Opening (5 minutes), Workshop 4: William Ellery Channing
In "What Moves Us," a Tapestry of Faith program
Materials for Activity
- Small worship table and cloth
- Chalice, candle and lighter or LED battery-operated candle
- A copy of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook
- Newsprint, markers, and tape
- Optional: Microphone
Preparation for Activity
- Set up the altar or centering table with the cloth, chalice, candle and matches or lighter.
- Place chairs in a semicircle around the table.
- Prepare and post a sheet of newsprint with these words of Annie Dillard:
We are here to abet creation and
to witness to it,
to notice each other's beautiful
face and complex nature
so that creation need not play to
an empty house.
Description of Activity
Welcome participants. Invite a participant to light the chalice while you read aloud Reading 651 in Singing the Living Tradition, "The Great End in Religious Instruction" by William Ellery Channing, noting that this reading, found in our hymnbook is one of his most familiar writings, well-loved by Unitarian Universalists.
Invite participants to join in reading aloud the opening words you have posted on newsprint, "We are here to abet creation" by Annie Dillard.
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Last updated on Wednesday, February 20, 2013.
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