To be tested is good. — Gail Sheehy As adults, many of us have questioned the purpose of our lives and whether we have a mission or a clear path in them. Youth are just beginning to engage in questions of this nature....

Gather the group in a circle. Ask everyone to sit on the floor or in a chair, in a comfortable but alert position (legs crossed or tucked under them, and back straight). The "alert" part of this instruction is important to prevent meditators from falling asleep! Invite participants to close their...

Al Zolynas (1945- ), from Kowit, Steve, ed., The Maverick Poets: An Anthology (Santee, CA: Gorilla Press, 1988).Afternoon. Across the garden, in Green Hall, someone begins playing the old piano— a spontaneous piece, amateurish and alive, full of a simple, joyful melody. The music floats among us...

Jane Hirshfield (1953- ), from Of Gravity and Angels (Middleton, CT: Weslyan University Press, 1988).A woman tells me the story of a small wild bird beautiful on her window sill, dead three days. How her daughter came suddenly running, "It's moving, Mommy, he's alive." And when she went, it was....

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Soft, flexible wire, hemp, leather, or cotton cord cut into two-foot lengths Lettered beads Question mark beads Optional: A WWJD? (What Would Jesus Do?) or WWUUD? (What Would UU Do?) bracelet Preparation for Activity Make sure you have plenty of...

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Pens or pencils and journals Art supplies such as drawing paper, pastels, markers, and crayons Optional: CD player and background music for meditation Leader Resource 1: Spiritual Guides Meditation Preparation for Activity If you plan to lead the...

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Pens or pencils and journals Optional: CD player and CD of instrumental music Preparation for Activity If participants are allowed to leave the immediate area to write, decide how you will call everyone back (with a bell/chime, verbally, or by...

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, "A Story," by Jane Hirshfield Handout 2, "Love in the Classroom," by Al Zolynas Preparation for Activity Photocopy Handouts 1, "A Story" and 2, "Love in the Classroom," one for each participant....

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint or dry erase board and markers Pens or pencils and journal Preparation for Activity Write each of the following prompts on newsprint (two per sheet) or on the dry erase board, leaving room around each for participant's comments: Argument...

Read about Jane Hirshfield at Poets.org. Agonia.net, a website that creates an artistic community where writers may submit their work for feedback, has a short biography of Al Zolynas. Making Friends has instructions for another type of bracelet you might consider for Alternate Activity 1, WWYSGD?

Review today's workshop with your co-leader. This workshop is the first one during which participants used a prompt as a springboard to write their own poetry. What worked well and what activities need adjustment? How do the answers to these questions affect future workshops? Now is the time to...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice Singing the Living Tradition hymnal Preparation for Activity If hymnals are not always available, consider printing the words below on newsprint and posting the sheet in the workshop space. Description of Activity Use the Closing designed by...

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Blank note cards Pens or pencils Optional: Art materials such as pastels, markers, charcoal, or crayons Optional: CD player and music Description of Activity Each participant writes a thank-you note to a teacher in his/her past. Have participants...

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice and matchers Description of Activity Use the Opening designed by your group or the one provided below. Gather around the chalice. As a volunteer lights the chalice, ask the group to focus on the words "spiritual guides," in silence....

Today the group will explore the relationships between learners and teachers. As the facilitator, your role in the group is similar to that of a teacher. Think of other circumstances in which you have been the teacher. What did you learn from those situations? Is the circular model, in which the...

ACTIVITY MINUTES Opening 5 Activity 1: Life Lessons 20 Activity 2: Learner vs. Teacher 15 Activity 3: Life Lesson Poems 15 Faith in Action: Belated Thanks 15 Closing 5 Alternate Activity 1: Meeting Our Spiritual Guides 20 Alternate Activity 2: WWMSGD? Bracelets 15...

Teachers open the door. You enter yourself. — Chinese Proverb This workshop asks participants to broaden their ideas about teachers and learners. It provides an opportunity for reflections, discussions, and writing of a more personal nature than previous workshops. If you are not doing the...

Adapted from instructions provided by Elizabeth Waldorf and the Gulf Coast Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (GCUUF), Gulfport, MS.These instructions are the steps taken by the GCUUF when they created a butterfly garden for a local elementary school. You may use these instructions or follow...

Welcome to your butterfly garden! The garden needs you to take care of it. Here are a few easy ways to care for your garden: Because many plants are poisonous, never taste or eat any plant part. Do not walk among the plants or step on plants. A broken branch wounds the plant....

Daniel Henderson (1880-1955)In certain parts of Great Britain, where families commonly kept beehives, people believed the first thing you should do when a relative dies is to tell the bees. BEES, go tell the things he treasured — Oak and grass and violet — That although his life was measured He...