Tapestry of Faith: Toolbox of Faith: A Program That Helps Children Discover the Uses of Faith

Introduction

Spirit of Life, come unto me.

— Carolyn McDade

The spirit is really the bouquet of life. It is not something breathed into life, it comes out of life.

— Joseph Campbell in a conversation with Bill Moyers

The water and the water bottle symbolize the Spirit of Life. In this session, participants reflect on different ways our faith leads us to think about and connect with how the Spirit of Life works in our lives. Reflections may include how pain and hurt as well as joy and wonder can bring a sense of the Spirit of Life, when one may feel connected to everything. You will guide participants to explore the idea of the Spirit of Life as a part of everything —fluid and pervasive, like water.

For the Welcoming and Entering and Opening activities, you will need to fill large, shallow containers with water for participants to share.

Goals

This session will:

  • Help deepen participants' Unitarian Universalist identity, ethical discernment, and understanding of Unitarian Universalist faith through reflection and discussion
  • Convey that Unitarian Universalism is a faith that helps people connect to the Spirit of Life, and a faith which supports us all to continuously explore the world's possibilities and expand ourselves
  • Demonstrate that Unitarian Universalism values acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations (third Principle)
  • Exemplify Unitarian Universalism's affirmation of the direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life (Source)
  • Engage participants in the spiritual practices of chalice lighting, voicing of joys and concerns, and intentional discussion

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

  • Explore the qualities of water through discussion and hands-on experiences
  • Make a symbolic connection between the fluidity and pervasiveness of water and the fluidity and pervasiveness of the Spirit of Life
  • Develop a personal sense of the Spirit of Life, by reaching into our Jewish and Christian heritage, our Unitarian Universalist love of reason, and our willingness to seek the divine in everything
  • Reenact the water communion through visualization and emphasize how all water is connected, just as all things are connected by the Spirit of Life
  • Learn the Unitarian Universalist hymn, "Spirit of Life"
  • Focus on one of the sources of the Unitarian Universalist Living Tradition, "the direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life"