Activity time: 35 minutes Materials for Activity If you have more than one hour to present this workshop, review Alternate Activity 2 for ideas on how to expand this experience to 55 minutes in length. Description of Activity Invite the group to self-select into three smaller groups. Explain that...

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Review the story in advance so that you can present it effectively. Description of Activity Read the story "The Wise Fool" aloud. Provide copies of the story to people who prefer to read along. After sharing the story, invite participants to take a...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Optional: Microphone (preferably cordless) Preparation for Activity Be sure that participants have made name tags. If they have not, you may pass around name tag materials while participants introduce themselves. Description of Activity Introduce...

When people hear the word “communion,” they usually think of the Christian service of sharing bread and wine (or grape juice) in commemoration of Jesus’s last supper with his friends. Yet the first definition of the word in the American Heritage Dictionary is not in the least religious at all:...

People often think that money and spirituality are unrelated or even contradictory. We recall the sayings “Money is the root of all evil” and “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Yet money is just a means of...

Nearly every religious tradition encourages taking times of pure rest. In the Jewish tradition this is called “Sabbath,” a complete break from all work. Christians also observe Sabbath, yet differently: one Episcopal priest calls Sabbath a time to do whatever you truly feel called to do and...

Once the great Sufi holy man and wise fool Nasreddin Hodja was walking down the street when a group of women came running up to him. Obviously distressed, they cried out to him, “Help us, Hodja! Help us.”...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Altar or centering table Cloth for covering altar or centering table Chalice and candle Chalice extinguisher Copies of the customized Taking It Home handout (see Preparation) Optional: Microphone Preparation for Activity Review the Taking It Home...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Altar or centering table Cloth for covering altar or centering table Chalice and candle Matches or lighter Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the UUA hymnbook (one per person) Optional: A piano, guitar, or other form of accompaniment Optional:...

Materials for Activity Sign-in sheet (see Preparation) Pen or pencil Name tags Bold markers Copies of Spirit in Practice Series Schedule (see Preparation) Group guidelines listed on newsprint or a digital slide (see Preparation) Workshop agenda listed on newsprint or a digital slide (see...

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Easels, tables, or other ways to display artwork (see Preparation) Clock, watch, or timer Optional: Microphone (preferably cordless) Preparation for Activity In advance, invite participants to bring their favorite artwork to share-either the artwor...

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Several different sets of art supplies for "creativity stations" (see Preparation) Tables (see Preparation) Newspaper, plastic tablecloths, or other means of covering the tables Optional: Microphone (preferably cordless) Preparation for Activity...

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 1: Guided Meditation on Art "Art box"-a large cardboard box containing many different kinds of art supplies (see Preparation) Tables (see Preparation) Newspaper, plastic tablecloths, or other means of covering the tables Optional:...

Affection Connection — Love Extend your exploration of love by trying this activity on your own. For Couples: Couple Covenant Take some time together to work on your couple covenant. You are encouraged to refer to your work from earlier workshops....

Affection Connection — Commitment Extend your exploration of commitment by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Couples: Managing Change With your partner, try applying the model explored in Alternate Activity 2, A Model for Managing Change, to one or more situations involving...

Affection Connection — Collaboration Extend your exploration of collaboration by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Couples: Conflict Engagement Styles Take home Handout 1, Styles of Conflict Engagement, which you worked on individually in the workshop. Discuss it together,...

Affection Connection — Play Extend the workshop by trying this activity on your own. For Couples: Continuing the Covenant At the beginning of Principled Commitment, you began to sketch out what a covenant between you and your partner might look like. Now that you have considered the concepts of...

Affection Connection — Connection Remaining physically and emotionally connected can be a challenge when a relationship includes conflicting demands on each partner's time and attention. It is not uncommon for couples to end a week feeling as though they've hardly seen each other, let alone...

Affection Connection — Generosity Extend your exploration of generosity by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Individuals: The Question of Money Money is one of the most powerful and emotion-laden symbols in our culture. Gratitude, generosity, scarcity, abundance — all the...

Affection Connection — Dignity Extend your exploration of dignity by trying this activity on your own. Seeing the Sacred in Each Other Centering deeply on that which you hold sacred in one another can be an important step in honoring both the individuals and the partnership. In this activity, you...