LOVE WILL GUIDE US
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 5: WE ARE LOVED, FLAWS AND ALL
BY REV. ALICE ANACHEKA-NASEMANN AND CATHY CARTWRIGHT
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 2:17:19 AM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
When you are in the presence of the Holy Spirit, it is like sitting in front of a fire that does not burn you, but suffuses you with its qualities — its warmth, glow, and color. And as you are there, in the presence of the Spirit, you also become suffused with the divine attributes of compassion, gentleness, and love, without your doing anything about it except to be there. You are loved and you are held in this love. — Bishop Desmond Tutu, South African cleric and activist
This session focuses on the first Unitarian Universalist Source, "Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and openness to the forces that create and uphold life," expressed in children's language as "the sense of wonder we all share." Participants consider human nature, with a focus on the wonder and awe of finding beauty in unexpected places. The session affirms that, although humans are imperfect creatures, with work and time and love we can turn our blemishes into strength and beauty. A story illustrates the concept, telling of a gem carver who transforms a deeply scratched diamond by crafting the scratch into a beautiful flower. Participants decorate wooden treasure boxes, incorporating the natural knots and blemishes into the design. We add a star to our Night Sky that says, "We learn from our sense of wonder."
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 7 |
Activity 1: Game — Horrible/Beautiful | 8 |
Activity 2: Story — The Scratched Diamond | 10 |
Activity 3: Imperfect Treasure Boxes | 25 |
Faith in Action: Wow Mosaics | 45 |
Closing | 10 |
Alternate Activity 1: Sharing Joys and Concerns | 7 |
Alternate Activity 2: UU Source Constellation — Our Sense of Wonder | 10 |
Alternate Activity 3: Opening Geodes | 10 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Read the story, "The Scratched Diamond." Take a few minutes to ponder ways you have worked to turn scratches in your own life into beautiful flowers. Consider the children in the Love Will Guide Us group. Think about characteristics they display which you find challenging. Now, think about how these characteristics can be turned into strengths. For example, stubborn can be persistent, boisterous can be passionate, interruptions can be eager involvement, and cautious can be careful. Listen to the song "How Could Anyone Ever Tell You." Imagine yourself singing this song to each and every child in the Love Will Guide Us group. Try to fill your heart with unconditional love for the children and bring that focus into your time with the group.
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather participants in a circle. Distribute Handout 1, Ten Million Stars, or point out the words printed on newsprint. Light the chalice and invite the group to read the words together responsively.
Referring to the Night Sky display, say in your own words:
When people first began to ponder the night sky, they wondered, "What are stars and why are they there? Why do they move?" "Where did I come from? How did life begin? Why am I here?" Although the sky did not give the answers, people used the stars as symbols for their beliefs about the important questions in their lives.
When people looked at their night sky, they saw patterns and pictures in the way the stars were arranged. Thousands of years ago, the Greeks and Romans, Chinese and Arabs, Native Americans, and other people all around the world named these constellations for gods they worshipped, animals they relied on, and everyday scenes from their lives.
Indicate the Big Dipper. Invite the children to discover the pattern of a dipping spoon. Say:
We call this constellation the Big Dipper. If we lived in Southern France, we would call it a Saucepan. Do you see the saucepan?
Ask the children what other pictures they see. Encourage them to imagine the constellation upside down. Tell them:
To the Skidi Pawnee Indians, this constellation looked like a sick man being carried on a stretcher.
To the ancient Maya, it was a mythological parrot named Seven Macaw.
To the Hindu, it looked like Seven Wise Men.
To the early Egyptians, it was the thigh and leg of a bull.
To the ancient Chinese, it was the chariot of the Emperor of Heaven.
The Micmac Indians saw a bear instead of the scoop, and hunters tracking the bear instead of the handle.
Now say:
People discovered how to use the stars to guide them when travelling. Knowing the constellations in the night sky helped them find the direction they wanted to go.
In the 19th century, people who were kept as slaves in the Southern states gave the Big Dipper a new name: the Drinking Gourd. This constellation became a symbol of freedom. Slaves who escaped knew they could travel at night, following the Drinking Gourd, to get to the Northern states where they would be free.
Say, while pointing to the North Star:
This one star does not move much in the Night Sky. The earth rotates and orbits around the sun, but this star, the North Star, is located directly above the North Pole, so it seems to always stay in the same place in the sky. Travelers without a map, a compass, or a GPS can use the North Star to know where they are and where they are going.
For Unitarian Universalists, love is like the North Star.
Now indicate the poster you have made of the seven Sources. Say, in your own words:
We let love and our Sources guide us, like stars in the night sky guide travelers. We use the wisdom of many Sources to help us answer the big questions about what we believe, just like ancient peoples used the stars.
Explain, or remind the children, that a "source" has to do with origin, or beginning. When we talk about the sources of our beliefs, this means we are talking about where our beliefs begin and how we get ideas. Say, in your own words:
Today we are talking about the sense of wonder we all share. We think it's important to learn from moments in our lives when we feel a big "wow" in our hearts, when something is amazing or awesome, when something happens that we cannot explain or do not want to explain, and we are filled with a sense of wonder.
Distribute (or indicate, if posted) the "Love Will Guide Us" lyrics. Sing "Love Will Guide Us" together.
Collect handouts/newsprint for use in future sessions.
Including All Participants
For participants who are not fluent readers, take the time to teach the opening words and the song aurally, so children can come to know them from memory.
Use an LED chalice to avoid a fire hazard and to include participants who are sensitive to smoke or scents.
ACTIVITY 1: GAME — HORRIBLE/BEAUTIFUL (8 MINUTES)
Description of Activity
This active game demonstrates how we can turn something horrible into something beautiful. Gather the children in a circle, standing or sitting depending on mobility issues in the group. Tell the participants that at the count of three they will use their bodies and faces, as quietly and quickly as possible, to make the most horrible posture and face possible. When you call "freeze," they should hold their position silently and look around at everyone else. Give participants a moment to think of the posture they will adopt. Count to three and when participants seem to have some truly horrible postures, call out "Freeze!"
While the children are "frozen," ask them to think of a way to change their posture and face into something beautiful. Give them a moment to think of an idea. Count to three, and when you see they have found their beautiful postures, call "Freeze!"
Process this activity with questions such as:
Including All Participants
If the group includes a blind child, consider adding a horrible/beautiful sound to the activity, or using only sound. To avoid loud chaos, have children take turns making a horrible sound first and then changing it into a beautiful sound.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY — THE SCRATCHED DIAMOND (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather participants in a circle in the storytelling area and show them the story basket. Say something like, "Let's see what's in our story basket this week."
Tell the group the items in the story basket will be placed on this table after the children have passed them around the circle. Take the story-related items from the basket, one at a time, and pass them around. Objects that are fragile, or which should not be passed around for any reason, can be held up for all to see and then placed directly on the table.
Name each object and ask a wondering question about each one.
As items come back to you, display them on the table. Remove the sound instrument from the story basket. Tell the children that every time you tell a story, you will first use the instrument to help them get their ears, their minds, and their bodies ready to listen. Invite them to sit comfortably and close their eyes (if they are comfortable doing so). You may tell them that closing their eyes can help them focus just on listening. If someone is unable to close their eyes or sit still, invite them to hold one of the story basket items or an item from the fidget basket. In a calm voice, say:
As you breathe in, feel your body opening up with air. As you breathe out, feel yourself relaxing.
Repeat this once or twice and then say:
When I hit the chime (turn the rain stick over), listen as carefully as you can. See how long you can hear its sound. When you can no longer hear it, open your eyes and you will know it is time for the story to begin.
Sound the chime or other instrument. When the sound has gone, say, in your own words:
This story is based on one told about 300 years ago by a Jewish teacher, the Maggid of Dubno. He often taught his followers by telling them special stories called parables.
Tell the story "The Scratched Diamond."
Sound the instrument to indicate the story is over. Guide participants in a brief discussion, using the questions below.
NOTE: Children may describe their own anti-social behavior, such as bullying others or refusing to share. If this happens, talk with them about how we can use the human flaws in ourselves to learn to be more loving. For example, you might notice that the child you bullied is sad. This could help you develop empathy. In this way the bullying itself isn't made beautiful but it can be turned into empathy, which is. Or, bullies often have followers. Bullies can learn to be good leaders, leading people to do kind things instead of mean things. Mistakes, failures, or poor choices can all be understood as opportunities to learn.
Process the story with the following questions:
To conclude, tell the group that Unitarian Universalists believe our own experiences can teach us new ways of seeing the world, new ways to love, and new ways to find beauty.
Including All Participants
Make sure everyone has an opportunity to experience the items in the basket, whether by sight or touch.
You may wish to make fidget objects available to children who find it difficult to sit still while listening to a story or can focus better with sensory stimulation. Remind children where the fidget basket is before you begin the "centering" part of this activity. (For a full description and guidance, see Session 1, Leader Resource 4.)
Consider using rug squares in the storytelling area. Place them in a semi-circle with the rule "One person per square." This can be very helpful for controlling active bodies.
ACTIVITY 3: IMPERFECT TREASURE BOXES (25 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather participants in a sitting circle with an undecorated treasure box that has a visible knot or imperfection and a decorated treasure box, if you have made one. If you decorated your own, show the children what you did. Then show them the undecorated treasure box. Ask them briefly how its blemish could be turned into something beautiful as part of decorating the box. Be sure they understand that the point is not to hide the imperfection or paint over it, but to use it in making something beautiful.
When participants seem to understand the idea, have them go to the work tables, select a treasure box, and decorate it—turning its blemishes into beauty. Circulate among them while they work. Ask questions such as, "How could that crack be turned into something beautiful?" Tell participants they will have a chance to share their work with one another in the closing circle.
Optional: When they are done, have each child choose some gemstones or a crystal to place in their treasure box.
CLOSING (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Our Unitarian Universalist beliefs come from the sense of wonder we all share.
Description of Activity
Gather participants at work tables. Invite them to decorate a Source Star to take home and share with their family. Suggest they draw a heart to symbolize the sense of wonder awesome things can make our hearts feel, or something awesome they have experienced that made their heart go "Wow!" As children work, attach a Source Star that says "We learn from our Sense of Wonder" to the Night Sky.
When participants finish, invite them to bring their decorated treasure boxes and gather in a circle, preferably seated near the chalice table. Invite each child in turn to point out how they turned an imperfection in the wood into something beautiful. Affirm each child, with words like:
Wow! It's awesome that you were able to turn that knot (or crack or smudge) into a beautiful ... (describe the design the child created.)
Ask participants what Unitarian Universalist Source they discovered today. Indicate the first Source words you have posted on newsprint. Invite the children to follow along quietly as you read aloud:
Our Unitarian Universalist beliefs come from the sense of wonder we all share.
Take a moment to reinforce what the Source means: feeling a moment of "wow" in your heart. Invite volunteers to give an example. Say, in your own words:
Today we learned ways a flaw can be awesomely beautiful. As Unitarian Universalists, we learn from our own sense of wonder when things make us feel a "wow!" This Source says our own feelings of wonder can point us to love. Whenever we feel that sense of wonder, we can let that "wow" feeling guide us to love.
If you wish to sing "Our Sources," distribute Session 1, Handout 3 or indicate the newsprint where you have posted the lyrics. Teach/lead the song, with a musical volunteer if you have invited someone to help. You might play the music clip of "Our Sources" for the children to sing along.
Distribute Taking It Home and thank participants.
Save the Night Sky display and the handouts/newsprint to use next time.
Including All Participants
At this age, children have a wide range of reading ability. Do not put individual children on the spot to read aloud.
FAITH IN ACTION: WOW MOSAICS (45 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants create beautiful works of art out of small bits of glass, reinforcing the idea that something broken can be used to create something beautiful. With the glass they can make images representing things that fill them with awe and wonder, reinforcing our Unitarian Universalist Source, "The sense of wonder we all share."
Hold up a glass chip and say, in your own words:
This is a broken glass chip. We are going to use glass chips like this one to create something beautiful. We are going to make tile mosaics using the glass to make pictures of things that make us feel awe and wonder—things that bring a feeling of "Wow!" into our hearts.
Invite participants to name things that make them feel awe and wonder. Guide the conversation away from the temporal and mundane—such as roller coasters, 3-D movies, and candy—toward the unexplainably marvelous—such as new babies, kittens, rainbows, sunsets, flowers, dinosaurs.
Tell participants to whom they will give their finished mosaics. Talk about the importance of sharing wonder with others and emphasize how generosity makes others feel happy.
Mix the stepping stone mix with water in the bucket according to the instructions. Pour it into the plastic molds and have the children decorate stepping stones with the stained glass chips.
NOTE: The tiles will need to dry and harden over night.
Include the participants in placing the hardened mosaics in the garden or presenting them to their recipients.
Optional: Present the mosaics during a worship service. Tell the story, "The Scratched Diamond" to the congregation and invite participants to show the mosaics they made and share about the "Wow" moments of awe and wonder they represent.
Process this activity with questions such as:
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Take a few minutes to evaluate the session with your co-leader immediately afterward, while it is fresh. Share your thoughts with any other team leaders and your religious educator. You might find it helpful to consider:
TAKING IT HOME
When you are in the presence of the Holy Spirit, it is like sitting in front of a fire that does not burn you, but suffuses you with its qualities — its warmth, glow, and color. And as you are there, in the presence of the Spirit, you also become suffused with the divine attributes of compassion, gentleness, and love, without your doing anything about it except to be there. You are loved and you are held in this love. — Bishop Desmond Tutu, South African cleric and activist
IN TODAY'S SESSION... We looked at how the transformation of a flaw into something beautiful can astound us, through the lens of the first Unitarian Universalist Source:
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.
This Source is expressed in children's language as, "the sense of wonder we all share." We discussed how turning an imperfection into something beautiful can create a moment of "wow," in our hearts. In the story, "The Scratched Diamond," a gem carver uses a scratch on a diamond as the stem of a beautiful etched rose. Participants had the opportunity to turn knots or cracks in wooden treasure boxes into beautiful designs.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about... ways you can transform uncomfortable situations, poor choices, bad behaviors, or imperfect objects into beauty. Watch for opportunities to:
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try... learning about inventors, with a focus on the many mistakes an inventor must make before completing an invention. Online, view an "interview" with Thomas Edison (at www.meetmeatthecorner.org/episode/happy-birthday-thomas-edison) from the Meet Me at the Corner website. Point out that mistakes are not only inevitable but necessary signs of the creativity and learning that lead to inventing something new.
Family Adventure. Take a "Wow" Walk. Make a point of noticing things around you with an attitude of wonder and awe. As you walk ponder how the things and creatures in your surroundings came to be there. Try a variety of "Wow" Walks: in the woods, in the supermarket, at a museum, in the rain.
Family Discovery. Share books that affirm the value of learning from our mistakes. Check out the Magic School Bus series of books and videos in which the main character, Ms. Frizzle, frequently states, "Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy."
A Family Game. Collect broken items or recyclable materials from around the house and work together as a family to transform them into a toy or game. You might work in teams; compete, using a scoring system that gives points for creativity, beauty, functionality, and fun.
A Family Ritual. Gather daily, or once a week, and have each family member share "wow" moments. Talk about what inspired you or evoked your awe and wonder.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: SHARING JOYS AND CONCERNS (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity invites participants to experience a ritual enacted in many Unitarian Universalist congregations. Sharing joys and concerns can deepen a group's sense of community. It gives participants a chance to share a portion of their lives in a unique way, encourages listening to others and, in many cases, makes a link with the adult worship experience.
Introduce the concept of sharing joys and concerns by saying something like:
As a community of caring people who are kind to each other, we want to know what has made you very happy or what has made you sad. You are invited to put a flame on one of these felt candles, place it on this felt board, and then share your joy or concern. Everyone in the room is asked to listen with respect. You do not have to say anything at all, if you do not want to.
Invite the children to come forward one at a time. As children share, listen without comment.
Variation
Instead of sharing their joys and concerns, invite children to light a candle and, if they wish, answer a question. A question to fit this session might be "When is a time you have felt a 'wow' feeling in your heart—a time when something filled your thoughts with wonder?"
Including All Participants
If participants are reluctant to stand to address the group, allow them to speak joys and concerns from where they sit or invite them to light a candle silently.
This sharing circle can be a vital part of congregational ministry. Many congregations have in place a safe congregation policy in the event a participant reveals they are being hurt by someone. It will be important to alert your religious educator, minister, or Board president to any troubling issue that arise in this sharing.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: UU SOURCE CONSTELLATION — OUR SENSE OF WONDER (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Use this activity with your Opening to add additional Source constellations to your Night Sky.
Tell the children:
Our Sources are the way we are guided as Unitarian Universalists to help us live our faith.
Ask participants if they remember (or know) what a "source" is. Allow a moment for responses. Then, explain that the definition of source you are looking for has to do with origin, or beginning.
Say in your own words:
Today we are talking about our first UU Source, "the sense of wonder we all share."
Allow children to share the relevant information they know. Then, distribute the UU Source Constellation handout. Say:
We think it's important to learn from moments in our lives when we feel a big "wow" in our hearts, when something is amazing or awesome, when something happens that we cannot explain or do not want to explain, and we are filled with a sense of wonder. To help us, we have a constellation named in honor of this UU Source. Some of the stars can be connected to look like a heart. Can you find the heart in our Night Sky?
Give them time to look for the heart. As children find it, let them show you by tracing the shape with a finger on their own handouts.
Distribute gold and silver stars. Have children stick gold stars on the outlined stars and silver stars on the solid stars on their handouts. Then, invite them to pencil the heart by connecting the gold stars. Tell them they make take home their own Sense of Wonder constellations.
Say:
As Unitarian Universalists, we learn from the sense of wonder we all share. When we feel a sense of wonder, we let those feelings guide us to love.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: OPENING GEODES (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity provides a "Wow" moment in finding beautiful crystals hidden away inside the rough exterior of a geode.
Show the children an unopened geode. Ask if they have any guesses what might be inside this ordinary-looking stone. Ask if anyone thinks there might be beautiful crystals.
Instruct the children how to open the geode:
1. Place a geode in the toe of a sock.
2. Hammer the geode until you hear or feel it split open.
3. Reach inside the sock and pull out the crystals.
Advise children to hammer firmly, but not too hard or they may shatter their geodes and destroy the crystals inside. Present hammer safety rules:
Distribute the geodes and socks. Circulate among the children, closely monitoring use of hammers as children open their geodes. Encourage each participant to really take a moment to experience a "wow" feeling in their hearts when they find crystals.
Including All Participants
This activity can be dangerous if a child or children might be inclined to use the hammers inappropriately. If you believe this is the case in your group, either skip the activity or have an adult work one-on-one with any child you are concerned about. Make safety rules very clear and be prepared to act swiftly if they are not followed.
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 5:
STORY: THE SCRATCHED DIAMOND
Based on a tale told in the 1700s by the Jewish teacher, Jacob ben Wolf Kranz, Maggid of Dubno. Other versions can be found in The Hungry Clothes and Other Jewish Folktales by Peninah Schram, The Maggid of Dubno and His Parables by Benno Heinemann, and A Treasury of Jewish Folklore, edited by Nathan Ausubel.
There was once a very wealthy king who owned many beautiful things. He had cloth tapestries, piles of gold, and statues made by the very best sculptors in the land. Of all of his belongings, his very favorite possession was the most glorious diamond you can imagine. It was huge—as big around as his hand. And it was pure—clear and flawless, without any marks or blemishes. He loved to go and sit with that diamond, gazing at its beauty and perfection.
(Leader: (optional) Hold up a crystal and gaze at it.)
One day when the king went to look at his diamond, he discovered to his horror that it had a long, deep scratch. He couldn't believe his eyes! What could have happened to his flawless diamond?
Immediately he sent for all of the best stone cutters and diamond cutters in his kingdom. One by one they came to inspect the diamond. Each looked at it closely and then sadly shook his head. The scratch was too deep. If they tried to polish it they might break the diamond into pieces.
Finally one last diamond carver came before the king. He looked at the diamond closely, gazing at it from every angle.
(Leader: (optional) Act this out, with the crystal.)
The king watched with bated breath as the diamond carver turned the diamond over and over, pursing his lips and shaking his head.
Suddenly the diamond carver's face broke into a big smile. "I know how to fix this, your majesty!" he exclaimed. "Leave it to me. In two weeks time I will return your diamond to you, better than ever. However, you may not visit me during this time or check on my progress. You must wait until it is finished."
The king was very excited. Soon his flawless diamond would be back with his other lovely things, perfect again, the scratch removed. It took all the king's willpower to resist the temptation to visit the diamond carver to watch him work.
As for the diamond carver, day after day, night after night, he brought out his tools to fix that diamond. Bit by bit, he worked on that scratch. It was slow, tedious work. He knew he had to work carefully or the diamond could crack into pieces.
Finally the diamond cutter was finished. Carefully he wrapped the diamond in cloth to protect it, and he brought it before the king.
"Here it is, your majesty," he said. With a flourish he opened the cloth and presented the diamond.
The king gasped at what he saw. Where there had once been a scratch, a horrible flaw in his precious diamond, there was now an exquisitely beautiful flower carved into the diamond. Unable to polish the scratch out of the diamond, the diamond carver had instead turned the flaw into something beautiful.
The king loved his diamond more than ever. Now when he went to hold it in his hands and gaze upon it, he was reminded that even something imperfect or ugly or flawed can become something exquisitely beautiful.
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 5:
HANDOUT 1: UU SOURCE CONSTELLATION — OUR SENSE OF WONDER
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 5:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: UU SOURCE CONSTELLATION ANSWER SHEET: OUR SENSE OF WONDER
LOVE WILL GUIDE US: SESSION 5:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: SOURCE STAR: OUR SENSE OF WONDER
FIND OUT MORE
Many children's stories affirm the beauty of learning from our mistakes. In the Magic School Bus series of books and videos, the main character, Ms. Frizzle, frequently states, "Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy."