Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers and tape For Part 1: Candles and matches or a substitute; (optional) a large tray filled with sand for supporting multiple votive candles; (optional) copies of the words for unison reading(s) or song(s) you plan to include;...

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 1, Matching Belief Systems and Statements Leader Resource 2, Belief Systems and Statements - Leader Key Optional: Tape or pins to fasten paper to clothing Preparation for Activity Print out Leader Resource 1....

Meet with co-leaders after the session to reflect on how it went. How was your mix of discussion and action? How comfortable did youth seem when sharing ideas about death? Did you manage to convey the information you wanted to while respecting their own ideas?...

With everything for the session set to go, carve out a meditative moment for yourself. Relax. Take several deep breaths. Explore your current understanding of what happens when we die. Recall your encounters with death as a child and youth. What were your ideas then about what happens when a life...

Activity Minutes Opening 5 Activity 1: Who Believes What? 10 Activity 2: Story — Reflections by Forrest Church 7 Activity 3: WCUU — Visit to UUville 15 Activity 4: WIT Time — Memorial Rituals 20 Faith in Action: Capital Punishment 30 Closing 3 Alternate Activity 1: Notable Thoughts 5 Alternate...

The question is not whether we will die but how we have lived. — Joan Borysenko, psychologist Big Question: What happens when we die? In one sense, all of us may one day know the answer, for death is surely our fate. Yet none of us can know it in life....

1. Is the theory of evolution the best way to explain how life began? Yes — No 2. I would rather study . . . Myths — Science 3. I think that something or someone had to start the whole process of evolution. Call it God, or call it Mystery or whatever, but whatever you call it, it had to be...

To the Anchor: Today's WCUU program talks about a UU scientist's attempt to have life named the greatest wonder of the world. Your job is to follow the script, read your part, and otherwise keep things going. When the broadcast begins, you are alone on camera, sitting or standing in front of a...

Think of your small group as a detective agency and the following events as mysteries to be solved. Make up a story to explain what caused one of the mysteries numbered 1-5. Then, make up a story to explain mystery number 6. If you have more time, return to mysteries 1-5 and choose another to solve.

To the Kid for the Day: You have two jobs. The first is getting your group excited about hearing today's Big Question. The second is announcing the question. 1. Say to the group, "Give me a drum roll!" Then wait for a minute while the drum roll builds....

Where previously there had been nothing, now there was something. Within a black hole, a "singularity" developed. What's a "singularity?" It's an area in a black hole where the density is so great the pressure squeezes bits of finite matter into a piece of infinite matter. Do you understand that?

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Oval wooden beads large enough for youth to write on and string for all participants Paper and pencils for all participants Scissors (including left-handed scissors) and fine-point permanent markers to share Optional: Trays or bowls to hold beads o...

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity DVD, The Awakening Universe, and DVD player/monitor Preparation for Activity Obtain and test equipment to show a DVD. Preview the 15-minute DVD. Consider showing it from where the screen is visually empty and the narrator says "Imagine nothing."...

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Material from The Great Story website, or a computer with Internet connection Preparation for Activity Explore the website. Familiarize yourself with its descriptions of life's origin and evolution. Select material to share with the youth....

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Scratch-Art paper, and scratch tools such as toothpicks (round is better) for all participants A copy of the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook, Singing the Living Tradition Optional: Large sheets of black construction paper and pastel or chalk crayon...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Optional: Newsprint, markers and tape Preparation for Activity Optional: Write the challenge question on newsprint, and post. Optional: Browse the Internet and see what you find to share. Description of Activity Challenge questions guide a deeper...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Copy(ies) of the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook Singing the Living Tradition Optional: A recording of the song, and a music player Preparation for Activity Decide how best to present the song "Life Is the Greatest Gift of All," Hymn 331 in Singing ...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Bag or box containing participants' Big Questions notebooks (see Session 1, Alternate Activity 1, Notable Thoughts) Blank notebooks for new participants Pencils or pens Masking tape Preparation for Activity Retrieve participants' Big Questions...

Activity time: 7 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 3, Where I Stand on Life Preparation for Activity Review and print out Leader Resource 3....

Activity time: 17 minutes Materials for Activity Microphone(s), video camera(s) and tripod(s), real or simulated For studio set Backdrop made in Session 1 Painter's tape or masking tape Leader Resource 2, WCUU Script Paper for On-Air People's name cards, markers and string or tape Timepiece A cop...