Tapestry of Faith: Spirit of Life: An Adult Program on Unitarian Universalist Spirituality

Closing

Part of Spirit of Life

Activity time: 5 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Altar or centering table
  • Cloth for covering altar or centering table
  • Chalice and candle or LED battery-operated candle
  • Chalice extinguisher
  • Taking It Home section of this workshop
  • A copy of the closing words you want to use

Preparation for Activity

  • Review Taking It Home and decide which extension activities you will encourage participants to do.
  • Copy Taking It Home for all participants.
  • Review the closing words. Decide whether you wish to use these, or another closing. Print out a copy of the closing words you will use. Place your copy of the closing words near the chalice.

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. 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 Taking It Home activities.

Offer these or similar words:

In closing, I invite you to rise in body or spirit and join hands. We join hands with one another to remind ourselves of the truth that we are all connected, that we are one body, and that we depend upon one another more than we know.

As you feel moved, I invite you to call out a word or phrase for how you are feeling right now.

After participants call out words and phrases, offer this benediction to close the workshop:

Spirit of Life, we give thanks for this time together,

for our caring and sharing.

May we respect and love our selves and respect and love others.

May we trust that the intention we bring and the action we take matter.

Our good intention and respectful actions shape justice

and ripple out beyond our knowing.

May we bring joy to our living and to our loving.

May we be supported in our commitments,

by our spiritual practices, by one another,

by community, and by the Spirit of Life.

Amen.

Extinguish the chalice.