A PLACE OF WHOLENESS
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Youth
WORKSHOP 5: HOPE
BY BETH DANA AND JESSE JAEGER
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 9/29/2014 7:10:14 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
In the depths of my soul
There where lies the source of my strength,
Where the divine and the human meet,
There, quiet your mind, quiet, quiet.
Outside let lightning reign,
Horrible darkness frighten the world.
But from the depths of your own soul
From that silence will rise again
God's flower.
Return to yourself,
Rest in yourself,
Live in the depths of your soul
Where the divine and the human meet.
Tune your heart to the eternal
And in the depths of your own soul
Your panting quiets down.
Where the divine and the human meet,
There is your refuge. — Words by Norbert Capek, Czech Unitarian and creator of the Flower Festival, composed in Dresden Prison, 1942
This workshop explores sources, meanings, uses, and expressions of hope. Experiencing the Unitarian Universalist Flower Festival and learning about its Unitarian roots serves as a springboard for the activities in the workshop. Note that what we commonly call the Flower Communion was originally called the Flower Festival or the Flower Celebration by Czech Unitarians. According to the daughter of the ritual's creator (Norbert Capek), her father named it a Festival or Celebration because he did not want to confuse his congregants with the term communion, which had many connotations from the Christian tradition.
Participants reflect on their own sources of hope and how they handle seemingly hopeless personal, societal, and global situations. The alternate activities provide opportunities for deeper spiritual exploration, creativity, and fun. Please note that the Faith in Action activities require extra planning and coordination with congregational leadership in advance of the workshop.
GOALS
This workshop will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
WORKSHOP-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | 0 |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Perspectives on Hope | 15 |
Activity 2: Story — The Flower Festival | 20 |
Activity 3: Responding With Hope | 35 |
Activity 4: I Believe, I Feel, I Act | 5 |
Faith in Action: Sharing Hope | |
Closing | 10 |
Alternate Activity 1: Guided Meditation — The Stone | 12 |
Alternate Activity 2: Hope Haikus | 25 |
Alternate Activity 3: Worry Dolls | 25 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
For Unitarian Universalists, hope is part of our religious outlook, and it is part of what drives our work for the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. In preparation for this workshop on hope, as the opening quote suggests, "quiet your mind, quiet, quiet." Reflect on that place in the depths of your soul where the divine or Spirit of Life and the human meet and a flower rises up. Is the divine or Spirit of Life a source of hope for you? Do you draw more on humanity's capacities? Or is it the meeting of the two that gives rise to hope in you? What other sources of hope do you draw on to motivate your work for world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all? Participants will likely have a variety of answers to these questions, which creates a wonderful opportunity for learning and inspiration.
WORKSHOP PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
The Welcome Words are meant to set the stage for the workshop and spark conversation before the workshop begins. The Welcome Words for today are a quote and questions.
In the depths of my soul
There where lies the source of my strength,
Where the divine and the human meet,
There, quiet your mind, quiet, quiet.
Outside let lightning reign,
Horrible darkness frighten the world.
But from the depths of your own soul
From that silence will rise again
God's flower.
Return to yourself,
Rest in yourself,
Live in the depths of your soul
Where the divine and the human meet.
Tune your heart to the eternal
And in the depths of your own soul
Your panting quiets down.
Where the divine and the human meet,
There is your refuge.
—— Words by Norbert Capek, Czech Unitarian and creator of the Flower Festival, composed in Dresden Prison, 1942
Question: What is hope? What is the flower of hope that rises from the depths of your soul?
As participants arrive, invite them to choose a flower and place it in one of the vases in preparation for Activity 1. They may also decorate a journal, review and/or add to their journal based on the Welcome Words, or informally discuss the Welcome Words. Spend some time with visitors and first-time participants to orient them to the program and getting a sense of what brought them today.
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
If youth did not do the Welcome and Entering activity, invite them to take a flower and place it in the vase in the center of the room. You will come back to the flowers later in the workshop.
Distribute Handout 1, Responsive Reading — Five Smooth Stones. Lead the group in the responsive reading or ask for a volunteer to lead. Encourage participants to take turns leading the responsive reading from workshop to workshop.
After the responsive reading, ask for a volunteer to light the chalice.
Including All Participants
Assist any youth that might need help with words in the responsive reading. Remember to allow participants to pass on reading.
ACTIVITY 1: PERSPECTIVES ON HOPE (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity sparks discussion about the meaning of hope for Unitarian Universalists.
Begin by inviting a participant to read aloud the following quote from John Murray, one of the founders of American Universalism:
You may possess only a small light, but uncover it, let it shine, use it in order to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of men and women. Give them not Hell, but hope and courage. Do not push them deeper into their theological despair, but preach the kindness and everlasting love of God.
Explain that John Murray wrote this to counter theologies that he believed focused too much on Hell and encouraged despair because of the way God was portrayed. Instead, he preached the kindness and love of God in order to foster hope and courage. The theology of universal salvation——that all people will be saved, and none will go to Hell——was the foundation of his preaching and of Universalism.
Tell participants that this theology of hope is a part of the Unitarian Universalist living tradition to this day, and has been expressed by Unitarian Universalists and non-Unitarian Universalists alike in a variety of ways.
Tell participants that they will now read, then discuss, a series of quotes about hope. Distribute Handout 1, Hope Quotes, and invite participants one by one to read a quote aloud, making sure to identify the source.
When participants have heard all of the quotes, ask for a few moments of silent reflection.
Then ask the group: In your experience, what does it mean to have hope?
Lead a ten minute discussion in response to this question and the quotes shared.
Conclude by thanking everyone for sharing their perspectives so that all can deepen their understanding of hope.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY — THE FLOWER FESTIVAL (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity introduces the Unitarian Universalist Flower Festival as an expression of hope.
Distribute Handout 2, Flower Festival Readings. Ask how many people have ever participated in a Flower Festival at a Unitarian Universalist congregation. Invite those who have participated in the ceremony to throw out a word or phrase about the experience.
Explain that they will have the opportunity to participate in a Flower Festival, which began when they entered the meeting space, took a flower, and placed it in a vase, offering something beautiful to the group gathered.
To set a context, read or ask a volunteer to read aloud the story, "The Flower Festival."
Tell participants that they will recreate this meaning-filled ritual with a service including the original prayers of Dr. Capek. Invite participants to rise in body or spirit and hold hands in a circle (or stay seated in a circle and join hands). Explain that when Capek conducted his Flower Festival in Prague, he would say a prayer or blessing over the flowers. Read or ask a volunteer to read the flower festival prayer from the handout.
Explain that it is time to share in the Flower Festival. Ask that they approach the vase one or two at a time, quietly and reverently, with a sense of how important it is for each of us to address our world and one another with gentleness, justice and love. Ask them to select a flower—different from the one they placed in the vase—that particularly appeals to them, and when taking it, to notice its particular shape and beauty and recognize that it represents a gift of life from someone else in the room. The beauty of the flowers is also a symbol of hope. Share this Unitarian Universalist ritual of oneness, love, and hope in silence.
Once everyone has chosen a flower and returned to their place, invite participants to speak into the silence the name of someone who gives them hope. They could name someone famous for their good works or someone from their congregation or a personal hero. Hold space during this sharing for quieter members of the group to speak by allowing for silence, or by saying "if there is a voice among us that has not yet spoken, but would like to, please do" before closing the sharing.
Point out that one way we are together in worship is by singing together. Introduce the African American hymn "There Is More Love Somewhere," by saying it is a message of hope, expressed in this song by African Americans, but felt and expressed in many ways by many different marginalized communities. Invite participants to rise in body or spirit and sing "There Is More Love Somewhere," Hymn 95 in Singing the Living Tradition.
Close the Flower Festival with additional words by Capek in Handout 2, which have been adapted into a responsive reading. Leaders read the regular text, and participants read the italicized text. Alternatively, invite half of the group to read one part and the other half to read the response.
Observe a few moments of silence to signal the end of the ceremony. Thank the participants for participating in a Flower Festival. Now take some time to reflect on the experience. Present the following questions for discussion:
After five minutes, close by emphasizing that the Flower Festival was Norbert Capek's attempt to bring hope and beauty to his congregants. Today, we too can bring hope and beauty to our own lives and to a world where too many people experience the hopelessness of oppression and persecution.
Including All Participants
An invitation to "rise in body or spirit" accommodates participants of all physical abilities. Assist any youth that might need help with words in readings.
ACTIVITY 3: RESPONDING WITH HOPE (35 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth explore personal experiences and sources of hope to draw on in the face of devastation, despair, and injustice in the world.
Begin by saying that, like Norbert Capek and his community, we may all experience hopelessness at times. There is devastation, despair, and injustice in our world, and we experience adversity and sadness in our lives and relationships. Nevertheless, James Luther Adams reminds us with his fifth smooth stone, that there are human and divine/spiritual resources available that justify hope and optimism.
Direct the group's attention to the news stories/photos posted around the room.
Explain that they will explore the current events posted with the goal of identifying sources of hope in each situation. Divide participants into four groups, and have each group begin at a different story. Groups will rotate around the room, spending five minutes at each station. Tell them to spend the first minute or two reading the story, looking at the photo, and understanding the situation. Spend the remainder of the five minutes reflecting on the sources of hope in each situation, including: 1) the human skills, capacities, or resources, and 2) the divine or spiritual resources of their faith. Ask them to brainstorm resources and record them on the newsprint. After five minutes, signal the groups to move to the next story and repeat the process, recording their discussion on the posted newsprint next to the recordings of the last group. When the groups have made their way through all the stories, invite them to return to their seats.
Spend the next 10 minutes reviewing, clarifying, and discussing the sources of hope brainstormed from the stories. Address one story at a time. Ask a volunteer from each group to explain what they wrote on the newsprint, or as the leader, summarize and make connections among the groups' recordings as a prompt for discussion.
Close by saying that this activity demonstrated how, together, we can find internal and external sources of hope in the face of seemingly hopeless situations.
Including All Participants
Ensure adequate space for participants to move around near and between each story. Provide the option of standing or sitting at each station.
ACTIVITY 4: I BELIEVE, I FEEL, I ACT (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Explain that participants now have the opportunity to reflect and write or draw on what they have learned and discussed in the workshop. The following is a framework for reflection, but they are free to reflect in any way that is helpful for them.
Ask them to make three columns in their journals:
I BELIEVE I FEEL I ACT
(world view) (loyalty of my heart) (way of life)
Invite them to consider their faith in these terms.
An example might be:
1) I believe that hope results from human and spiritual capacities working together.
2) I feel confident in my human capacity for hope.
3) I act on my beliefs and feelings by meditating when confronted with seemingly hopeless situations, which helps me summon the optimism to take action.
Explain that they can make as many statements as they have time for now and they can always continue during the reflection time in future workshops. Invite them to draw or represent their reflections graphically, if they prefer.
Offer the following reflection questions related to the theme of the day:
CLOSING (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Invite a couple of volunteers to share brief reflections from the journaling exercise about their beliefs, feelings, and actions in response to today's workshop. After five minutes, close with a song, "Color and Fragrance," words and music by Norbert Capek. The song was translated by Paul and Anita Munk and the English version is by Grace Ulp. Invite participants to rise in body or spirit and sing "Color and Fragrance," Hymn 78 in Singing the Living Tradition.
Invite youth to reflect on the theme of hope as it relates to the words of the hymn.
Invite a participant to extinguish the chalice and distribute Taking It Home.
Including All Participants
An invitation to "rise in body or spirit" accommodates participants of all physical abilities.
FAITH IN ACTION: SHARING HOPE
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
The following activities are an opportunity for participants to share a message of hope with their congregation and the larger community.
Option 1: Lead the Flower Festival
This faith in action activity brings the Flower Festival that participants experienced in this workshop to the larger congregation, and is an opportunity for them to take an active role in worship leadership. Many congregations already celebrate a Flower Festival each year, but not all of these include youth involvement and leadership. Collaborate with the congregation's worship leader(s) to plan and lead a Flower Festival for the larger congregation. Try to involve as many youth as possible in readings, music, and actions. Resources include: "The Flower Communion (at www.uua.org/documents/zottolireginald/flowercommunion.pdf)" by Reginald Zottoli; Handout 2, Flower Festival Readings (which draws from the first resource); the Unitarian Universalist hymnbooks Singing the Living Tradition and Singing the Journey; and the traditions of the congregation. If there are neighboring congregations that celebrate the Flower Festival, connect with youth there, find out if they have any resources to exchange, and invite them to be involved in the service.
Option 2: Plant a Hope Garden
Planting a garden is an act of hope. A gardener plants with faith that their efforts will yield new life. While the planters may not get to enjoy the garden in its full-grown beauty immediately, they are planting for the future and for the good of the environment. As a group and in conversation with the congregational leadership, participants can decide where they would like to plant the garden. Recruit parents and other volunteers from the congregation to help with and be present at the planting. As a group, organize a ritual or ceremony to honor the hopefulness of the occasion.
The hope garden could also become part of the life of the congregation. Families with new babies might plant a new seed or seedling to symbolize their hopes for the child. Families that experience a death could plant new life to symbolize the hope their loved one gave to the world.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Talk with your co-leader about the workshop. What do you think went well? What might you have done differently? Did you learn anything about your working relationship or how you lead an activity that would be important to note for future workshops?
Thinking about the content of the workshop, what did you find most surprising about what you learned? Did the participants have any interesting reactions to the content? What would you like to learn more about?
If you are doing this program as a series, go over the workshop plan for the next workshop with your co-leader. Who will do what preparatory tasks? Is there research you will need to do? If you have more or less time than the 90 minutes planned for in the workshops which activities will you add or cut?
Be aware that the next workshop includes a panel of congregation members sharing their spiritual practices. If you have not already done so, arrange for two or three congregants to participate.
TAKING IT HOME
In the depths of my soul
There where lies the source of my strength,
Where the divine and the human meet,
There, quiet your mind, quiet, quiet.
Outside let lightning reign,
Horrible darkness frighten the world.
But from the depths of your own soul
From that silence will rise again
God's flower.
Return to yourself,
Rest in yourself,
Live in the depths of your soul
Where the divine and the human meet.
Tune your heart to the eternal
And in the depths of your own soul
Your panting quiets down.
Where the divine and the human meet,
There is your refuge. — Words by Norbert Capek, Czech Unitarian and creator of the Flower Festival, composed in Dresden Prison, 1942
In Today's Workshop...
We looked more closely at James Luther Adams' fifth smooth stone—the divine and human resources that justify hope and optimism. We shared and explored different perspectives on hope and experienced the Unitarian Universalist Flower Festival as an expression of hopefulness. We brainstormed sources of hope available to us in the face of seemingly hopeless personal, societal, and global situations. We also reflected on how our faith leads us to believe, feel, and act when hopeless and hopeful.
Reflection Questions:
Explore the topic further...
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: GUIDED MEDITATION — THE STONE (12 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity is a guided meditation written by Sienna Baskin from Blessing to All Beings: an anthology of spiritual writing by and about Young Religious Unitarian Universalists.
If the chalice is not already lit, ask a volunteer to light it.
Arrange participants in a loose circle, so that everyone has space around them and a clear view of the chalice. Invite them to find a comfortable sitting position. Then lead the following guided meditation, speaking slowly and leaving space for silence and reflection.
Take a few moments to arrive and enjoy this space together. [pause]
Now focus all of your attention on the chalice flame. Imagine that the flame is an eye, and that you are seeing and meeting a very steady gaze.
Start humming, so that it resonates inside and out. [begin humming so that others will follow]
Imagine that the hum has opened a great cavern in your body and that you are a tiny explorer peering into its depths.
At first, all is darkness, but soon your eyes adjust and you see that the walls and floors are sparkling with jewels of all colors. Behold this wonder. [pause]
Now through the tiny opening, you throw a slender, strong rope.
You slowly lower yourself deep, deep into the cavern by climbing, hand over hand, down the rope.
Now you are completely surrounded by open space and the soft glitter of the jewels.
You hold yourself aloft by the strength of your arms, but in your awe, you feel entirely safe. [pause]
Looking all around, you see beneath you a small stone that shines brighter than all of the rest.
You fix your sights on this stone.
All of the glittering fades away as you descend toward this stone.
See it as you gaze at the chalice flame. [pause]
"One of those stones is precious
It can change everything.
It can make the darkness shine.
It's the light switch for the whole country.
Everything depends on it.
Look at it... touch it... "
(From "Further In" by Tomas Transtromer, New Collected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 1992))
[pause]
Leave your stone. And climb, hand over hand, out of the cavern, never looking back.
Now you know what is inside of you — what you carry around inside of you.
It is the immense treasure that is your creativity, the simple stone that is your soul. [pause for a few moments to let people bring their focus back to the group]
Invite participants to turn to a partner. Explain that each person has one minute to describe the simple stone they just saw. What color and how big was it? Was it smooth or rough? How did it make you feel to see this stone?
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: HOPE HAIKUS (25 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
I like fresh water (5) — set the scene
It makes me feel good inside (7) — expand on the theme
It removes my fear (5) — round it off
Description of Activity
Participants compose haikus about hope and create a hopeful haiku flower arrangement to share with the congregation and/or decorate the meeting space. Explain what a haiku is and how to write one:
A haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that does not rhyme, but follows a pattern of three lines. The pattern is:
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
Haiku usually are about nature and everyday things and situations, but for our purposes today the topic will be hope.
Distribute paper and pens. Tell them to begin by writing the word hope, and then listing words that come to mind that are related to hope. Then put the words into three lines. Draw the group's attention to the example posted on newsprint. Explain that the 5-syllable first line should set the scene; the 7-syllable second line should expand on the theme by expressing a feeling, making an observation, or recording an action; and the 5-syllable third line should round off the haiku. Give participants 10 minutes to work on their hope haikus. Assist as needed.
After 10 minutes, invite each person to share their haiku aloud with the rest of the group. Distribute the strands of ribbon and invite them to write their haiku on the ribbon, leaving about three inches on one end blank so that they can tie the ribbon to a flower stem. When they finish writing on the ribbons, they can tie them to the stem of a flower.
The hopeful haiku flower arrangement can be displayed for the congregation during coffee hour, or in the meeting space. If using fresh flowers, once the flowers have died you can save the ribbons and weave them together into a strand of hope.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: WORRY DOLLS (25 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants learn about and make their own worry dolls. Begin by asking the participants if any of them have ever used worry dolls. If someone has, ask them to describe it. Explain that worry dolls originate in the Mayan traditions of Guatemala. They are little wooden dolls dressed in colorful clothing. In Guatemala, a person will tell the doll a worry or a problem they are having and then put it under their pillow overnight. While they are sleeping, the doll will make their worries go away, help the person sleep, and leave them more hopeful.
Explain to the group that they will now have an opportunity to make their own worry doll. Distribute Handout 3, Worry Doll Instructions and go over them with participants showing them the supplies they will need. As they are making worry dolls, circulate around the group assisting as needed.
When everyone is finished making their worry dolls, lead a discussion using the following questions:
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 5:
STORY: THE FLOWER FESTIVAL
Adapted from The Flower Communion: A Service of Celebration for Religious Liberals by Reginald Zottoli with permission from the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association, which first published this resource in The Communion Book, edited by Carl Seaburg.
The Unitarian Universalist Flower Festival service was created by Dr. Norbert Capek [pronounced Chah-Peck] (1870-1942), founder, along with his wife Maja V. Capek, of the Unitarian Church in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He introduced this festival to the church on June 4, 1923 as a ritual of togetherness and hope. Capek turned to his surroundings—the countryside—and created a simple service using flowers and nature. It is for this reason that this workshop refers to the ritual as the Flower Festival, rather than Flower Communion as it is more commonly known. It was originally called the Flower Festival or the Flower Celebration by Czech Unitarians. According to the daughter of the ritual's creator, her father intentionally called it a Festival or Celebration because he did not want to confuse or alienate his congregants with the term communion, which had many connotations from the Christian tradition. On the last Sunday before the summer recess of the Unitarian church in Prague, all the children and adults participated in this colorful ritual, which gives concrete expression to the humanity-affirming principles of our liberal faith.
When the Nazis took control of Prague in 1940, they found Dr. Capek's gospel of the inherent worth and beauty of every human person to be—as Nazi court records show—"...too dangerous to the Reich [for him] to be allowed to live." Dr. Capek was sent to Dachau, where he was killed the next year during a Nazi "medical experiment." We know from his writings that even in the concentration camp, Capek's hope for the world endured.
In 1940, during a tour of the United States, Maja Capek brought the Flower Festival to the Unitarian church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, Maja was unable to return to Prague due to the outbreak of World War II, and it was not until the war was over that she found out about her husband's death. Nevertheless, the message of human hope and decency conveyed in this ritual lives on through the Flower Festival, which is widely celebrated today.
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 5:
HANDOUT 1: HOPE QUOTES
Make copies of this handout for all leaders and participants.
Quote 1: "Just as despair can come to one another only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings." — Elie Wiesel (b. 1928), writer, activist and Holocaust survivor
Quote 2: "Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence." — Lin Yutang (1895-1976), Chinese writer and inventor
Quote 3: "The resources (divine and human) that are available for the achievement of meaningful change justify an attitude of ultimate optimism." — James Luther Adams (1901-1994), Unitarian minister and theologian
Quote 4: "Despair? Did someone say despair was a question in the world? Well then, listen to the sons of those who have known little else if you wish to know the resiliency of this thing you would so quickly resign to mythhood, this thing called the human spirit." — Lorraine Hansberry, African American playwright
Quote 5: "Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man." —Freidrich Neitzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher
Quote 6: "Our mission is to plant ourselves at the gates of Hope — not the prudent gates of Optimism, which are somewhat narrower; nor the stalwart, boring gates of Common Sense; nor the strident gates of Self-Righteousness, which creak on shrill and angry hinges... ; nor the cheerful, flimsy garden gate of 'Everything is gonna be all right.'" — Victoria Safford, Unitarian Universalist minister
Quote 7: "No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There's too much work to do." — Dorothy Day (1897-1980), journalist, activist, and founder of the Catholic Worker movement
Quote 8: "Though the morning seems to linger
O'er the hill — tops far away,
Yet the shadows bear the promise
Of a brighter coming day." — Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Iola Leroy (1892)
Quote 9: "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. — Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl (1952)
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 5:
HANDOUT 2: FLOWER FESTIVAL READINGS
Background — Reginald Zottoli
Prayer — words of Norbert Capek
Responsive Reading — adaptation of words of Norbert Capek
Used with permission of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association.
Flower Festival Prayer:
Infinite Spirit of Life, we ask thy blessing on these, thy messengers of fellowship and love. May they remind us amid diversities of knowledge and of gifts, to be one in desire and affection, and devotion to thy holy will. May they also remind us of the value of comradeship, of doing and sharing alike. May we cherish friendship as one of thy most precious gifts. May we not let awareness of another's talents discourage us, or sully our relationship, but may we realize that, whatever we can do, great or small, the efforts of all of us are needed to do thy work in this world.
Flower Festival Responsive Reading:
In the name of the Providence which implants in the heart of the seed the future of the flower, and which implants in our hearts that unrest which will not be quenched till people live lovingly with each other, we bless these flowers.
In the name of the highest, in which we move and take our being, and in the name of the deepest, which makes father and mother, sister and brother, lover and loner who they are, we bless these flowers.
In the name of the prophets and sages who sacrificed their lives to hasten the coming of the reign of mutual respect, we bless these flowers.
Let us renew our resolution, sincerely, to be as of one with each other, regardless of the barriers which estrange.
May these flowers be for us the sign of the glory and variety to which we aspire, knowing the whole while that we are One Family, the Family of Spirit and Nature.
In this holy resolve may we be strengthened by the spirit of love, that we ourselves may bloom, bloom in splendor of a joyful life. Amen.
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 5:
HANDOUT 3: WORRY DOLL INSTRUCTIONS
Follow these instructions to create your own worry doll. When you are finished, tell your worries or problems to the doll and place it under your pillow overnight. When you wake up you will have slept better and will be more hopeful!
1. Create the doll’s body. You will need small, still materials to form the “skeleton”: matchsticks, or twigs, clothespins, pipe cleaners, or garbage bag ties. The latter two items are easy to use because you can attach body parts by twisting ties or pipe cleaners together instead of gluing. Create a torso and head about one inch long. Create legs and arms and attach to the torso. Cut small pieces of fabric (burlap and cotton work well) to cover the entire body. Glue the fabric tightly to the body.
2. Clothe the doll. Cover the bottom of the doll’s body, from waist to legs, with a light coating of glue. Pick out a color of embroidery thread or cut small strips of the patterned cloth. Wrap the material around the doll, making either a skirt or pants. Let dry. Do the same for the top of the body, creating a shirt or blouse. Wrap the fabric around and under the arms several times to secure it. Let dry.
3. Head and face. Use the markers to draw features on the face. Dots for eyes, nose and a few dots for the mouth can suffice. Draw hair with markers or glue on small pieces of yarn for hair.
FIND OUT MORE
Books
Henry, Richard. Norbert Fabian Capek: A Spiritual Journey (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=658). Boston: Skinner House, 1999.
Loeb, Paul Rogat. Soul of a Citizen: Living With Conviction in a Cynical Time (New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1998) and The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear (New York: Basic Books, 2004) These books present a spiritual approach to activism and hope for a better world. The second is a collection of essays, poems, and stories from a variety of political leaders, activists, and writers.
Websites
Movies
Try a couple of hopeful movies. Consider Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), A Raisin in the Sun (1961), a movie based upon Lorraine Hansberry's play, or Slumdog Millionaire (2008).