Tapestry of Faith: Riddle and Mystery: A Program on the Big Questions for Grade 6

Leader Resource 2: WCUU Script - Brain Art

To the Co-Anchors:

Today's WCUU program talks about how to tell right from wrong, and features an art show in which you will talk to artists about their brain art. Your job is to follow the script, read your parts and otherwise work together to keep things going. When the broadcast begins, you are together with NUUs Analyst on camera, standing in front of a microphone.

[Director: Cue the station break.]

[Director: Cue the Anchor.]

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]. This morning's broadcast focuses on how people—Unitarian Universalists, especially—can tell right from wrong.

Co-Anchor 2: Right you are, [Co-Anchor's name]. Here to help us is our brilliant NUUs Analyst. So tell us, NUUs Analyst, how can people tell right from wrong?

NUUs Analyst: It's simple enough. Just ask your conscience.

Co-Anchor 1: Just ask your conscience? As simple as that?

NUUs Analyst: Sure. I'll tell you what William Ellery Channing said. He was a famous Unitarian in the early 1800s. He said, "Every human being has a work to carry on within, duties to perform abroad, influence to exert, which are peculiarly his, and which no conscience but his own can teach."

Co-Anchor 2: Wow. That's deep. But listen, if all you have to do is listen to your conscience, how come people worry so much about telling right from wrong?

NUUs Analyst: Because sometimes it is hard to hear your conscience. Sometimes it is tough to know what it is saying. Sometimes it sounds a little confused.

Co-Anchor 1: So what can we do about that?

NUUs Analyst: Simple again. We need to feed our conscience to make it strong.

Co-Anchor 2: Feed it? With what?

NUUs Analyst: With stuff like the Unitarian Universalist Principles, the Golden Rule and whatever we can find from lots of other good sources—especially our UU Sources.

Co-Anchor 1: Do people ever really think about feeding their conscience?

NUUs Analyst: Sure. Look! There's an art show right over there. [Points.] It is full of brain art that UU sixth graders made to show what they want their conscience to eat.

Co-Anchor 2: Let's go take a look.

[Director: Cue Co-Anchors and NUUs Analyst to walk over to the Brain gallery. Cue camera to follow. Cue Co-Anchors to begin interviewing artists... as many as you have time for.]

Co-Anchor 1 or 2: [to an artist, standing or sitting next to their piece of Brain Art]: What is your name? What do you think you should feed your conscience to make it good and strong and right all the time?

Artist 1, 2, 3, etc: [Answer Co-Anchors' questions, briefly.]

[If there is time, Co-Anchors can talk to each other about their own art, and also ask Studio Staffers to talk about theirs.]

[Director: Cue Co-Anchors and NUUs Analyst to return to the studio.]

Co-Anchor 1: That was a great art show!

Co-Anchor 2: It sure was. Thank you for leading us there, NUUs Analyst. Now maybe you could just summarize how most UUs respond to today's Big Question about how we know right from wrong.

NUUs Analyst: Right on. UUs find guidance in their own Principles, in ideas like the Golden Rule and from many different UU Sources. They internalize these ideas. That means, their conscience remembers them and can tell a UU what is right and what is wrong. Remember, Unitarian Universalism is a humanistic religion, and UUs say humans need to decide how to act. They can get useful ideas from many different religions, but they have to decide for themselves how to use those ideas.

Co-Anchor 1: Thank you, NUUs Analyst. Now that concludes our show for today.

NUUs Analyst: Wait a minute! Don't you want some more quotes? I have about a thousand more quotes to share.

Co-Anchor 2: One quote, NUUs Analyst. That's all we have time for.

NUUs Analyst: Okay. Here it is. It comes from Christopher Reeves, the actor, who was a UU. He said, "I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us. It may be God, I don't know. But I think that if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do."

Co-Anchor 1: Deep again, NUUs Analyst. But now we really do have to go! To the theme music!

[Director: Cue the theme music.]

[Director: Cue the station break.]

Co-Anchor 1: This is [your 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 name] signing off, too.