Tapestry of Faith: Love Connects Us: A Program on Living in Unitarian Universalist Covenant for Grades 4-5

Activity 2: Story - Noah and the Rainbow Covenant

Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Read the story and prepare to share it with the group.
  • Review the discussion questions and choose those that will best help the children share their interpretations of the story and relate it to their own lives.

Description of Activity

Read or tell the story to the group.

After the story, invite the group to be silent for a moment to think about the story.

Begin a discussion by asking the children to recap the story in their own words. What they recall indicates what they found most meaningful or memorable. You may say:

This story is the first instance in the Bible of the idea of a covenant, a sacred promise. Later in the Hebrew scriptures, God makes a covenant with other people, including Abraham and Moses, and people make covenants with each other. The covenant in this story is special not only because it is the first, but also because it is between God and all of creation.

Lead a discussion using these questions:

  • What makes a covenant different from a set of rules or a promise? (You may suggest that a covenant involves big ideas or high ideals, and that it is a two-way commitment, not just a rule or promise that goes one way.)
  • Can you think of modern ways people make covenants? (Some possibilities might include marriage, joining an organization or club such as Scouts, playing in a band or on a team, joining the congregation, etc.)
  • Have you ever made a covenant?
  • Why might a covenant be important?