Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Brochures from local family support services, both within and outside the faith community Description of Activity The terms functional and dysfunctional are prevalent in popular culture....

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, Family Scenarios Family support services brochures Preparation for Activity Photocopy Handout 1, Family Scenarios. Make enough copies for each small group and leaders to have one....

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint and markers Description of Activity Tell participants that you will be focusing on families and emotions. Start the discussion with the following prompt: What are some emotions you feel in a family? List answers on newsprint....

Activity time: 7 minutes Materials for Activity Sheets of 8 X 11 paper Markers Masking tape Preparation for Activity Make a list of emotions. Include at least the same number of emotions as participants you could possibly have in attendance. Create signs....

Activity time: 5 minutes Description of Activity Gather participants together in a circle. Pragmatics: Ask for a volunteer to write some chalice lighting words for next time. For the next session, ask participants to bring objects that help express who they are and their identities as student,...

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Contact numbers for local shelters, hospitals, or nursing homes Fleece, three yards per blanket Scissors Preparation for Activity See if the local hospital or nursing home would appreciate some warm and fuzzy fleece blankets....

Activity time: 3 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice and matches Description of Activity Gather participants in a circle. Invite participants to lead the chalice lighting. They can light the chalice and read either the words provided here or others of their choice....

Materials for Activity Printed photographs from Family Event 2 Preparation for Activity Print photographs or arrange for participants to do so Description of Activity Share Family Event 2 photographs....

Anything goes into poetry. There are rules, but you don't need to know them; even if you know them, you can break them. Poet Janet Wong, 2002 Why write poetry with youth? In many congregations, poetry is incorporated into services and ceremonies....

Method One: Writing a Tercet In a tercet, every other line rhymes. A tercet is a form of poetry that has three-line stanzas in which the first and third lines rhyme. The second line is a blank, unrhymed line. Most poets string multiple tercets together to form a poem....

Excerpt from an interview conducted and published by Advocates for Youth (permission pending). June 22, 2001,10:30 a.m. Hanne: Well, not only have I been a musician, historian, and writer, I've always been a fat person....

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 1,Background for Writing Poetry with Youth Handout 2, Writing Poetry: Some Methods Jane Kenyon's "Biscuit," poem #55, or Robert Hershon's "Sentimental Moment or Why Did the Baguette Cross the Road," poem #70, available from Billy...

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Table set-up for the feast, including flatware, plates, napkins, and cups Food and drink (pre-arranged and prepared) Preparation for Activity Contact leaders and participants and ask them to bring foods that are part of their family life. Sending a...

Activity time: 15 minutes Preparation for Activity If you plan to do use youth leaders, recruit them in advance of the session. Description of Activity This activity can be ably led by youth. In this activity participants enter into the life of a family by "acting out" a food-related story or issue.

Activity time: 10 minutes Description of Activity Tell participants that your focus today will primarily be about families and food. You might start by asking some discussion-generating questions. Use the following prompts as you see fit. What do you like to eat?...

Activity time: 10 minutes Description of Activity This game invites participants to have fun while thinking about food. Delineate a continuum space in the room. Read the prompts, designating one side of the continuum space for one choice and the opposite side for the other....

Activity time: 5 minutes Description of Activity Gather participants in a closing circle. Pragmatics: Remind participants of any logistics for the upcoming Family Event 2. Arrange and/or confirm youth co-leaders for next session (optional)....

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Guest speaker (optional) Handout 1, An Interview with Hanne Blank (optional) Preparation for Activity Consider inviting a guest to speak on weight discrimination....

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice and matches Mac Hammond's "Thanksgiving," poem #119 from Poetry 180, or another humorous poem about food Description of Activity Chalice Lighting Gather participants in a circle. Light the chalice, and say the words provided below, youths'...

Materials for Activity Pictures of food clipped from magazines, grocery store circulars, and the like Poster board or paper Markers Glue sticks Preparation for Activity Collect images of food from popular magazines and grocery store circulars. Set out images of food, markers, and glue sticks....