• Medium-sized white or light gray stones, one per participantA large decorative vase or glass bowl

• A small table or altar

• Decorative cloths for the table or altar

• Magic markers

• Tables and chairs

• List of suggested items or activities that the kids made during the Living Simply that Others May Simply Live Introduction (see above.)

• Chime or other gentle sound maker

• Singing the Living Tradition hymnals or copies of responsive reading #594

• Singing the Living Tradition hymnals or copies of “Love Will Guide Us,” hymn #131

PREPARATION FOR ACTIVITY

• Schedule and publicize this activity for a time other than regular religious education class time, such as an evening or weekend activity, or as an intergenerational worship service.

• Completion of the steps necessary for the Living Simply That Others Might Simply Live Introduction, as above

• Wash the stones if necessary

• Set stones, markers and/or paints on the tables

• Plan who will lead which aspects of the ceremony and recruit folks to help lead the music and the responsive reading

DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY

This is an intergenerational activity that is meant to include single adults as well as entire families. NOTE: It is the same activity suggested on the parent handout as a family ritual.  Generally speaking, people in the United States have a much higher standard of living than people in many other parts of the world.  Many every-day items that most folks in the U.S. take for granted are actually luxuries.  This activity is meant to encourage the spiritual practice of simplicity while also making the connection between patterns of consumption and justice.  It brings justice from a conceptual realm to the concrete world of everyday actions. 

To lead this ceremony, gather participants in a circle and explain that the purpose of this activity is to work for fairness and justice in this world by giving up something that is valued but not necessary in order to raise money to support your organization. There are two parts to this activity: giving something up, and saving the money you would have spent on it in order to donate it to the cause of justice. Briefly talk about the organization which has been selected and how donations will be used. 

Have the kids in your class read the list they made during class time of possible items or activities to give up.  For a few minutes, have the whole group brainstorm other ideas and write these on the list as well.  Possibilities should include activities and items which cost money and are valued, but are not necessary for general well-being and health, such as: chocolate, potato chips, going out to the movies, going out to a restaurant, cable TV, desserts, coffee…  If desired you can make comparisons to Lent, when many Christians give up something during the time before Easter, or to Ramadan, when Muslims fast during the daytime hours for a month, in part to increase empathy for those who are hungry.    

Have participants break up into small mixed-age groups, preferably with families in the same small groups.  Explain that they will have a few minutes to talk with each other about what they would like to give up.  Family members can give up different things or decide on something they would like to give up as a family.  This is a time for each participant to make an initial commitment to give something up for the duration of a month.  After a few minutes ring the chime and gather the group together. 

Have each person select a rock to represent the item or activity he or she is giving up.  Spend 15-30 minutes decorating the rocks with the markers.  They can make a picture, color it, or write a word or phrase related to the activity or item that is being given up.  Ring the chime when the time is up.

Gather in a circle around the small table or altar.  Say something like, “As long as there are people in the world who do not have enough food to eat, clean water to drink, a home to live in, and access to education and medicine, all people must work for justice.  In small ways we can change our lives so that others can create better lives.”  Invite participants to take turns putting their stones into the decorative vase or bowl, stating “I will live simply that others may simply live.  I promise to give up ____ for one month.”   If time and attention spans allow, participants can also share briefly about why they have chosen that particular item or activity.  If desired, you can place this bowl or vase in your church in a visible location, such as the Sanctuary chancel table or altar, as a reminder of the commitments that have been made.

When all participants have shared their commitments, encourage family members to support and challenge one another in keeping the commitments they have made.  Suggest to the family that they keep a jar or piggy bank in a visible place at home where they can regularly add the money that they are saving by giving up their activity or item.  In this way the money can collect over the course of the month, which may be easier than paying it in one lump sum. 

Invite the group to read responsive reading #594 in Singing the Living Tradition

Close the ceremony by singing “Love Will Guide Us,” #131 in Singing the Living Tradition      

ALL PARTICIPANTS

It is important to remember with this activity that there is likely to be economic disparity within the congregation, with the possibility of extreme disparity such as a particularly wealthy family alongside a family that is living below the poverty line.  Be careful to avoid language that assumes one financial situation for all participants, such as “in our town we all have lots of food to eat.”  That said, except in extreme cases, every person in the congregation is likely to have something they can give up for a month’s time. 

Kids Cheering Kids – John Holland McCowan – 7 years old.

John Holland-McCowan was five years old when he first announced that he wanted to help kids who were in need. He saved up his allowance and bought some toys for kids who were living in a shelter. When he dropped off the toys he said that he thought the kids would like to have friends to play with too, but the shelter rules said that he couldn’t play with the kids. He didn’t think that this was right so he got his parents to help him to speak to the people in charge and they changed the rules. Then John thought that other kids would like to play with kids in shelters and hospitals, and so when he was seven he started a group called Kids Cheering Kids. He asked other kids at his school to come and play with kids in shelters and hospitals but many of them were afraid. “They are just sad kids who need cheering up,” he told them. After three years his organization had over 300 volunteers between the ages of 5 and 23. John said, “I knew we could do it because kids are strong and kids can help other kids.”

Granny D – Doris Haddock was 89 years old and had arthritis which made it hard to walk and emphysema which made it hard to breathe. There was a problem that Doris was very worried about. She didn’t think that it was right that the people who were trying to get elected to be in charge of the government were receiving large amounts of money from big corporations to help with their campaigns. She thought this was wrong because by taking this money the politicians felt that they had to do what the big corporations said and not what the people wanted them to do. Granny had written letters to the government over and over again but it didn’t seem to change anything. Granny felt so strongly that this was not the way that democracy was supposed to be that she had to do something drastic to let more people know about it. She decided to walk across the country to meet as many people as she could and to tell them about this problem. Wearing a backpack with 25 lbs. in it and walking 10 miles a day she got herself into shape despite her illnesses and age. She ended up walking from California to Washington, DC. She spoke with many, many people along the way who often joined her on her walk, and who became involved in her campaign. She got hypothermia in the cold and dehydrated in the desert but she kept on going. Several of the states she walked through have already made changes in the system of how much money a corporation can give to a person running for office, and many more people are now working to change this problem.

Kaneesha Sonee Johnson

Kaneesha is an African American girl growing up in California. When she was in the fifth grade she noticed that that there were two groups of kids in her school, those of African American ethnicity and Asian ethnicity, and that they didn’t talk to each other or play together during recess. She also noticed that some of the African American kids were bullying the Asian kids. She decided that this was wrong because she had been bullied and she knew how it felt. She also didn’t see why the two groups couldn’t be friends. She began to make friends with the Asian kids by helping the ones that didn’t speak English to do their homework, and telling the bullies to leave them alone. The bullies got mad and, “tormented” her for this, and she cried at home, but she held her ground at school. Eventually she got the two groups to work together in class, seeing each other as “real people” and she got them to be on each other’s teams during recess.  

Julia Butterfly Hill

Julia Butterfly Hill is a young woman who learned that many trees in a Redwood forest were being cut down for lumber. These trees were more than a thousand years old.  She decided that the only way to get people to pay attention and to protect the trees was to climb up into one of them and to stay there for as long as it took. She lived in a tree that she named “Luna” for more than two years to keep the chainsaws away. Julia said, “I climbed into Luna’s branches knowing only that it was horribly wrong to turn beautiful forests into clear cuts and mudslides.” “I was determined not to let my feet touch the ground,” Hill says, “until I had done everything in my power to protect Luna and make the world aware of the plight of our ancient forests.” Julia lived in Luna’s branches on a plywood platform approximately 6’x8’ and as high as an 18-story building, a tarp as her only protection against the elements. Friends brought her food and supplies that she hauled up by rope and she bathed with a bucket. While she was there she used a cell phone to carry on a daily campaign to educate the world about the destruction of ancient forests.

She stayed in the tree despite 90-mph winds during two intense winters. She endured harassment from a helicopter that nearly blew her out of her perch and she felt tremendous sorrow as she witnessed many of the redwoods surrounding Luna crash to the ground.

Julia’s determination not to give up helped to get the lumber company that was cutting the trees to negotiate with environment groups. The company agreed to spare Luna and to create a protective buffer zone around it. Julia felt that this was just the beginning. She is no longer living in the tree, but she has started an organization called Circle of Life Foundation which helps people through “education and inspiration and connection” to live in a way that honors the diversity and interdependence of all life.

“It is not an issue of whether or not we can make a difference,” says Julia Hill. “The truth is that we do make a difference.”