Session 16: Our UU Principles

Beautiful orange sunset over a deep blue ocean. — Tapestry is Sunsetting

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Love Surrounds Us, Grades K-1

In This Section

Introduction
From Love Surrounds Us

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This session reviews the Principles and celebrates their application in all the Beloved Communities participants can name. Home, school, neighborhood, and faith community all provide places…
Session-at-a-Glance
From Love Surrounds Us

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 10 Activity 1: Story — Angel of the Battlefield, Clara Barton 15 Activity 2: Making 19th-century Nurse Caps 15 Activity 3: Seven Principles Mobile 15 Faith in Action: Magic Penny Party Closing 5 Alternate Activity 1: Principles Song 10 Alternate…
Spiritual Preparation
From Love Surrounds Us

Hold a list of the Principles in your hand. Read them to yourself. Read them aloud. Which Principle is the hardest for you to live out? Which Principle feels easiest for you? Think of your work community or home community. How do you express the Principles in your life?…
Welcoming and Entering
From Love Surrounds Us

Materials for Activity Ribbon sticks or wrist ribbons in a container (Session 1, Opening) Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED/battery-operated candle A multicolored cloth to cover centering table Preparation for Activity Arrange a small centering or worship table with multicolored cloth and chalice.
Opening for Session 16, Our UU Principles
From Love Surrounds Us

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice and candle or LED/battery-operated candle Ribbon sticks Empty container List of participants Preparation for Activity Add the chalice and candle to the altar cloth. Place empty container in the center of the group area….
Activity 1: Story, Angel of the Battlefield, Clara Barton
From Love Surrounds Us

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity A copy of the story “Angel of the Battlefield, Clara Barton” Optional: “Angel of the Battlefield” coloring sheet (PDF), and crayons Preparation for Activity Read the story so you will be comfortable guiding the children’s parts when you read or tel…
Activity 2: Making 19th-century Nurse Caps
From Love Surrounds Us

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 1, Nursing Caps White, 9x12-inch construction paper Large, stick-on labels Red crayons or markers Preparation for Activity Fold one nursing cap as per instructions on Leader Resource 1. Optional: Draw a red cross on each stick-on…
Activity 3: UU Principles Mobile
From Love Surrounds Us

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, UU Principles Mobile Scissors, including left-handed scissors Crayons or markers: red, green, yellow, orange, blue, indigo, and violet Single-hole punch Yarn Transparent tape Preparation for Activity Obtain permission to hang mobiles whe…
Closing
From Love Surrounds Us

Activity time: 5 minutes Description of Activity Invite everyone to gather in a circle and hold hands….
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Love Surrounds Us

Think about all the sessions you completed. How did you grow in knowledge of the Unitarian Universalist Principles? How does it help the participants to know what we believe? Are there other ways, in the future, to bring the UU Principles into the life of communities?
Faith In Action: Magic Penny Party
From Love Surrounds Us

Materials for Activity Leader Resource 2, Parent Note for Magic Penny Party A large metal bucket, dish pan, or wash tub Paper penny rolls Two clean, empty, plastic gallon jugs 5 dollars in pennies Child-size non-folding chair Metal pie plate A five-quart pan Four 12-ounce paper cups Masking tape …
Alternate Activity 1: Principles Song
From Love Surrounds Us

Activity time: 10 minutes Preparation for Activity Read the song in the Description of Activity and practice singing it to the tune of “Farmer in the Dell” so you can teach the group. Description of Activity This activity sets the UU Principles to a commonly known tune, “The Farmer in the Dell.”…
Alternate Activity 2: Principle Pictures
From Love Surrounds Us

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Blank booklets, one for each participant Large, stick-on labels Crayons and/or markers Preparation for Activity Use a computer to print the words “My Principles Drawings” on each label or write the labels by hand. Stick a label on the front of each…
Taking It Home: Our UU Principles
From Love Surrounds Us

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. — Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. IN TODAY’S SESSION… participants celebrated learning all seven Unitarian Universalist Principles and heard about a Universalist woman, Clara Barton, who lived the UU Principles….
Angel of the Battlefield, Clara Barton

Betsy Hill Williams

From Faith Curricula Library

Teach participants these sounds and actions. Invite them to listen for your cues to act them out during the story. 1. Gallop a gallop a gallop (slapping hands on legs) 2. Clippity Clop, Clippity Clop (slapping hands on floor) 3. Taking care of you (patting your neighbor on the shoulder) 4….
Handout 1: UU Principles Mobile
From Love Surrounds Us

Cut out the large circle and the 7 small circles. Punch holes where indicated. After children color the small circles the color associated with that Principle, tie the small circles with yarn to hang from the large circle, and hang the large circle with yarn to display mobile….
Leader Resource 1: Nursing Caps
From Love Surrounds Us

Printing This Handout Download a high-resolution copy of this Handout (PDF) for printing.
Leader Resource 2: Parent Note for Magic Penny Party
From Love Surrounds Us

Dear Parent, Next week, on (day, date), the Love Surrounds Us group will have a Magic Penny Party. Please send fewer than 50 pennies in a small bag with your child. We will combine the pennies to make a donation to the American Red Cross in the name of Clara Barton, its founder and a Universalist.
Find Out More
From Love Surrounds Us

Clara Barton Read biographies on the Civil War Home website and in Clara Barton: Spirit of the American Red Cross by Patrician Lakin (Aladdin, 2004) or The Echoes of War (Penny Book) by J.M. Barrie….