Be ours a religion which, like sunshine, goes everywhere. — Theodore Parker, 19th-century Unitarian minister and abolitionist

IN TODAY'S SESSION... children learned about the Unitarian Universalist Principle about being free to search for what is true and right. A play, "Many Paths to God," showed that many people have different beliefs that meet the same spiritual needs. We made a collage of our own personal symbols and played a game with our Unitarian Universalist symbol, the chalice. Children experienced that everyone is free to develop their own beliefs and that the differences each brings are celebrated.

EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Ask your child to retell the story "Many Paths to God." Then invite family members to talk about their beliefs. Does everyone in the family have similar beliefs? Do adults in the family have beliefs that differ from the beliefs of their parents?

EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Children thought of symbols that represent who they are. Explore your home. What symbols are in your home? What do they represent? Do you have symbols from many different religions? Identify the religions that are represented in your home.

A Family Adventure. Visit and worship in a denomination of friends or relatives. What symbols do you see? What do the symbols stand for? How do their beliefs seem to differ from yours? Their values?

Family Discovery. As a family, choose another religion to study, perhaps one you are not familiar with at all. At a local library or in your congregational library, find age-appropriate books on the religion.

A Family Game. Guess the Symbol: Ask each person to find a small object they think symbolizes them. Have everyone secretly bring their symbol to a central place. Then, re-gather and try to guess which family member has chosen each item as a symbol.

A Family Ritual. Find a book of prayers or meditations from many different religions. Read a different one each night at the dinner table or at bedtime. Vary the religious traditions as much as possible.