WONDERFUL WELCOME
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 14: THE GIFT OF SPIRIT
BY AISHA HAUSER AND SUSAN LAWRENCE
© Copyright 2008 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 9:33:07 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Life becomes religious whenever we make it so: when some new light is seen, when some deeper appreciation is felt, when some larger outlook is gained, when some nobler purpose is formed, when some task is well done.
— Sophia Lyon Fahs, Unitarian minister and religious educator
This session introduces the intangible gift of spirit, which we give and receive as members of a faith community when we worship together, celebrate together, and support and comfort one another. At its best, a Unitarian Universalist faith community nourishes all members with affirmation of their spirit and acceptance of their unique spiritual paths.
In this session, the children recognize that they each have their own spirit. They learn that when they bring their spirit into their faith community, they are sharing a gift. To many people, this communion of spirits is synonymous with the presence of God or the Spirit of Life.
In the story, A Lamp in Every Corner, people in a Transylvanian village build a church so they can come together for the purpose of sharing their spirit. When the building is complete, the individual lamps they carry to light the way to the church illuminate their gathering.
Think of the group of children as a faith community. Call attention to ways in which they share their spirit during the session. For example, Activity 3: Sharing Joys and Concerns, introduces a ritual that is common in Unitarian Universalism. You will point out that by being open in sharing their joys and supportive of others' concerns, the children give each other the gift of spirit.
Two of the alternate activities require individual photographs of each child in the group. If you plan to lead either of these activities, ask parents ahead of time to provide photos of their children, or arrange access to a digital camera and a photo printer or an instant camera and film.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Wonder Box | 5 |
Activity 2: Story — "A Lamp in Every Corner" | 10 |
Activity 3: Sharing Joys and Concerns | 10 |
Activity 4: Singing "This Little Light of Mine" | 5 |
Activity 5: "I Believe... " and "I Care about... " Continuum Game | 5 |
Activity 6: Making a Chalice | 15 |
Faith in Action: Sharing the Gift of Spirit with Our Congregation | |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: UU Pen Pals | 30 |
Alternate Activity 2: Sharing Our Spirit in Art | 30 |
Alternate Activity 3: Singing "Sing When the Spirit Says Sing" | 10 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Being a part of a faith community is a decision one makes as an adult. Whether or not you were born a Unitarian Universalist, it is now the faith community you have chosen. Take a moment and reflect on how, when and where you share the gift of spirit in your faith community.
How does your congregation share joys and concerns? If you are a small congregation, you may have an opportunity every Sunday to stand during the service and speak. If you are a larger congregation, what opportunities do you have to share your spirit with others? Perhaps you share your spirit in song, or by volunteering your time, or by providing others with the attention, support or understanding they need.
Have there been times when you held back from sharing your joys and concerns, or in some other way resisted sharing your spirit? Children do not enter into community with the same "guards" as adults. They readily share their gift of spirit, even if they do not name it. Allow the gift of spirit the children share with you be part of the joy of this session's experience.
Think about the times you did feel your own spirit affirmed, times you have felt part of a spiritual community. Bring that positive and nurturing energy with you to this session.
SESSION PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
As you welcome arriving children, invite them to donate any coins they have brought. You might ask, "Who has remembered the gift of stewardship today?"
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather participants in a circle around the chalice. You may say:
All around the world, Unitarian Universalists of all ages light chalices when they gather together. With this ritual, Unitarian Universalists can connect to one another, even though they might never meet each other.
Now we will light the chalice, the symbol of our Unitarian Universalist faith; then say together our opening words.
Light the chalice and invite the children to repeat each line of the opening words:
We are Unitarian Universalists.
With minds that think,
Hearts that love,
And hands that are ready to serve.
Together we care for our Earth,
And work for friendship and peace in our world.
Extinguish the chalice.
ACTIVITY 1: WONDER BOX (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Use the Wonder Box to activate participants' curiosity about today's intangible gift: the gift of spirit.
With the children still in a circle around the chalice, ask them to guess what could be in this big, beautifully wrapped box. Take some guesses. Then, open the box, take out the chalice, and say something like:
Does anyone know what this is? Have you seen this someplace, before?
The children should recognize the chalice from the sanctuary or their own group space. Say, in your own words:
Today we will talk about the gift of spirit. What does spirit mean?
Elicit responses. Affirm that spirit is something intangible which we share with one another in a faith community. Say:
Our Unitarian Universalist congregation is a faith community. When we are together here in Wonderful Welcome, we are a faith community. We share who we are, what we need, what we believe is important, and how we can help one another. All of that is part of our spirit.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY — A LAMP IN EVERY CORNER (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle. Read or tell the story.
ACTIVITY 3: SHARING JOYS AND CONCERNS (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In this activity, children experience a common Unitarian Universalist ritual, the sharing of joys and concerns, as a demonstration of sharing the gift of spirit.
Gather the children around the bowl of water. Give each child a stone or marble.
Say:
When we share joys and concerns that are personal for us and when we listen to the joys and concerns of others, we are sharing the gift of spirit.
Ask a child to draw the level of water on the side of the glass bowl Say:
Watch as each person shares some spirit. You will see how much spirit we are all sharing as the water starts to rise.
Go around the circle, inviting each child to come up to the bowl, say a joy or concern, and drop their stone in the water. You may need to explain:
Joys are things we are happy about. Concerns are things we are sad or worried about.
Some children may not want to voice a joy or concern; allow them to "pass." Thank each child for sharing the gift of spirit.
Now invite the children who did not share a spoken joy or concern to simply bring their stone to the water to add their spirit. Thank each child for sharing the gift of spirit. Then add one more stone, saying, "This is for the joys and concerns still in our hearts that we did not talk about."
Now have another child draw the water level with the marker. Ask the group, "What happened when we talked about our joys and concerns, when we listened to one another, and when we put in more stones for the unspoken joys and concerns in our hearts?" Affirm the observation that the water rose in the bowl. Say:
You can see how when share the gift of spirit together, the water rises. The bowl is fuller. Look at all the spirit we shared!
ACTIVITY 4: SINGING THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Children learn a common hymn.
Say to the group:
In some congregations, people light candles as they share joys and concerns. Here is a song about how every person's spirit is like a little light that is inside them. Our light shines when we contribute a part of ourselves. When we sing together, we contribute a part of ourselves — our voice. We will be sharing our inner light with each other when we sing this song.
Teach the song. Some children may already know it. Lead children in singing, with percussion instruments if you have them.
Including All Participants
Some children may not like to sing. That is okay. Encourage those resistant to singing to use a percussion instrument or clap their hands. Thank everyone for sharing their spirit.
ACTIVITY 5: "I BELIEVE... " AND "I CARE ABOUT... " CONTINUUM GAME (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Paper, markers and tape for simple signs
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants demonstrate that sharing our beliefs is a form of sharing the gift of spirit.
Gather the children in the open space. Tell them:
When we come to be together in our Unitarian Universalist faith community, we have many ways we can share our spirit, even though we sometimes believe different things and care about different things.
Some people believe in God and some do not. Some people believe in fairies and some do not. Some people love dogs, some people love cats, some people love hamsters or fish, and some people do not like pets at all. In our Unitarian Universalist congregation, we respect everyone's beliefs. Sharing our spirit is about caring about one another even when we don't agree about what to believe. Let us see if we are willing to share our spirit with one another as we show some of the things we care about and believe.
Explain to the children that you will read some sentences and they will go and stand on an imaginary line that shows how they really feel about that statement. Point out the continuum and the signs indicating the opinions from "a lot" to "not at all." Show them where to stand if they believe in or care about something "a lot," "sort of," or "not at all." Remind them that anywhere in between the signs is okay. Emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers. In fact, all their answers are the right answer for them. Then, read these statements and/or ones you have created and invite the children to move to a place on the continuum.
You may ask for brief comments about why someone took the position they took, but avoid any arguments. Affirm all positions. Watch for put-downs or pressure to conform, and use such incidents as teachable moments to affirm each person's position, and our Third Principle: acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth.
Including All Participants
Children this age are beginning to compare themselves with peers. In this activity, they are asked to publicly declare beliefs and feelings that may differ from others'. Do not allow a child to stand isolated as they move in response to the statements; have a co-leader take the same position, if needed.
ACTIVITY 6: MAKING A CHALICE (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
The children make their own chalices to take home the gift of spirit.
Give each child a flower pot and saucer. Show them how the saucer will sit on top of the upside-down flower pot to make a chalice. Tell them you will glue the pieces together after they decorate them.
Invite the children to use markers (or paint) to decorate the pots and the saucers and then bring the pieces to an adult to glue them. Set the completed chalices aside to dry.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle. Show them the Wonder Box poster and explain that it looks like the Wonder Box to remind us of our intangible gifts. Invite a child to tape or glue the picture of the flaming chalice to the poster. You may say:
Sharing our spirit is the intangible gift we talked about today. How are you going to share your spirit with others?
Allow comments.
Tell the children you are happy and thankful you all could be together this morning. You may say:
Giving thanks for being together helps us remember how we share the intangible gift of spirit with one another. And, we are grateful that we know how to bring these gifts home to share with our families. Let's say our closing words of gratitude together.
Invite the children to hold hands. Show them where you have posted the closing words. Ask them to say each line with you, and say the lines slowly:
We are thankful.
We are thankful to be here.
We are thankful to be here, together.
We are thankful to be here, together, now.
Then ask one child to very gently squeeze the hand of the person to their left, and have that person continue to pass the squeeze until the squeeze has returned to the person who started it. Tell the person who started the squeeze to signal that it has returned to them by raising their arms, still holding hands with the people on either side. When this happens, instruct everyone to raise their clasped hands, together. If you like, suggest a word for them to say at this moment, like "Good-bye!" or "Shalom!" or the name of this session's intangible gift —"spirit!"
Extinguish the chalice. Distribute Taking It Home handouts. Thank and dismiss participants.
FAITH IN ACTION: SHARING THE GIFT OF SPIRIT WITH OUR CONGREGATION
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
To introduce the song in the service, have a worship leader explain that the children are sharing the gift of spirit with the congregation.
The children will move up the aisle singing in a joyful way, "This Little Light of Mine," clapping, playing instruments and shining lights. When they arrive at the front of the sanctuary, they face the congregation and shine all their flashlights on one spot. Or, if they have the small LED candles, the children stand in a circle to combine their light.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Reflect on these questions and discuss them with your co-leaders:
TAKING IT HOME
Life becomes religious whenever we make it so: when some new light is seen, when some deeper appreciation is felt, when some larger outlook is gained, when some nobler purpose is formed, when some task is well done.
— Sophia Lyon Fahs, Unitarian minister and religious educator
IN TODAY'S SESSION... The children explored the intangible gift of spirit. They learned about ways they can give and receive this gift with others in our religious education group, in their congregation, and in the larger Unitarian Universalist faith community. The children experienced a ritual of sharing joys and concerns that illustrated one way we give and receive the gift of spirit. They sang together and made a chalice to bring the gift of spirit home.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about...
Help your child understand how the gift of spirit is shared when people intentionally come together in faith.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try...
Spend some arts-and-crafts time together making individual "spirit posters." Give each family member a blank sheet of poster board or heavy paper, a photo of themselves, magazines to cut up, a glue stick, scissors, markers and stickers. You may like to title each poster, "The Gift of (Name's) Spirit." Invite each person to glue their own picture to their poster and add images that represent who they are, what they care about, and what they believe.
A FAMILY RITUAL
Try sharing your joys and concerns as a family at home. You will need some stones and a partially filled bowl of water. Have each member of the family hold a stone while they think about their joys and concerns. Then invite family members to drop a stone in the bowl as they share their joys and/or concerns aloud or speak them silently to themselves. Affirm each new stone by saying together, "We accept the gift of (name's) spirit." See how each added stone makes the water in the bowl rise, symbolizing how when each person shares their spirit and others accept it, our sharing of spirit grows.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: UU PEN PALS (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell the children that one way to share the gift of spirit is to send a greeting to someone their own age who is a Unitarian Universalist in another congregation. Give each child the name of their UU pen pal and tell the group about the Unitarian Universalist congregation(s) of their pen pals. Distribute handouts. Help children fill in the blanks with their UU pen pals' names as well as information about themselves. Help the children glue their photos on their handouts. Collect the handouts when children are done, or distribute envelopes and have the children fold and insert their own spirit letters.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: SHARING OUR SPIRIT IN ART (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Show the children the sheet of poster board. Tell them that together they will make a poster that represents their spirits, to display in your congregation. Invite the children to cut out pictures from magazines that represent their own spirit. You can guide them to look for things they care about and things they believe, as well as things they like to do. As a group hang the poster in the pre-arranged display space.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: SINGING "SING WHEN THE SPIRIT SAYS SING" (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Children learn a hymn.
Gather children in a circle. Invite them to stand as they are willing and able. Allow room to move to words such as "shake" and "dance." Tell them this song began as an African American spiritual. You may say:
This song talks about spirit and how it moves inside us. Singing it together gives us some fun ways to move together in spirit.
Teach the song. Add verses with new verbs, or invite children to do so.
Then lead children to sing each verse and demonstrate the action words:
You've got to sing when your spirit says sing,
You've got to sing when your spirit says sing.
When your spirit says sing, you've got to sing, sing, sing.
You've got to sing when your spirit says sing.
You've got to shout when your spirit says shout...
... When your spirit says shout, you've got to shout right out loud...
You've got to wiggle when your spirit says wiggle...
... When your spirit says wiggle, wiggle like a worm...
You've got to shake when your spirit says shake...
... When your spirit says shake, you've got to shake like a snake...
You've got to dance when your spirit says dance...
... When your spirit says dance, you've got to dance, dance, dance...
You've got to sneeze (laugh, clap, move... ), when your spirit says sneeze (laugh, clap, move... )...
... When your spirit says sneeze (laugh, clap, move... ), you've got to sneeze (laugh, clap, move... ) right along...
WONDERFUL WELCOME: SESSION 14:
STORY: A LAMP IN EVERY CORNER
A story from A Lamp in Every Corner: Our Unitarian Universalist Storybook by Janeen K. Grohsmeyer ( Boston : Unitarian Universalist Association, 2004).
Read or tell the story.
Many years ago in the land of Transylvania , in a mountain valley watered by quick rushing streams and shadowed by great forests of beech trees, there was a village of small wooden houses with dark-shingled roofs. The people in the village were of the Unitarian religion, and they wanted a church of their own. A church set on the hillside, they decided, looking down upon the village as a mother looks down upon her sleeping child.
So all the people of the village labored long and hard to build themselves a church. The stonemasons hammered sharp chisels to cut great blocks of gray stone, then set the stones into stout and sturdy walls. The glaziers made tiny glass panes and fitted them neatly into the windows with leaded lines. The foresters sawed tall beech trees into enormous beams and laid the trusses for the ceiling, then covered the roof with close-fitting wooden shingles that wouldn't leak a drop of rain. The carpenters carved wood for the pair of wide-opening doors, setting them on strong pegs so that the doors hung straight and square. A bell was brought from a faraway city, then hoisted by ropes with a heave and a ho to the top of the tower. The weavers wove fine cloths for the altar table, cloths embroidered with flowers and edged with lace. The smiths hammered black iron into tall lamp stands and hammered thin bronze into shining oil lamps.
Finally, when the building of the church was done, the painting of the church could begin. The painters mixed bright colors: royal red and shimmering gold and brilliant blue, and everyone in the village — old and young, women and men, boys and girls — came to decorate their church. They painted flowers. They painted trees. They painted designs around the windows and different designs around the doors.
And at the end of the day, when it was finished — when their church was finally done — all the people of the village stood back to admire it... and then to sing, a song of happiness and praise. Their village had a church now, a church set on the hillside, looking down upon the village as a mother looks down upon her sleeping child.
"We will eat now!" announced an elder of the village, because everyone was hungry after their long day's work. "And later tonight, we will come back to pray."
So the people of the village went down the hillside to their homes and their suppers, all except one little girl named Zora and her father, who stayed behind. They had brought their own bread and cheese. They ate their food slowly, sitting on the grass on the hillside and admiring their new church with its strong stone walls, its tall tower, and its magnificent bell.
After they had eaten, they went back inside, opening those carved wooden doors to go into the gloriously painted sanctuary inside. "Oh, look, Father!" Zora cried, running from picture to picture, with her footsteps echoing off the stone walls. "See how grand!"
"Yes, it is," said her father, looking around and nodding with pride. "Yes, it is."
"But Father," she said suddenly, "we have not finished!"
"What do you mean?"
"There are tall iron lamp stands all along the walls, but there are no lamps! The church will be dark when the people come back."
"Ah no, little one," said her father. 'The light of the church comes from its people. You shall see!" He rang the bell to call the people to worship, then took his daughter by the hand and led her back outside. They waited on the grassy hillside, next to their beautiful church of strong gray stone.
The sun had set behind the mountains, and night was coming soon. Yet in the growing darkness, tiny points of light came from many directions and moved steadily up the hill.
"Each family is entrusted with a lamp, little one," her father explained. "Each family lights its own way here."
"Where is our family's lamp?"
"Your mother is carrying it. She will be here soon."
The many lights moved closer together, gathering into one moving stream, all headed the same way, growing larger and brighter all the time. Zora's mother arrived, bearing a burning oil lamp in her hands. The father lifted Zora so she could set their family's lamp high in its tall iron stand. All around the church, other families were doing the same. Soon the church was ablaze with light in every corner, for all the people of the village had gathered to pray and to sing.
All through the worship service, Zora watched the lights flicker and glow. She watched her family's lamp most of all. When the service was over, her father lifted her high. She took the shining bronze lamp from the lamp stand. Its curved sides were warm and smooth in her hands. Her mother carried the lamp home, with the flame lighting the way.
The lamp flame lit their house when they returned home. Zora washed her face and got ready for bed by the light of that flame. "Mother," Zora began, as she climbed into bed and lay down.
"Yes, little one?" her mother asked, tucking the red wool blanket around Zora's shoulders.
"Father said the light of the church comes from its people."
"Yes."
"But also, the people take their light from the church!" Over on the table by the fireplace, the shiny bronze lamp was still burning. "And we have that light every day."
"Yes, indeed," said her mother. "And even when we are not in church, even when the lamp is not lit, we carry the light of truth in our minds and the flame of love in our hearts to show us the right way to be. That light — the light from truth and love — will never go out."
"Never?" asked Zora.
"Never," said her mother. "And this bronze lamp will last for many, many years. When you are grown, we will give the bronze lamp to you, and when your children are grown, you will give the lamp to them, and all of you will carry it back and forth to church every time."
"But there is only one lamp," Zora said.
"So make another, and let the light grow. And someday, tell your children to make more lamps, too. And now goodnight," her mother said and kissed Zora once on this cheek and once on that cheek and once on the forehead. Zora closed her eyes and drifted into dreams, while her mother looked down upon her sleeping child.
The years passed; Zora grew. The bronze lamp came into her care. She kept it polished and clean, and when the bell rang out across the valley to call the people to worship, she carried the lamp back and forth to the church on the hillside, the flame always lighting her way. When the time came, she made more lamps and gave them to her children, who made more lamps and gave them to their children, and so it went, on through the years, even until today.
And always, the light of truth and the flame of love from that Unitarian church on the hillside continued to grow and show them — and us — the way.
WONDERFUL WELCOME: SESSION 14:
HANDOUT 1: SPIRIT LETTER TO A UU PEN PAL
"Share the Gift of Spirit"
Dear UU Pen Pal, _______________________
My favorite song to sing is...
My favorite game to play is...
My favorite color is...
I believe...
I care about... .
your UU Pen Pal, __________________________
FIND OUT MORE "A Lamp in Every Corner" is the title story of a book by Janeen K. Grohsmeyer (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=707)(Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2004). Find more Unitarian Universalist stories here, along with suggestions for using them in worship and religious education programs. "This Little Light of Mine" is an African-American spiritual which, in the 1950s and 60s became an anthem of the Civil Rights movement. |