Workshop 4: A Theology of Love

Beautiful orange sunset over a deep blue ocean. — Tapestry is Sunsetting

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Introduction to Workshop 4
From A Place of Wholeness

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. — 1 John 4:7-8 This workshop explores Unitarian Universalism’s theology of love focusing on “agape” love. Agape is defined as…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 5 Activity 1: An Experience of Love 15 Activity 2: The Roots of a Theology of Love 30 Activity 3: Story — The Pride Rainbow Project 5 Activity 4: Love as Action 20 Activity 5: I Believe, I Feel, I Act 5 Faith in Action: The Rainbow Banner Project…
Spiritual Preparation
From A Place of Wholeness

This workshop explores a Unitarian Universalist theology of love. Love is a powerful force in our lives, so as workshop leaders it is important to do some thinking about how love has impacted you. Both Alternate Activity 1, Lectio Divina, and Alternate Activity 2, Meditation on Loving Kindness,…
Welcoming and Entering
From A Place of Wholeness

Materials for Activity Journals for new participants Newsprint, markers and tape Preparation for Activity Have journals available for visitors or participants who do not have one. Set out supplies for them to personalize the journals during the Welcoming and Entering. Write the Welcome Words and…
Opening
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Focus table and cloth Chalice, candle, and matches Five smooth stones about the size of a fist Handout 1, Responsive Reading — Five Smooth Stones, from Workshop 1 for all participants Preparation for Activity Set up the focus table with an attractiv…
Activity 1: An Experience of Love
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Hershey’s (tm) Chocolate Kisses Description of Activity Participants think about what love means to them and how it operates in their lives. Give everyone a chocolate kiss candy. Tell them not to eat the chocolate yet. Ask participants to find a…
Activity 2: The Roots of a Theology of Love
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 1, Roots of a Theology of Love Handout 1, Source Text for a Theology of Love Handout 2, UUA Principles Newsprint, markers and tape Optional: Pens or pencils Preparation for Activity Read Leader Resource 1 and Handout 1….
Activity 3: Story - The Pride Rainbow Project
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity A copy of the story “The Pride Rainbow Project” Preparation for Activity Read the story, “The Pride Rainbow Project” until you are comfortable presenting it. Description of Activity Participants hear a story about a group of Canadian Unitarian…
Activity 4: Love as Action
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Enough newsprint or paper on a roll to make an approximately 6 by 6 foot piece of paper Pencils, markers and crayons Tape Preparation for Activity Unroll a piece of paper 6 feet long or tape multiple pieces of newsprint together to make an…
Activity 5: I Believe, I Feel, I Act
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Participants’ journals Pens or pencils Newsprint, markers and tape Preparation for Activity Write I Believe (world view), I Feel (loyalty of my heart), and I Act (way of life) on newsprint. Write the reflection question on newsprint. Description of…
Closing
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Copies of Singing the Journey for all participants Copies of Taking It Home Optional: Musical accompaniment or a recording of the song Preparation for Activity Optional: Arrange for musical accompaniment. Description of Activity Relight the chalice.
Leader Reflection and Planning
From A Place of Wholeness

Talk with your co-leader about the workshop. What do you think went well? What might you have done differently? Did you learn anything about your working relationship or how you lead an activity that would be important to note for future workshops? Thinking about the content of the workshop, what…
Faith In Action: The Rainbow Banner Project
From A Place of Wholeness

Materials for Activity Leaders Resource 2, Rainbow Banner Instructions A copy of the story “The Pride Rainbow Project” Newsprint and markers Cloth in six colors (see Leader Resource 2) Ironing boards and steam irons (more than one of each to speed along the process.) Extension cords Large work…
Alternate Activity 1: Lectio Divina
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, Source Text for a Theology of Love Handout 3, Lectio Divina Optional: Newsprint, markers and tape Preparation for Activity Make enough copies of Handouts 1 and 3 for all participants….
Alternate Activity 2: Meditation on Loving Kindness
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 10 minutes Description of Activity In this activity participants use a traditional Buddhist meditation technique called the Metta meditation, Meditation on Loving Kindness. Explain that participants will consider love from a Buddhist perspective….
Alternate Activity 3: Love in the Media
From A Place of Wholeness

Activity time: 45 minutes Materials for Activity TV and DVD player or computer A DVD or downloaded version of a TV sitcom episode Newsprint, markers and tape Preparation for Activity Think about your favorite TV sitcoms. At the center of most of their narratives is a storyline about love….
Taking It Home: A Theology of Love
From A Place of Wholeness

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. — 1 John 4:7-8 In Today’s Workshop… We explored the Unitarian Universalist theology of love. We did this by first looking at…
The Pride Rainbow Project
From A Place of Wholeness

By Christine Michell. It started off as an idea for a cool “dramatic” youth group social justice project: Making a giant pride rainbow banner in support of same sex marriage in Canada—and maybe getting a world record in the process. Soon there were four of us in the planning group—Erin, Sanford,…
Handout 1: Source Text for a Theology of Love
From A Place of Wholeness

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. — 1 John 4:7-8 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”…
Handout 2: UUA Principles
From A Place of Wholeness

We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote The inherent worth and dignity of every person; Justice, equity and compassion in human relations; Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; A free an…
Handout 3: Lectio Divina
From A Place of Wholeness

Copy this and give it to participants or write it on newsprint and post. Moment Task Lectio Slowly read and re-read the text. Pay attention to each individual word and what it means and what the whole sentence or phrase means….
Leader Resource 1: Roots of a Theology of Love
From A Place of Wholeness

Read or summarize in Activity 2, Lectio Divina. We will start by saying a little about what we mean by “theology.”. Merriam-Webster defines theology as “the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially: the study of God and of God’s relation to the world.” So when we say we are…
Leader Resource 2: Rainbow Banner Instructions
From A Place of Wholeness

Used with permission from Christine Michell. Make several copies so that people doing different tasks can have a copy while working. Make sure you read through the entire set of directions before starting….
Leader Resource 2: Rainbow Banner Instructions - Page 2
From A Place of Wholeness

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Find Out More
From A Place of Wholeness

Roots of a Unitarian Universalist Theology of Love Many of the early Universalist original writings can now be found online and give some helpful insight to their ideas about universal salvation and a loving God. The website Religion Facts has an interesting article on Origen of Alexandria. Of…