: REFLECTING ON SPIRITUAL MOMENTS (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Gather the necessary supplies and put them out on a table or another easily-accessed place in the meeting room.
Description of Activity
Invite participants into a time of quiet reflection.
In the quiet, ask participants to read to themselves the words they circled on their list. Or, if you used the adaptation in Activity 5, Words of Wonder and Reverence that involved spoken responses, you may now choose to read aloud to the group all of the words that earned tally marks.
Invite the group to reflect on this question:
What experiences or moments have you had of feeling wonder and reverence—feelings of oneness with the earth, feelings of connection with the mystery and wonder of the universe, or a sense of God or the Spirit of Life? In other words, what experiences or moments have led you to appreciate the words you chose?
Allow one or two minutes of shared silence. Then, distribute paper and writing/drawing implements. Invite participants to write about or draw their memories of, or responses to, those experiences or moments. You may suggest that participants list words or memories, create a poem, write their thoughts in prose, or draw abstractly or realistically.
An invitation to draw can make "art-phobic" participants nervous. Make it clear that this activity presents an opportunity to be creative, which can involve writing or drawing. Suggest that participants try drawing with their non-dominant hands, to free themselves from self-judgment about their drawing ability.
Let the group know they will have ten minutes for reflecting and responding on paper. After ten minutes, ring the bell and invite participants to return their attention to the whole group.
Including All Participants
Welcome participants who do not wish to or are not able to write or draw to sit comfortably and contemplate in silence. While the objective of this activity is spiritual reflection and expression, neither a specific product nor its quality matter. Invite participants to engage in the form of creativity that most awakens their spirituality in this moment.
ACTIVITY 7: SHARING IN GROUPS OF THREE (25 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell the group they will have an opportunity to share their stories about their own experiences of wonder, reverence, and the Spirit of Life.
Invite participants to form groups of three, preferably with people whom they do not yet know well. If the number of participants is not divisible by three, form pairs as needed.
Then, offer these instructions:
For this exercise, each person in your group will have a turn at each of three roles: speaker, listener, and holder of the space.
When you are the speaker, it takes courage to speak from your depths to another person. You choose what, and how much, you want to share. True, honest speaking creates community and strengthens you in being true to who you are.
Listening is a way of showing respect and care for another. Listening is a way to learn and grow. Listening creates community. Listening without interruption and with attention takes concentration and effort.
When you are holding the space, you hold the good intentions for the group and provide witness to the sharing between speaker and listener. As you hold the space, you want the best for the time. You want safety and compassion. You want truth to be spoken, and heard. When you are holding the space, you give your attention and support to the speaker, to the listener, to the process, and to the relationships it creates. One woman said that holding the space is like being in the same room with her two children when they are having a conversation. She is not part of the conversation, but she wants so much for the conversation to go well.
Each person will have five minutes to speak. When it is your turn to speak, you might begin by taking a deep breath. Speak the essence of what you have to say. Take all the time given to you. Not less, so as not to show up. Not more, so as to take away from someone else's presence in the group. You might think you've said all you have to say, but if your minutes are not up, you can pause quietly, breathe, and perhaps get in touch with something more to share.
Invite each triad to determine the order in which they will rotate the three roles. Participants who are paired will each take a turn as speaker and listener.
Tell the group you will ring the bell to begin the exercise and at five-minute intervals so they can switch roles. Ring the bell, and watch the clock.
When all have shared, tell participants they will have two minutes to reflect on the exercise within their triads or pairs. Ask each triad or pair to allocate the time evenly, on their own, so that everyone has the same amount of time to speak and to listen. Offer this question to guide triads and pairs in reflection:
Begin and end the two-minute period by ringing the bell. Bring the whole group back together, and invite brief responses to these questions:
Tell the group:
The triad sharing you have completed introduces some practices that many consider spiritual: To speak the truth in love, to listen as a way of showing respect and care, to hold good intentions for a group, and to witness to sacred possibilities in a moment of human interaction.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather participants around the altar or centering table. Affirm the good work that participants have done in this workshop.
Hand out the Taking It Home section you have prepared. Invite participants to "take the workshop home" and explain the activities, as needed.
Invite participants to rise in body or spirit. Offer these instructions:
Place your left hand palm up and your right hand palm down, so both thumbs are pointed left. Now, each of us is in a position of receiving and giving. Let's join hands with one another around the room. Perhaps in this way we can feel energy, the Spirit of Life, moving through us.
Once participants have all joined hands, invite them to call out a word or phrase that describes how they are feeling right now. Allow some silence to be sure all who would like to do so have a chance to speak.
Then, read aloud the closing words—either the words below or words of your choice.
We give thanks for this time together,
for the courage it takes to show up,
for our willingness to share, to listen attentively,
and to hold one another in trust and good will.
Thanks for our desire to grow spiritually
and learn from one another.
Spirit of Life, be with us in our parting and in our return.
Be with us now and always. Amen.
Extinguish the chalice.
Including All Participants
Be sure to be inclusive of people with a variety of living situations—living alone, with a significant other, in a family, with housemates, etc.—in the way you explain the TakingIt Home activities.
FAITH IN ACTION: LISTENING TO DEEPEN SOCIAL JUSTICE PROJECTS
Description of Activity
Bring the practice of deep listening to your service or social justice work. When involved in congregational commitments, practice listening deeply to other members of your committee or group and to children or youth with whom you interact. When involved in extra-congregational social justice or interfaith projects, engage others in conversation about how their faith calls them to involvement. When involved in direct service projects such as food pantries or Habitat for Humanity, listen deeply to the stories of those who are recipients of the service.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
After the workshop, co-facilitators should make time to get together to evaluate the workshop and plan future workshops. Use these questions to guide your shared reflection and planning:
TAKING IT HOME
We covenant to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
The living tradition we share draws from... Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life. — Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Share your list of words of wonder and reverence with some members of your household, a few of your friends, or some of your co-workers. Ask them which words speak to them. Share your favorites. Conversations about wonder and reverence can deepen family, friend, and even work relationships—even if your words differ completely from one another's!
Start a journal in whic h you record when and where you witness the Spirit of Life in the days between this workshop and your next meeting. Examples might include in a conversation, in the misty fog, in someone's unselfish kindness, in the sudsy dishwater, or in singing. In your journal, describe your thoughts and feelings.
Write a letter to the self you might have been, had your spiritual journey gone a different way.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: IN POETRY AND PRAYER (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
If your group has done Activity 5, Words of Wonder and Reverence, ask each participant to find their copy of Handout 3. Explain that they may use the phrases they have already chosen as ones that speak to them about the sacred, or they may choose new words to explore.
If your group has not done Activity 5, distribute Handout 3. Tell participants that these are some, but not all, of such words from hymns in the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook Singing the Living Tradition.
Ask participants to scan the handout for words they would like to explore in a creative exercise. Distribute paper and writing implements.
Now, invite participants into a creative space with this instruction:
Try writing a song, poem, meditation, or prayer that incorporates some of these words of wonder and reverence or others of your own creation or choice. You might begin with your chosen words and then move on to express your thanks, regrets, hopes, fears, worries, joys, longings, and more. Express yourself naturally. You can imagine writing a letter to someone you love and trust with whom you can share your self.
If you have composed a sample, share it with the group now.
Tell participants they will have twenty minutes for writing. Then, they will each have an opportunity to share the song, poem, meditation, or prayer they have written with another person.
After twenty minutes, invite participants to form pairs. Encourage them to pair up with people whom they do not know well. You may create a group of three if your group has an odd number of participants.
Offer these instructions for sharing in pairs:
In pairs, one of you speaks or reads what you are willing to share with the other. The companion listens attentively, openly. After the first speaker finishes, let there be a moment of silence between you. The listening companion can then say something to affirm the experience you have shared. Perhaps you can say "May it be so" or "Amen" or "Thank you." Then, switch roles. These are moments of precious sharing and confiding, and we offer one another our mutual trust and regard.
Allow two or three minutes for pairs to share their writing. Then, invite pairs to rejoin the full group. Lead a discussion using these questions:
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: SPIRITUAL JOURNEY MAP (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell the group that each of us is on a spiritual journey. You may use these words, or your own:
Along the journey from birth to death, each of us learns and grows and experiences many things. All of this learning, growing, and experiencing affects our relationship with the Spirit of Life, our relationship with the ground of our being. These things affect our spirituality.
Tell the group that they will now have an opportunity to create individual maps of their own journeys of spirituality. Ask participants to consider how these questions pertain to their lives as lived thus far:
Tell participants that their maps can include markers for their changes in religious identity and spiritual practices as well as major events in their lives that affected their spiritual development. Offer these examples, as well as others you may think of:
Explain that participants will have ten to fifteen minutes to create maps of their spiritual journeys. Encourage them to concentrate on the important points along the way, rather than the details, because the time they have to complete their maps is short.
If you have prepared your own map as an example, show it now. Then distribute sheets of unlined paper, handouts and/or puzzle pieces, scissors, drawing and writing implements, and rolls of tape. If you are distributing cut-outs rather than entire handouts, make sure you give each participant a variety of puzzle pieces. Tell participants they can trade with one another for more of certain pieces.
Demonstrate that the puzzle pieces will fit together in any sequence. Explain that participants may write on and decorate the pieces they want to include. They may tape the pieces together or onto a sheet of unlined paper to form a basic map of their spiritual journey. Let participants know they are welcome to color outside the lines or to draw a map on a piece of unlined paper if they'd rather not use the puzzle pieces. Ring the bell when time is up.
Ask participants to bring their maps and move back into the triad or pair they shared with during Activity 7, Sharing in Groups of Three. If your group has not done that activity, form triads or pairs now.
Invite participants to share their maps, allotting each speaker two minutes. Instruct each triad to rotate the three roles of speaker, listener, and holder of the space. Tell the group that along with sharing their maps, triads can discuss these questions:
Remind the group that one's spiritual journey is a deeply personal subject. All are welcome to show or not show their maps, and to reveal to their triad as much or as little personal information as they wish.
Ring the bell to begin the discussion time. Ring it again at two, four, and six minutes to signal that triad members should switch roles.
Gather everyone into the large group and ask for a few responses to the same two questions:
Affirm the good work of the group.
Including All Participants
If you notice participants struggling to hear one another in their small groups, invite some groups to leave the room and find a quieter space.
SPIRIT OF LIFE: WORKSHOP 1:
HANDOUT 1: SPIRIT OF LIFE
UNISON CHALICE LIGHTING
Our Unitarian Universalist congregations covenant to affirm and promote
a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
We gather to support each other on this spiritual journey.
The Living Tradition we share draws from many sources
including direct experience of transcending mystery and wonder.
We gather to explore our own experiences
and listen to the experiences of others.
May our time together renew us
and open us to the forces that create and uphold life.
We light this chalice for the Spirit of Life.
FOCUSING PRINCIPLE AND SOURCE
This workshop is grounded in the following Principle and Source from the Purposes and Principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association:
SPIRIT OF LIFE: WORKSHOP 1:
HANDOUT 2: SCHEDULE FOR SPIRIT OF LIFE
Facilitators' names and contact information:
Location of workshops:
Time of workshops:
Date | Workshop |
Spirit of Life: Exploring Spirituality for Unitarian Universalists | |
Sing In My Heart: Celebrations And Rituals | |
The Stirrings Of Compassion: Caring For One Another | |
Blow In The Wind, Rise In The Sea: Nature And Spirit | |
Move in the Hand: Living Our Spirituality in Our Day-to-day Lives | |
Giving Life The Shape Of Justice: Loving Your Neighbor And Yourself | |
Roots Hold Me Close: Tradition, Teachers, and Spiritual Formation | |
Wings Set Me Free: Hopes, Dreams, and Expanding Vision | |
Come to Us: Closing and Continuing On | |
SPIRIT OF LIFE: WORKSHOP 1:
HANDOUT 3: WORDS OF WONDER AND REVERENCE
These words of wonder and reverence come from Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist Association hymnbook.
Spirit of Life | Wholeness | Eternal One |
Wondrous Creation | Grander View | Fount of Justice |
Transforming Grace | Circle of Peace | O Liberating Love |
Great Spirit, Come and Rest In Me | Spirit of Truth, of Life, of Power | Streams of Mercy Never Ceasing |
Deep Power in Which We Exist | Highest That Dwells Within Us | Mother Spirit, Father Spirit |
Come, Spirit, Come | Power of Love | Web of Life |
Love Eternal | Grandeur of Creation | Boundless Heart |
All My Memories of Love | Care that Cares for All | Stillness |
Heart Beat | Power of Hope Within | Amazing Grace |
Open Heart | Wonder of Wonders | Eternal Home |
Chords of Life | Spirit of Love | Truth Within |
Shaper of All Things | Wise Silence | Blessed Radiance |
The Glory of Creation | Beauty of the Earth | Deep Yearning |
Voice Within | Source of All | Being in All |
Fount of Every Blessing | Mother Earth | Creative Light and Dark |
Unfolding Grace | Peace Profound | The Universal Mind |
Beauty, Truth, and Goodness | Mother of the Generations | Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love |
One Living Whole | Inward Love | Truth that Makes Us Free |
Silence | Hope Undaunted | Source of Body and Soul |
Spirit Growing in All | Longing | Fruits of Peace and Love |
Still Small Voice | Creative Love | Blessed Spirit of My Life |
Inner Wisdom | Inner Beauty | Faith, Hope, and Love |
Old Mindfulness | Giver of All | Ever Spinning Universe |
Wind of Change | The One | God |
Mother-Father of Us All | Lover of All | Calm Soul of All Things |
Compassion | Mysterious Presence | Stream of Life |
Shield and Defender | Living Waters | Mystery |
Immortal Good | Deepest Mystery | Universal Beauty |
Star of Truth | Help of the Helpless | Music of the Spheres |
Spirit of Heart and Mind | Immortal, Invisible | Spirit of Life and Renewal |
Singer of Life | Goddess | Author of Creation |
SPIRIT OF LIFE: WORKSHOP 1:
HANDOUT 4: MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Draw a map of your spiritual journey.
Your spiritual journey began with your birth, and it leads to now.
Draw the high peaks, the low valleys, the plateaus where your life seemed to coast along, the deserts, the wilderness, or the oases.
You can show the twists and turns, the detours, the places where you were lost, the smooth pathways, the wandering road, the straight path, the renewing well springs. There may have been super-highways, bustling cities, rivers you had to cross. You may need to indicate road blocks, helpful signs, or stepping stones.
On your map, you can name mountains, valleys, or any locations or passages for the experiences you were having when you passed that way.
SPIRIT OF LIFE: WORKSHOP 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES FOR WORKSHOP PRESENTERS
As a presenter, you may or may not be aware of a participant's need for accommodations. In addition to accommodating the accessibility needs of participants who request them, you are urged to follow these basic accessibility guidelines for every workshop or session activity.
For further information, please see guidance for including persons with specific accessibility needs (at www.uua.org/leaders/leaderslibrary/accessibility/disability101/27055.shtml) on the Unitarian Universalist Association website.
FIND OUT MORE
The following resources can help you or participants reflect further on spiritual journeys.
Finding Your Religion: When the Faith You Grew Up With Has Lost its Meaning, by Rev. Scotty McLennan, a Unitarian Universalist minister and Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University. This book explores spiritual and faith development throughout life.
Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=629)by Elizabeth J. Andrew, a Unitarian Universalist layperson, author, and writing instructor.
Questions for the Religious Journey: Finding Your Own Path, (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=620)by George Kimmich Beach, a Unitarian Universalist minister. This book provides theological food for thought and tools for religious introspection from a Unitarian Universalist perspective.
Finding the Voice Inside: Writing as a Spiritual Quest for Women (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=948) by Gail Collins-Ranadive, a Unitarian Universalist minister. This book offers a series of writing exercises inviting women to explore their spirituality.