• Attractive bowl, half-filled with water
• Smooth stones

• Put water in bowl and set out stones where they can easily be reached. Make sure that bowl is on a surface that will not be damaged if a small amount of water splashes out.

Say:

Our community is like a bowl that holds all of our lives. The joys and sorrows which affect each person's life send ripples through all of our lives.

Invite participants, as they are moved, to pick up a stone, drop it gently (!) in the bowl of water, and share aloud a joy or a sorrow which has affected their life in recent days. Say they may drop their stone in silence, instead; tell them it is okay to keep their joys or sorrows private. You might go first, to model.

Once all who wish to have shared, affirm all the words people have spoken and the thoughts and feelings that remain inside each person's head and heart.