RIDDLE AND MYSTERY
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 2: RELIGION TO THE RESCUE
BY RICHARD S. KIMBALL
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 7:52:31 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
This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, argue, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek. — Terry Tempest Williams
Big Question: What are we?
Understanding and describing their religion can be a challenge for young Unitarian Universalists. Activities center on exploring Paul Gauguin's second big question—"What are we?"—and offer participants "Unitarian Universalists" as one answer. The session delves further with a second question: "What is Unitarian Universalism?" Religions exist, the session says, in part to help people join together in a search for answers to big questions. Children investigate the words "religion," "faith" and "spirituality" and learn how each relates to Unitarian Universalism.
Note: The Faith in Action activity suggests inviting a guest to speak about your congregation's social action activities.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: WIT Time — Alien Brainstorm | 5 |
Activity 2: Story — The Big Question | 7 |
Activity 3: Q&A Church Murals | 15 |
Activity 4: Principles and Sources | 7 |
Activity 5: Then What is a Religion? | 5 |
Activity 6: WCUU — Acting out Faith | 13 |
Faith in Action: Saving Lives | |
Closing | 3 |
Alternate Activity 1: Notable Thoughts | 5 |
Alternate Activity 2: Song — We Are... | 10 |
Alternate Activity 3: Challenge Question | 5 |
Alternate Activity 4: Punctuation Debate | 10 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Make a meditative moment for yourself. Relax. Take several deep breaths. Reflect on today's Big Question: "What are we?" How many ways might you answer that question? Consider how sixth graders might approach the question. "We" to a sixth grader may mean a group of friends; some may be troubled by being left outside some groups. Perhaps you can help them recognize your congregation as a place where all who come are accepted as part of "we."
Smile in the knowledge that simply joining youth in their search of life's mysteries will be good and rewarding today.
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Greet youth as they enter, and introduce yourself to any you do not already know. If the group uses nametags, invite everyone to (make and) wear one. If new youth join this session, add their names on card stock to the Kid for the Day bag or box.
Sound the bell or tingsha chimes to call for silence.
Reach into the Kid for the Day bag or box and select a name without looking. Announce the name and place the paper back in the bag or box. (If a Kid for the Day seems reluctant, allow them to pass. Draw another name or invite the participant to select one.)
Indicate where you have posted the chalice lighting words. Invite the Kid for the Day to light the chalice while you lead the group in reciting "May this chalice light show the way as we search for answers to our biggest questions and seek to understand life's deepest mysteries."
Invite the group to share a moment of silence. End the silence by sounding the bell or tingshas. Explain that you will use this same ritual—chalice lighting, followed by silence—at each session.
If new participants have joined the group, invite all, in turn, to introduce themselves. You can do more of a check-in, but keep it focused.
If you have posted a covenant made by the group in Session 1, direct the group's attention to it and ask if anybody wants to suggest changes. Process any suggestions quickly, and amend the covenant as needed.
Announce that it is time to hear the Big Question of the day. Hand the Kid for the Day a copy of Handout 1 and help them understand and implement the instructions. Write the question—What are we?—on the newsprint under the "Today's Big Question" sign.
Ask the Kid for the Day to extinguish the chalice. Move the chalice table aside as necessary to allow movement in the room.
Set aside the "Today's Big Question" sign and the Kid for the Day bag or box, with the names and extra pieces of card stock, for re-use.
Including All Participants
If the group includes youth who may have difficulty reading, be sure you routinely allow the Kid for the Day to pass.
ACTIVITY 1: WIT TIME — ALIEN BRAINSTORM (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Announce that it is WIT Time. Remind the youth they will use this time to think about their own answers to today's Big Question. Remind them that the question is "What are we?" Then continue with words like these:
Imagine you are home alone when a little green alien suddenly floats in. You look at the alien and say "Who and what are you?" The alien looks back and says "You go first. Who and what are you?" You are a bit nervous about this alien. You do not know how it got into the house and you do not know what its powers are. You decide you had better do what the alien says, and go first.
Without speaking, write on the posted newsprint how you might answer the question "Who and what are you?" Write as many answers as you can. One answer can be your name. But you are more than your name. You are also "a this and a that and a something else"—maybe a student, or a world famous young movie star, for example. Make at least one of your answers about all of you, not just one—say what and who you, the youth in this room, are as a group.
Give the youth about three minutes to write. When most have finished, ask them all to stand back and read what everyone wrote. Focus on the words "Unitarian Universalists" if somebody has written it down. If nobody has, ask if these words are another good answer for the question "What are we?" for the group. If they agree, write "Unitarian Universalists" on the newsprint.
Now say:
Imagine that you gave the alien a whole bunch of answers. The alien did not react until you identified yourself as a Unitarian Universalist. Then the alien looked puzzled and said "What is a Unitarian Universalist?" How would you answer that? How can you explain Unitarian Universalism?
Allow a few responses. Then say that you want to share a story about young person who had to answer that question.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY — THE BIG QUESTION (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the group. Read or tell the story. When you are done, ask a few volunteers to sum up Milo's description of Unitarian Universalism.
Mention that adults sometimes talk about having an "elevator speech" to briefly explain a complicated topic. An elevator speech can be said in just a minute—about as long as it takes to ride a few floors with someone in an elevator. Milo's recess speech about Unitarian Universalism is like an elevator speech.
Ask if participants have ever been asked by friends to explain Unitarian Universalism. How have they responded? How would they respond? Allow a few volunteers to share.
If you have time, record phrases from volunteer contributions on newsprint. Invite the group to suggest modifications to one another's ideas and shape a "recess speech" together.
ACTIVITY 3: Q&A CONGREGATION MURALS (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In this activity, youth consider the difference between an "answering religion" and a "questioning religion," then place Unitarian Universalism on a continuum between the two.
Say in your own words:
There are thousands and thousands of religions in the world. All of them think about big questions like who or what we are, and where we come from, and whether there is a god. In fact, one reason religions exist is to bring people together in their search for answers. You could say the religions come to the rescue and help keep people from getting lost in their search.
Different religions help in different ways. Some religions give their members definite answers to accept and believe. Some religions give people a place to take their questions and perhaps find people who are asking the same ones, to help them come up with their own individual answers.
Imagine that there is a new, answering religion in town. This religion provides all the answers to its members' questions. Let's call it "The Congregation of the Awesome Answer."
Write that name on one sheet of mural paper. Then say:
At the same time, another congregation is starting up. It is part of a new, questioning religion and it is called "The Congregation of the Quantum Question."
Write that name on the second sheet of mural paper.
Then pose the challenge: "What do you think you would find if you attended one of these two congregations?" Tell the youth they will work in two groups to represent what people might find at these two congregations. Form the groups, and direct each group to one of the murals. Tell the groups they will have about ten minutes to complete their murals. Indicate where you have placed oil pastels and any other arts and crafts materials they may use.
Distribute the handout. Suggest youth use its prompts to get started; you may wish to have an adult lead each group through the handout's prompts.
When time is up, ask the youth to clean up, examine both murals and then return to their chairs. Lead a discussion with questions like these:
Encourage participants toward original ideas. Be alert for any suggestion that one approach is the "right" approach. Point out that being encouraged to ask a question and being encouraged to accept an answer can each have value for some people. Reinforce the concept of Unitarian Universalist tolerance for many different religions and beliefs. Guide youth to use tolerance in expressing their negative reactions and critical opinions. Do not allow religion bashing.
Mention that Unitarian Universalism is a "liberal religion." Liberal religions are like the Congregation of the Quantum Question. Liberal religions are more tolerant of different answers to the same question. "Conservative religions" are like the Congregation of the Awesome Answer. Members share the same answers to the big questions.
To conclude, say in your own words:
The names—Awesome Answer and Quantum Question—make these congregations seem extreme and very different. But most congregations do not really offer an answer for every single question. And, even questioning congregations have guidelines to help people who are looking for their own answers. That is true with UU congregations.
Give youth a stretch break before moving on.
ACTIVITY 4: PRINCIPLES AND SOURCES (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity introduces the seven Unitarian Universalist Principles and the six Sources from which Unitarian Universalism draws, as they relate to big questions. If the youth may be unacquainted with these resources, take a little extra time, but do not push the presentation to the point of group boredom. It is best to present the Principles and Sources in small doses. Future sessions will provide further opportunities.
Point out the posted Principles. Ask if youth are familiar with them. Read quickly through them, offering, in addition, simpler language, if you feel the group needs it. If you have time, ask for volunteers to come to the poster and point out a favorite Principle.
Ask if youth agree with this idea:
Here is something you can say to an alien or anybody else who wants to know what Unitarian Universalists are. You can say "Look at our Principles. They will show you who we are."
Explain that the Principles are a covenant—or agreement—among the congregations of Unitarian Universalist Association. Though they were not written to guide the behavior of individuals, most UUs think the Principles can help us know how to act.
Pose a question:
Imagine somebody asks if God exists, and someone else answers, "Yes, there is a God and that God cares most about the people who believe in God." Would that be a good UU answer?
Affirm:
No, it would not—see the first Principle.
You might also say that some people believe there is a god that has opinions, for example that people of a certain color are special, or that people in certain religions are special, or that men, for example, are more special than women. Those are not Unitarian Universalist answers to questions about God. If you believed them, you would not be comfortable in a UU congregation (and the congregation might not be comfortable with you).
Then move on to the Sources. Explain/remind that Unitarian Universalism looks to many places for answers to our big questions. Review the list quickly, simplifying the language as needed. If you have time, ask for volunteers to come to the poster, point out a favorite Source and give an example—or give one yourself. You might share a quote from Mahatma Gandhi as an example of "words and deeds of prophetic women and men."
Point out that even glancing at the list of our Sources tells a lot about Unitarian Universalism—because it shows UUs look in many different places for answers to big questions.
Pose this question:
What if the big question is "How do I know what to believe?" and someone answers "I know what to believe because the Bible tells me what to believe and the answers in the Bible are the only ones anyone should believe." Would that be a good UU answer?"
Affirm:
No, because Unitarian Universalists agree that answers can be found in many different sources, like all the ones on the list. Many UUs think the Bible is a good source for answers, but it is not the only one we should use.
ACTIVITY 5: THEN WHAT IS A RELIGION? (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Faith, religion and spirituality are all parts of a Unitarian Universalist experience. Exploring these concepts and their inter-relationships within a Unitarian Universalist identity will help youth more deeply understand their "UU" answer to the question "What are we?"
Say in your own words:
We have been talking a lot about religion in this session, and that makes sense, since Unitarian Universalism is our shared religion. You could say that religion brings us together here today. But, what is religion? What does the word mean?
Direct the group's attention to the newsprint you have titled RELIGION. Invite participants to contribute one- or two-word ideas they associate with the word. Have them call out their ideas, or ask them to raise their hands. Record all contributions on the newsprint without editing or commenting.
Now turn to the newsprint titled FAITH." Ask the group, "What comes to mind when you hear this word? What do you think it means?" Record all responses.
Finally, ask the group to consider spirituality: "What does this word mean to you?" Record responses on the sheet titled SPIRITUALITY.
Invite the group to consider all three sheets of newsprint. What phrases or ideas appear on more than one sheet? Circle the similar and repeated items, using a different color marker, to help the group visualize.
Now focus on the ways the three words differ. Ask: Which items appear only on one sheet?
Lead a discussion using these questions:
Affirm contributions that are in tune with these explanations. As needed, draw from these explanations to help the group understand each term:
Conclude by saying that the way in which each of us is a Unitarian Universalist combines religion, faith and spirituality in some way. The combinations and even the definitions of these words will be unique for each of us and will likely change over our lifetimes.
ACTIVITY 6: WCUU — ACTING OUT FAITH (13 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Explain the roles in this WCUU broadcast: three On-Air People (Co-Anchor 1, Co-Anchor 2 and NUUs (pronounced "News") Analyst), as many Pantomime Players as you care to use and a Studio Crew. The Studio Crew might include a director, a floor director, a camera operator, a sound engineer, a lighting director, a script supervisor and multiple production assistants.
Assign roles or invite volunteers for On-Air People and Studio Crew. You might offer the Kid for the Day a chance to be a Co-Anchor or the NUUs Analyst. Ask other members of the group to be Pantomime Players. Explain that they will follow the instructions of the Co-Anchors; they will be asked to act but not to speak.
Distribute scripts to all who will need them. You may wish to read through the script together with the On-Air People if not all participants are fluent readers. Other youth can finalize the studio set-up while the On-Air People prepare—but, do not encourage a lengthy or detailed rehearsal.
Tell the group when the show should end to keep the session on schedule; assign a Studio Crew member (director or floor director) to watch the time.
Begin the broadcast.
Afterward, ask participants how it went. Lead a discussion with this question:
The broadcast offered a few beliefs that Unitarian Universalists share. Can you name any others?
Affirm that Unitarian Universalist Principles and values are strong and clear, yet broad enough to embrace most Unitarian Universalists' individual beliefs, even when they conflict with one another.
Mention that as Unitarian Universalists we share a religious heritage that goes back more than a thousand years. Our history is another way we can answer the question, "What are we?"
CLOSING (3 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Briefly summarize the session with words like these:
Today we asked the Big Question "What are we?" We imagined that we were talking to an alien, and gave a bunch of different answers, including that we are Unitarian Universalists. We heard a story about how one child explains Unitarian Universalism and we talked about how different religions handle big questions and answers. We saw that ours does not give people all the answers, but helps us find our own. We have Principles that can help guide people in their search for answers, and a list of Sources people can use when they search. We talked about how religion connects to spirituality and faith. We saw that congregations and religions are groups of people who help each other answer big questions—just as we are doing in Riddle and Mystery.
Distribute the Taking It Home handout. Suggest participants use it to continue exploring the themes of today's session with their friends and their family.
Relight the chalice. Ask the group to say these closing words with you:
May this light shine on, in each of us, as we search for the answers to our own biggest questions.
Extinguish the chalice (or ask the Kid for the Day to do it). Sound the bell or tingshas to end the session.
FAITH IN ACTION: CHANGING LIVES
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Remind the group of today's Big Question: "What are we?" Say in your own words:
Unitarian Universalists answer that question partly by their actions. When UUs work for economic justice, they are acting out the second UU Principle. When UUs help save human, animal and plant lives, or work to keep balance in the environment, they are acting out our seventh Principle.
In this session, you could initiate plans for an ongoing Faith in Action project and/or engage the youth in conversation with a social justice activist in your congregation. You may find ideas that will work for the group below under the heading "Changing a Life with Twenty-Five Dollars."
Ongoing Faith in Action Project
If the group will do an ongoing Faith in Action project during Riddle and Mystery, brainstorm possibilities now and choose one to pursue. Perhaps your congregation already supports an appropriate project. Working on a long range project with others in the congregation is a great way to strengthen multigenerational community.
Social Justice Visitor
Ask a member of your congregation's social justice or social action committee to join the group and talk about their projects. In advance, prepare the visitor to focus on activities that promote economic justice, particularly projects in which the youth might assist. Suggest that the visitor bring any printed material that may interest the group. If you wish, prepare the visitor to also share their own approach to Big Questions. Set a specific date and time for the visit and confirm a few days ahead.
When the visitor arrives, introduce them to the youth and explain that the visit will give them ideas for Faith in Action projects they can do during Riddle and Mystery. You might post blank newsprint and offer to assist the visitor by writing projects they mention and/or ideas, for the group to discuss. Allow time for youth to ask questions. Consider asking, if youth do not, why your visitor has become personally involved in social justice work. Ask also that the visitor respond to some big questions: Why do they think there is so much economic injustice in the world? Whose job is it to make the world more just? See if they will share their own approach to big questions like these.
Changing a Life with Twenty-Five Dollars
Challenge participants to think of ways $25 could be important in saving or dramatically changing a human life.
Form small groups of two to four. Say you want each group to think up a story about how $25 might be enough to help save a human life. When the stories are ready, the small groups will share them with each other.
Give each group paper and pencils to record their ideas if they wish. Say the stories do not have to be written or perfectly told. You are interested mostly in the general idea. Let the groups work in places where they will not overhear or interfere with each other. In ten minutes or so, bring them back together to share their ideas.
Looking at Ads. Ask whether twenty-five dollars seems like a lot of money to your youth. Point out that, whatever their answers, twenty-five dollars seem like a lot more money in some parts of the world than it does in western countries. After all, about half the people in the world live on less than two dollars a day. Hand participants recent fliers and newspaper ads describing goods that might interest many sixth graders. Ask them to spend a few minutes looking through the ads for items that cost somewhere around twenty-five dollars and are more important than changing a life. (The assumption is that they will find none. However, they might identify items, like food or medicine that can be useful in saving a life.)
Changing Lives through Kiva. Introduce the youth to the Kiva website. Consider using a laptop with Internet connections in your workshop so your group can see how the site works. Or print out and bring to the group descriptions of a few people who are looking for Kiva loans. Explain:
Kiva is an organization that lets people like you and me lend small amounts of money to others who need it to operate small businesses in other parts of the world. Kiva accepts money in amounts as small as twenty-five dollars. So Kiva is one way that twenty-five dollars can dramatically change a life.
Use a laptop or the printouts you have brought to tell the group about some of the people currently hoping to borrow money. Ask for the group's reactions. Would they like to raise money for a Kiva loan? Could some youth speak to their families about lending money through Kiva? Do some of their families already support Kiva, or another similar organization? Later, talk with your co-leaders about whether and how to follow through with the responses you have heard.
Including All Participants
Do not assume all participants or their parents think of $25 the same way. Some may think of it as "nothing" while others might view it as a considerable amount of money. Make sure you lead the group away from assumption and toward sensitivity about different financial resources in your group, the congregation and the wider world.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Meet with your co-leaders after the session to reflect on it. How was your mix of discussion and action? Have you successfully found ways to involve all youth fully in your sessions despite any limitations they might have? Do you feel the youth understand the general approach of Unitarian Universalists to big questions, and how the Principles and Sources can help people find their own answers?
TAKING IT HOME
This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, argue, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek. — Terry Tempest Williams
Talk about the quote with family and friends. During which activities do you feel a greater sense of faith? Of spirituality? Of religion?
WHAT WE DID TODAY
Today's Big Question is "What are we?" We said that one possible answer to that is that we are Unitarian Universalists. We asked another question that is big for us: "What are Unitarian Universalists?" We answered that partly with a story and partly with our own ideas. We thought about what religion, faith and spirituality have in common, how they are different, and what each might mean to us as a UU.
We made murals about answering congregations and questioning congregations. We said that the Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion because instead of telling people all the answers, it supports the individual's search for answers and accepts that we all do not have to share the same beliefs about everything. We discussed some of the beliefs UUs do share and how we put our Faith in Action.
ANSWERING TODAY'S BIG QUESTION
What do family members and friends have to say about the question: "What are we?"
SHARED SEARCH
Go together to a place that is special to your family. Sit quietly together at the place and talk about what the place would tell a stranger about your family. You might try the same thing with some of your friends.
REFLECT ON YOUR RELIGION
What do people in your family mean when they use the words "faith," "religion" and "spirituality"? Ask them. The definitions may be different from those we heard and shared in the group.
PHOTO CHALLENGE
Photograph something that shows what you are as a person—an item you like to have, or a place outside your house that feels like another home to you.
FAMILY MUSIC
Do something musical. Try making music by singing, or playing instruments together. Go to a concert that everybody will enjoy. Talk about any musical rituals your family has. Do you listen to certain songs at special times or holidays? Do a family's musical rituals help show who and what the family is?
FAMILY FAITH IN ACTION
Another way to answer the question "What are we?" is that we are citizens of the world. What does your family do to help others in the world? If you need a place to start, share the Kiva website (at www.kiva.org) and read about opportunities to make small loans that may help save lives.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: NOTABLE THOUGHTS (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Notable Thoughts is the first Alternate Activity in each session of Riddle and Mystery. Remind participants that this is a time for them to record their own ideas about today's Big Question. Distribute participants' notebooks and pencils or pens. Provide any new participants with notebooks. Say that the notebooks are private; you will keep them between sessions but not read them.
Tell the youth they will have about five minutes. Remind them of today's Big Question: "What are you?" Suggest they write or draw about who and what they are as individuals, as members of their family, as Unitarian Universalists or as humans. Their ideas can be different from what you have talked about so far. If they have nothing to record, they may doodle or relax.
Give them a few minutes to work quietly in their notebooks. When time is up, offer that they may seal their notebooks with masking tape before handing them in. Collect the notebooks.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: SONG — WE ARE... (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Say that the songs and hymns Unitarian Universalists sing help us answer today's Big Question, "What are we?" In fact, our UU hymnal supplement has a song called "We Are... "
Play a recording or read the words aloud to introduce the song. (You might also sing it, of course, or ask somebody else to do so.)
Ask for the group's reactions. Do participants like the song? Does it answer today's Big Question as well as they have in other activities? Better? Point out that the song is more poetic. It talks about who we are in terms of our ancestors, relatives and the "spirit of God," rather than in terms of our religion.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: CHALLENGE QUESTION (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Challenge questions guide a deeper inquiry for especially thoughtful individuals and groups.
Remind youth that their spirituality is their own capacity to seek answers to big questions and to feel connection with other people, the interconnected web of life, the universe and a larger, greater force or, if you believe in God, God. Ask:
Where does your spirituality come from?
Explore the question with the group, using these prompts:
If the group uses notebooks (Alternate Activity 1 in each session), you may wish to give them a few minutes to write or draw about the challenge question.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 4: PUNCTUATION DEBATE (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity extends the conversation about answering and questioning religions (Activity 3) by asking youth to debate the relative importance of exclamation points and question marks. It should be popular with verbal youth.
Form two teams to debate this issue: Which is the more important punctuation mark, the question mark or the exclamation point? Set up any rules you like, but consider these: Let a representative from each side toss a coin to see who begins. The first speaker on the first side is allowed one minute to talk. The first speaker on the second side then gets one minute to talk. Then the second speaker on the first side gets a minute, and so forth until time runs out or everybody has spoken at least once. Everybody on each side must have a chance to speak, but anybody who wants to can pass. If one team has more members who wish to speak than the other, then the members of that team can speak more than once.
If the group is small (eight or fewer) consider asking one volunteer to play the role of question mark and the other to play the role of exclamation point and debate each other. The rest of the group can ask questions, offer ideas of their own and judge the contest—which is likely to end in a tie.
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 2:
STORY: THE BIG QUESTION
"The Big Question" by Betsy Williams is taken from uu&me, Summer, 2006 (Church of the Larger Fellowship). Used by permission of the author.
Milo liked numbers. He often found himself counting people when he stood in a line, and he always checked how many pages there were in a book before he started reading it. For Milo, numbers were a way of connecting to the world. So when Milo's family moved halfway across the country, the first thing he did was to Google his new town and check out the numbers. Here's what he found:
Population: 9,248
Schools: 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 1 high school
Grocery Stores: 2
Pizza Places: 3
Movie Theaters: 1
Roman Catholic Church: 1
Lutheran Church: 1
Neighborhood Christian Church: 1
Zero Unitarian Universalist churches like the one his family used to go to.
On the first day at his new school, his social studies teacher, trying to be friendly and welcoming to Milo, asked him what church his family went to. He answered, "Unitarian Universalist."
Everyone, including his teacher, looked at him with the same blank expression. Then the teacher asked, "What's that?"
Milo's head flooded with numbers—the number of kids in his Sunday school in his old congregation (56), the number of Unitarians who have been presidents of the United States (5), the number of UU congregations (1,042)—numbers that he knew wouldn't answer the question. So he just answered, "It's a religion," and sighed with relief when the teacher didn't ask the big question: "So what do you believe?"
But Milo knew it was only a matter of time. So Milo and his parents came up with an answer for him—they called it his "recess speech." It had three parts: 1. Unitarian Universalism is an old religion that grew out of Christianity. 2. UUs decide for themselves what they believe about religious ideas like God and Jesus and life after death. 3. UUs believe we have a responsibility to make the world a better place, and that starts with treating people and the earth with love, kindness, and respect.
Milo liked that—he could remember three parts, and three was a lucky number for him!
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 2:
HANDOUT 1: TODAY'S BIG QUESTION
To the Kid for the Day:
You have two jobs. The first is getting your group excited about hearing today's Big Question. The second is announcing the question.
1. Say to the group, "Give me a drum roll!" Then wait for a minute while the drum roll builds. (Here is how to do a drum roll: Everybody slaps their thighs, one leg first, then the other, back and forth, beginning gently and getting louder and louder.)
2. When the drum roll is good and loud, hold up your hands to signal "Stop!" Then read today's Big Question. Here it is:
What are we?
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 2:
HANDOUT 2: Q&A CONGREGATIONS
What if you went to the Congregation of the Awesome Answer or the Congregation of the Quantum Question? What would you see there? Help your group make a mural showing some of what you think you might find. Here are some ideas to get you started. (You can get more ideas by remembering what you have seen in your own congregation and other religious meeting places you have visited.)
Symbols: Some congregations have crosses, some have chalices, some have other symbols. What will yours have?
Special words on the wall: What will they say?
Fancy windows—maybe stained glass: What will they show?
Books: What will some of the titles be?
Pictures: What will they show?
The building where the congregation meets: What will it look like? Will it have a steeple? If so, what is on top of the steeple?
A sign out front with a brief message: What will it say?
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 2:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: WCUU SCRIPT
To the Co-Anchors:
Today's WCUU program is a news report about Unitarian Universalist ideas on where we come from. Your job is to read your lines and keep the show moving as this script describes.
[Director: Cue the station break.]
[Director: Cue Co-Anchor 1.]
Co-Anchor 1: This is WCUU, Wisdom of the Community of Unitarian Universalists, on the air.
[Director: Cue the theme music.]
Co-Anchor 2: Good morning. I am [give your real or stage name].
Co-Anchor 1: And I am [give your real or stage name].
Co-Anchor 1: Today's report will help viewers explore UU responses to the big question that asks "What are we?"
Co-Anchor 2: One way UUs respond to that question is very logical. They say, "We are Unitarian Universalists."
Co-Anchor 1: And Unitarian Universalists are people who believe in putting their faith into action.
Co-Anchor 2: How can you act out your faith? A well-known author and naturalist named Terry Tempest Williams has some ideas about that.
Co-Anchor 1: Williams is a Mormon, not a UU. But she is a source who can help UUs explore ideas that we are going to share now.
Co-Anchor 2: Share with the help of the famous UU Pantomime Players. As we call out some of the ways Williams says you can act out your faith, the Players will do the acting.
[Director: Cue the Pantomime Players. As the Co-Anchors call each word, cue the next Player in line to step in front of the camera and act it out.]
Co-Anchor 1: The first word is "question."
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: The next word is "explore."
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Walk.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: Run.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Dance.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: Eat.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Taste.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: Touch.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Smell.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: Listen.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Speak.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: Write.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Read.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: Cry.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Kneel.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: Pray.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Bow.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: Rise.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Laugh.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 2: Circle.
[A Pantomime Player acts out the word.]
Co-Anchor 1: Those aren't all the words that Williams gives us. Here's her full quote: "This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, argue, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek."
Co-Anchor 2: Wow! That's sure a lot of ways to act out our faith. Now let's hear what our WCUU NUUs Analyst has to say about all this.
NUUs Analyst: Thank you, co-anchors. This is your NUUs Analyst with a comment on what you have just seen. Today's Big Question asks, "What are we?" UUs say, very logically that they are Unitarian Universalists. What are they? UUs are people who believe they should put their faith into action. In other words, it's not enough simply to believe something. You need to let your beliefs shape how you live your life. UUs have many different ideas about the big questions and their answers. But UUs do agree about some very important ideas. They agree on the UU Principles. They agree about the Golden Rule. They agree that wisdom can be found in many Sources. And they agree that we should focus on making our world a better place for everyone to live.
[Director: Cue the theme music.]
[Director: Cue the station break.]
Co-Anchor 1: This is [your real or stage name] signing off for WCUU.
Co-Anchor 2: That is W-C-U-U for Wisdom of the Community of Unitarian Universalists. And this is [your real or stage name] signing off, too.
FIND OUT MORE
Doubt by Terry Tempest Williams (Pantheon Books, 2000) is a personal reflection centered on "The Garden of Delights," a triptych by the medieval Flemish artist Hieronymus Bosch.
The Spiritual Lives of Children, by Robert Coles (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990) contains many fascinating conversations with children about their faith.
In the summer, 2006 edition of UU World magazine, find a uu&me! supplement (at clf.uua.org/uume/0606/religion.html) from the Church of the Larger Fellowship which includes "The Big Question" by Betsy Williams.