Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Small notebooks for all participants Pencils/pens Masking tape A large bag or box to store notebooks Preparation for Activity Obtain inexpensive notebooks (or, folders and loose paper) and a bag or box to hold them between sessions....

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Microphone(s), video camera(s) and tripod(s), real or simulated For studio set Newsprint or a large roll of paper Color markers; or washable paints, paint brushes, and clean-up supplies Painter's tape or masking tape Leader Resource 2, WCUU Script...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers and tape Timepiece that shows seconds Bell, tingsha chimes or other sound instrument Preparation for Activity Read about WIT Time in the Riddle and Mystery program Introduction. Post several sheets of blank newsprint....

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers and tape Timepiece Singing the Journey; the supplement to the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook Singing the Living Tradition Optional: A recording of the song, and a music player Preparation for Activity On a sheet of newsprint,...

Meet with your co-leaders after the session to reflect on it. How was your mix of discussion and action? Did you involve all youth fully and meaningfully in your sessions despite any limitations they might have? Do you feel the youth have a sense of the importance of big questions? Identify and...

With everything set to go, carve out a meditative moment for yourself. Relax. Take several deep breaths. Explore your understanding of where we come from. Then search your sixth grade memories. How would you have answered the question then? How have your ideas developed since? Why?...

Activity Minutes Opening 10 Activity 1: Big Questions in Song 15 Activity 2: WIT Time — Our Own Answers 5 Activity 3: Interactive Story — Turtles 5 Activity 4: WCUU — First Broadcast 20 Faith in Action: Economic Justice Closing 5 Alternate Activity 1: Notable Thoughts 10 Alternate Activity 2:...

Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt. — Paul Tillich Big Question: Where do we come from? This first session introduces the concept of big questions....

Quiet Music Use soft guitar or other instrumental music to open sessions and as background during craft activities. Find recordings of specific Unitarian Universalist interest at inSpirit: The UU Book and Gift Shop. Avoid loud, bouncy music that may energize youth instead of helping them settle.

As soon as your program is scheduled, prepare a calendar with the dates for each session. Look through the entire curriculum to get an idea of how it moves and which parts you wish to use. Look for activities, especially Faith in Action activities, which need assistance from other adults in your...

I am not afraid of the pen, or the scaffold, or the sword. I will tell the truth wherever I please. — Mother Jones in Linda Atkinson, Mother Jones (1978) You never find yourself until you face the truth. — Pearl Bailey, The Raw Pearl (1968) You will know the truth, and the truth will make you...

I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after. — Ernest Hemingway There must always be a remedy for wrong and injustice if we only know how to find it. — Ida B. Wells Talk about the quotes. Do you agree with them? WHAT WE DID TODAY...

Be ours a religion which, like sunshine, goes everywhere; Its temple, all space; Its shrine, the good heart; Its creed, all truth; Its ritual, works of love; Its profession of faith, divine living. — Theodore Parker Talk about the quote. Does it seem like a good summary of UU ideas? Use the...

Don't believe everything you think. — Bumper sticker Talk about the quote. Have you ever seen it on a bumper sticker? What kind of people do you think have bumper stickers saying that? Would UUs use a bumper sticker like this? WHAT WE DID TODAY Today's Big Question asks, "How can I know what to...

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science... It was the experience of mystery, even if mixed with fear, that engendered religion....

We will be known forever by the tracks we leave. — Native American (Dakota) proverb Talk about the quote. What does it mean? Is it correct? Helpful to think about? Does it remind you of the butterfly effect we talked about in another Riddle and Mystery session? WHAT WE DID TODAY Today's Big...

Do more than belong: participate. Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. Do more than dream: work. — William Arthur Ward Talk about the quote. Do you agree with it? Do you think most Unitarian Universalists agree with...

The question is not whether we will die but how we have lived. — Joan Borysenko, psychologist Talk about the quote. What does it mean to you? WHAT WE DID TODAY Today's Big Question is "What happens when you die?" We talked about some different answers to the question which come from a variety of...

What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God. — Eleanor Powell Tell the truth, have you ever found God in a church? I never did. I just found a bunch of folks hoping for him to show. Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me. And I think all the other folks did too.

This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, argue, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look,...