WINDOWS AND MIRRORS
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 1: LOOKING IN/LOOKING OUT
BY BY GABRIELLE FARREL, NATALIE FENIMORE AND JENICE VIEW SUSAN LAWRENCE, MANAGING EDITOR/DEVELOPMENTAL EDITOR AISHA HAUSER, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES PROGRAM DIRECTOR/DEVELOPMENTAL EDITOR
© Copyright 2009 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 11:36:51 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
Unitarian Universalists seek always to discover deeper truth and meaning in our lives and in our experience of the world. — Gail Forsyth-Vail
One of the challenges of being human is discerning who we are in relation to the world around us. As we grow and develop, especially in faith, we realize this discernment is a dynamic, lifelong process. Our Unitarian Universalist faith enriches this process for each of us by encouraging us to examine who we truly are. Being comfortable with ourselves grounds us to look openly and caringly at others.
In this introductory session, participants begin to explore how individuality creates the lens through which we view others and all life that shares our planet. In future sessions, participants will develop a heightened awareness of how they bring their own lenses to diverse experiences outside themselves.
The story for this session is about a man who knew he needed to follow his own path. Charles Darwin became famous after writing The Origin of Species, his controversial book which proposed that all life evolved from simple organisms which became more complex over time. For some, Darwin 's theory contradicted bible-based creationism, the idea that God created the world. Darwin 's theory offered a fresh way of seeing—a new lens. Although Darwin's father wanted him to become a doctor, Darwin resisted. He was fascinated instead with the natural world and the animals and plants living in it. Darwin was called to follow his own path, his true, inner self. He made observations and drew conclusions in his own, unique way. As a result his prophetic ideas changed the way we see ourselves in relation to time, life on this planet and, ultimately, the universe.
This program focuses participants on their ability and responsibility to look both within and without—tools for lifelong moral agency. The children experience their Unitarian Universalist faith community as a place to be their true selves and a base from which their observations, reflections and responses to the world around them are accepted and respected. Here we are encouraged to open our eyes, ears and hearts to the ways we are called to live a life of love, caring and service.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Inner/Outer Self-Portrait | 20 |
Activity 2: Story — Charles Darwin | 15 |
Activity 3: Looking Closely | 10 |
Activity 4: How Do I See? | 5 |
Faith in Action: Congregation Self-Portrait | 35 |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: Looking Closely at Photographic or Fine Art Images | 10 |
Alternate Activity 2: Life-Size Inner Self-Portraits | 30 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Find a place where you can be quiet with your thoughts. Close your eyes and breathe deeply for about five minutes, perhaps repeating a word or phrase to separate yourself from the activities of the day. When you feel settled and relaxed, consider:
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This ritual welcoming reminds participants of the relational nature of the group experience. Gather the children in a circle around the chalice. Invite them to take a deep breath and release it, and create a deep silence for a moment.
Ask a volunteer to take a reading from the Opening Words Basket and read it aloud. Invite another volunteer to light the chalice. Then, lead a greeting:
Now we will take a moment to greet the people next to us. If you are next to someone who is new to our group, offer a welcome, tell them your first and last name, and learn their name.
Lead the group in singing the hymn you have chosen. Singing a congregational favorite helps children grow in their sense of belonging in congregational life.
If you choose not to sing, use a bell to signal the group to still themselves for another moment of silence.
Ask the child who lit the chalice to extinguish it. Ask the child who read the opening words to return the reading to the Opening Words Basket.
Including All Participants
If you have a non-sighted participant who reads braille, obtain the braille version of Singing the Living Tradition from UUA Bookstore. The bookstore orders from an outside publisher, so order several weeks ahead.
ACTIVITY 1: INNER/OUTER SELF-PORTRAIT (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
The children consider how they appear to others and how they see themselves as they make two self-portraits, one on each side of a sheet of paper.
Invite participants to consider who they are in the world. How might others who are meeting them for the first time see them? Guide them to think about not only their physical appearance, but the ways they like to spend their time. Do they like baseball, ballet, both? Do they like to go to a library, swimming pool, playground, shopping mall, your church? Are they animal lovers, outdoor people, video-game players, fashion lovers, music fans, musicians? Do they think they are smart, funny, shy, a good friend?
You might say:
Think about the way other people in your life see and experience you. What do people see you are interested in? How do people see you interact with others?
Give participants time at least five minutes to work on their outer self-portraits.
In the second part of this activity, participants create an inner self-portrait. Say something like:
We have been looking at our outer selves and how others may see us. Now turn over your paper and think about your inner self. Think about what you know about the inside of yourself. Who is your true self? What are the dreams and thoughts that maybe just a few people—or maybe only you—know? Think about your inner self for a few moments. Then create a self-portrait of the inner you with drawings, words, or symbols.
You will not have to share your inner self-portrait.
Be attentive to the children as they work, but resist commenting on the content or execution of their self-portraits.
Let children know when time is almost up.
Engage everyone in cleaning up. Then gather the group in a circle. Invite the children to share something about their self-portraits with the group if they choose. Ask:
Have the children take their work home to share with their families.
Including All Participants
If your religious education program does not already have them, order a set of multicultural markers and crayons to ensure children of various skin colors have materials to represent themselves.
Probably some children in your group are approaching puberty. Some may be self-conscious about their inner thoughts, so be clear that the sharing and discussion part of this activity is voluntary. Some may have problems at home or school that they have kept to themselves, such as a bullying situation or uncomfortable interactions within the family. If this activity alerts you to the possibility that a child's safety or well-being is at risk, speak in confidence with your director of religious education or minister.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY — CHARLES DARWIN (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Read or tell the story to the group.
After the story, invite the group to be silent for a moment to think about the story.
Begin a discussion by asking the children to recap the story in their own words. What they recall indicates what they found most meaningful or memorable. You may say:
Charles Darwin resisted his father's pressure to become a medical doctor. Looking inward, he followed his true self. His love of nature led him to observations that were truly his own. He made an impact on the world, and his theory of evolution changed the way people see themselves.
Lead a discussion using these questions:
ACTIVITY 3: LOOKING CLOSELY (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity illustrates the importance of observation and serves as a metaphor for how we each observe the world through our own lenses.
Distribute paper and pencils and invite participants to go to each station and take turns looking at each object with a magnifying glass. Ask that they observe and take notes in silence.
Then, re-gather the group, hold up each object in turn, and ask volunteers to share what they observed about it. Point out the variety in the group's observations. For example, some children will notice what ingredients are in a granola bar, while others may note its colors or texture.
Invite the group to discuss:
Including All Participants
Be mindful of vision-impaired participants. Make sure objects can be observed in a tactile as well as visual way. If any participant has vision limitations, encourage everyone to observe by touch.
Some participants may have trouble writing or spelling. Note-taking can be presented as optional so no one feels pressured to write. Note-taking in the form of sketching rather than writing can also be encouraged.
ACTIVITY 4: HOW DO I SEE? (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity demonstrates "framing" as a visual metaphor for how we selectively take in information. Who we are influences how we frame the world.
Begin by telling participants that how we see things depends on how we are looking. Say something like:
Now we are going to experiment with perspective. We will look at different things around the room and pay attention to what we observe.
Ask participants to look around the room and describe what they see.
Next, ask them to make a frame with their hands. The left hand will make an "L" and the right hand will make a backward "L." Put these together for a square frame. Give participants time to look through their frames. Help the group reflect on this exercise about points of view by asking:
Including All Participants
If any participants have impaired vision, invite the group to explore framing in a tactile way by providing a large, multi-textured object for all to observe tactilely.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Explain that the session is almost over and that we will now work together as a community to clean the meeting space. Ask everyone to clean up their own area and the materials they were using first, and then to clean another area or help someone else. No one should sit in the circle until the meeting space is clean.
Then bring the group back to the circle. Ask them to think about what happened today that was good or what they wish had gone better. If you are running short of time you can ask them for a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" on the session.
Invite each participant to say, in a word or a sentence, why it is important for them to be a part of this faith community. You may go around the circle for responses, allowing individuals to speak or pass.
Then ask everyone to hold hands and say together:
Keep alert;
Stand firm in your faith;
Be courageous and strong;
Let all that you do be done in love. — 1 Corinthians 16
If this is the first time the group will say goodbye with "namaste," explain its origin and meaning. Then, lead the group in saying goodbye with the bowing gesture that accompanies the word "namaste."
Distribute copies of the Taking It Home handout you have prepared. Thank and dismiss participants.
FAITH IN ACTION: CONGREGATION SELF-PORTRAIT (35 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This is an opportunity for the group to understand more about their faith community.
Post blank newsprint. Brainstorm with the group questions they have about the congregation and its building, members, and history. Some questions you may want to suggest are: What is the name of the congregation? Has the name ever changed, perhaps from "church" to "congregation"? Why or why not? Where is the congregation located? Is it in an urban, suburban, or rural area? How does its geographical location affect who joins the congregation? Have members ever seen a homeless person near or around the congregation's facility? Is the building surrounded by land—is there a parking lot? What are some of the social justice activities the congregation is involved in? Where in the building are windows located? Are they decorative, designed to allow in natural light, or covered to keep rooms quiet or private?
Lead the children on a tour of the facility. Invite them to take notes on what they observe.
If your religious professionals or lay leaders join you, they can answer some of the group's questions. Bring the questions with you on the tour and suggest visiting adults answer them at appropriate locations in the building.
Including All Participants
Make sure all areas to be visited are fully accessible. This activity is not recommended if the entire group cannot participate fully.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Reflect on and discuss with your co-leader(s):
Approach your director of religious education for guidance, as needed.
TAKING IT HOME
Unitarian Universalists seek always to discover deeper truth and meaning in our lives and in our experience of the world. — Gail Forsyth-Vail
IN TODAY'S SESSION...
The children heard the story of Charles Darwin, who followed his own path to become a naturalist despite his father's expectations that he become a physician. Darwin 's way of perceiving the world gave humankind the gift of his observations and conclusions about life on Earth and our place within it.
We talked about being true to oneself. We explored the unique and changeable nature of how we view the world. The children made an outer self-portrait (how others see them) and an inner self-portrait of thoughts, wishes and dreams.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER.
Talk about what it means to observe carefully and why and how we each use a unique lens as we look at our world. What does it mean that each person sees things differently?
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER.
Try a family activity. Everyone gets a clean sock. Decorate the outer part of the sock with buttons, ribbon, and other materials found around the house. For the inside of your sock, write or draw on little pieces of paper your thoughts, wishes and dreams. Fold these and place them inside. You might like to fill each sock in a ceremonious way, with a candle-lighting to begin and words for each person's sock-filling such as:
Bless (family member), beloved inside and out.
Invite family members to share what they have written on the paper and talk about what it reveals.
FAMILY ADVENTURE
Walk through your home together and examine your windows. Are they framed as decorations or "dressed" in a way that encourages people to look outward? Or walk outside. Do your windows invite looking in or are they closed to outside passers-by?
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: LOOKING CLOSELY AT PHOTOGRAPHIC OR FINE ART IMAGES (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Invite participants to examine each image and consider:
Then gather the group. As you hold up each image, invite the children to share their observations. Point out the variety in their observations. Ask: Why did we each see different things?
Including All Participants
Be mindful of vision-impaired participants. If any in the group have vision limitations, make sure objects can be observed in a tactile way and encourage all to observe by touch.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: LIFE-SIZE INNER SELF-PORTRAITS (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants will create "inner" self-portraits of their dreams, hopes, wishes and feelings by writing and drawing on life-size outlines of themselves.
Give each child a large piece of paper. Have the group divide into pairs and take turns tracing the outlines of each other's bodies on the paper. Then, invite the children to create an inner self-portrait inside their body outlines. Suggest that they draw and write about their dreams, wishes, hopes, feelings, or goals. They might also include the people, animals, and things they most care about and love. Decide whether to ask the children to work in silence or to let them discuss the process as they work.
When portraits are completed or time is almost up, invite participants to describe their inner self-portraits to the group. Have each child who volunteers share without interruption or comment from others. Display the portraits in the room. Avoid praising or criticizing the content or execution of the self-portraits. Instead, affirm the variety and point out that our Unitarian Universalist faith community helps each of us know and express our true selves.
Including All Participants
If accessibility issues will prevent any child from fully participating in this activity, skip the body outline and simply use 8 1/2 X 11-inch paper for the portraits.
WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 1:
STORY: CHARLES DARWIN
Adapted from "Charles Darwin" in Stories in Faith: Exploring Our Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources Through Wisdom Tales, by Gail Forsyth-Vail (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2007).
From the time he was a little boy, Charles Darwin was an explorer. He loved to roam the fields and hills near his home in Shrewsbury, England . He was fascinated by the movements of small animals and insects and knew each wildflower by name. He was curious about everything he saw and heard and touched, wondering at the lives of ants and butterflies, examining and collecting rocks, delighting in the grasses, trees, leaves, and flowers that provided homes for his very favorite creature—the beetle.
Curiosity about the world and the place of humans in it was a gift given to Charles by both his grandfathers. They were Unitarians and believed that human beings did not yet know all the answers to life's great questions. The clues were to be found in observing the world around them.
When Charles was eight, his mother died. Not long after, his father decided to send Charles away to school, where he might learn the things that young gentlemen in his day were expected to know: Greek, Latin, and ancient history. But Charles was more interested in the workings of an anthill or the mysteries found in a rock pile than he was in what was taught at school. At every opportunity he took long walks outdoors—watching, listening, and collecting. He delighted in figuring out how creatures behaved and how the natural world worked.
This wasn't at all what Charles's father had in mind. He was worried. What would young Charles do when he grew up? What kind of man would he be?
When Charles was fifteen, his father sent him to medical school to become a doctor like his father and grandfather. But he was not interested in medicine. Instead, he found people who would teach him all about different kinds of plants. He began to draw these plants in great detail, labeling all the parts, learning to tell one variety from another.
Two years later, Charles left medical school; it was clear that he didn't want to be a doctor. His father was furious and thought that the endless hours Charles spent outdoors were a waste of time. Determined that Charles would make something of himself, his father sent him to Cambridge University to become a minister.
Charles was not unhappy with that decision; in those days, ministers often did science experiments and observations in their spare time. Charles planned to find a small church in the countryside and spend most of his time observing and drawing plants, animals, rocks, and insects.
He was still very interested in collecting beetles. One day, Charles tore a piece of bark off a tree and saw two rare kinds of beetles. He had one in each hand when he saw a third that he wanted to add to his collection. He quickly popped one beetle into his mouth in order to grab the third—with very bad results. The beetle squirted something nasty-tasting and Charles was forced to spit it out.
At Cambridge , Charles discovered what his life's work would be and he began to call himself a naturalist.
Charles went on a journey around the world and as he traveled, he filled notebooks with drawings and notes. He stayed open to the curiosities of the natural world as they presented themselves: frogs, salamanders, armadillos, insects, and lots of fossils. When he returned to England five years later, he understood how plants and animals evolved from one form to another over the course of many, many thousands and millions of years.
Twenty-two years later Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species. Scientists, preachers, and teachers took notice, and so did the press. The boy collector with the gift of wonder, a spirit of adventure, and openness to new ideas had become the scientist whose theory responded to the "mystery of mysteries." Today, people still take notice and debate what Charles Darwin had to say.
WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: OPENING WORDS FOR BASKET
The authors of these readings have given approval for their use.
After downloading, add opening words alternatives commonly used in your congregation or other readings you like. Print them and cut so each reading is on a separate slip of paper.
We gather this hour as people of faith
With joys and sorrows, gifts and needs
We light this beacon of hope, sign of our quest
For truth and meaning,
In celebration of the life we share together.
— Christine Robinson, Reading 448, Singing the Living Tradition
Life is a gift for which we are grateful. We gather in community to celebrate the glories and the mysteries of this gift.
— Marjorie Montgomery, Reading 452, Singing the Living Tradition
May the light we now kindle
Inspire us to use our powers
To heal and not to harm,
To help and not to hinder,
To bless and not to curse,
To serve you,
Spirit of freedom.
— from a Jewish Passover Haggadah, Reading 453, Singing the Living Tradition
We are Unitarian Universalists
With minds that think (hands tap head lightly)
Hearts that love (hands tap heart lightly)
And hands that are ready to serve (hands outstretched).
— David Herndon (from Rejoice Together)
We light this chalice to celebrate the love within us, among us, and all around us.
— David Herndon (from Rejoice Together)
WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: NAMASTE
Adapted from an article on Wikipedia.
Namaste is a Sanskrit word that is a common spoken greeting in India and other South Asian countries. Literally, it means "I bow to you." When spoken to another person, it is commonly accompanied by a slight bow made with hands pressed together in front of the chest, palms touching and fingers pointed upward. The word and accompanying gesture express deep respect. The gesture can be performed wordlessly and carry the same meaning. Namaste is also used as a friendly greeting in written communication.
In everyday life, namaste is not necessarily a religious gesture. However, many consider it a spiritual one, recognizing a common divinity within the other person.
When greeting a peer, a namaste with the hands in front of the chest and a slight bow is considered polite. To indicate deep respect, one may place the hands in front of the forehead. Reverence for a god or the holiest of persons may be indicated by placing the hands together completely above the head. In the gesture of bringing both hands together with palms touching, one hand represents the higher, spiritual nature, while the other represents the worldly self. The person making the gesture is attempting to rise above their differences with others and connect with the other person to whom they bow. The bow is symbolic of love and respect.
In recent times, and more globally, the term namaste has come to be associated with yoga and spiritual meditation. In this context, it takes on a number of meanings tied to the spiritual origins of the word. It may be expressed as "I honor the Light/Spirit/Divine in you which is also in me," or "All that is best and highest in me greets/salutes all that is best and highest in you."
WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 3: PHOTOGRAPHIC OR FINE ART IMAGES
Photographs "Beard" and "Light at the End" by Elizabeth Stidsen, from her website. Used with permission.
beard
light at the end
FIND OUT MORE
Charles Darwin's most famous work is The Origin of Species (at www.talkorigins.org/faqs/origin.html); he is also the author of many other books (at www.literature.org/authors/darwin-charles/) — find a list on the literature.org website.
A good online source for information about Charles Darwin (at www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/darwin_charles.shtml) is the BBC's history page (at www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/darwin_charles.shtml).
For more about evolution, check out a University of California at Berkeley web page (at www.evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/search/topicbrowse2.php?topic_id=41).