Take a moment and let your body and mind settle. If you are comfortable doing so, spend a few moments in peaceful meditation. In preparation for this session on atonement, reflect on times when you have made mistakes and sought atonement, when you were the victim of a mistake, or when someone else asked you for forgiveness. The Unitarian Universalist hymnbook, Singing the Living Tradition, includes readings for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. One of these may help focus your reflections.

As an adult leader, your opinion may have more influence than those of participants. Therefore, your personal disclosure should not become part of the class discussion unless the participants ask you directly. In this case, be sure to preface your opinion by setting the context that each of us, adults and children, has differing opinions, and yours is one among many. It is recommended to guide the conversation away from your own opinion and allow participants to reflect on their own thoughts.