Session 6: Thinking of Death

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

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Riddle and Mystery, 6th Grade

In This Section

Introduction
From Riddle and Mystery

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….
Session-at-a-Glance
From Riddle and Mystery

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…
Spiritual Preparation
From Riddle and Mystery

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…
Opening
From Riddle and Mystery

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle Newsprint, markers and tape Bell, tingsha chimes or other sound instrument Handout 1, Today’s Big Question and (optional) a plain envelope “Today’s Big Question” sign Kid for the Day bag or box, card stock cut…
Activity 1: Who Believes What?
From Riddle and Mystery

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….
Activity 2: Story - Reflections by Forrest Church
From Riddle and Mystery

Activity time: 7 minutes Materials for Activity A copy of the story “Reflections by Forrest Church” Preparation for Activity Review and print out the story. Description of Activity Invite the youth to hear reflections from a Unitarian Universalist minister who faced a terminal cancer diagnosis….
Activity 3: WCUU - Visit to UUville
From Riddle and Mystery

Activity time: 15 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 3, WCUU Script — A Visit to UUville Leader Resource 4, Memo to Citizens of UUville Paper for…
Activity 4: WIT Time - Memorial Ritual
From Riddle and Mystery

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;…
Closing
From Riddle and Mystery

Activity time: 3 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle Newsprint, markers and tape Bell, tingsha chimes or other sound instrument Taking It Home handout Preparation for Activity Adapt the Taking It Home section and copy it for all participants….
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Riddle and Mystery

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?…
Faith In Action: Capital Punishment
From Riddle and Mystery

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers and tape Leader Resource 5, Capital Punishment Resolution and/or Leader Resource 6, Capital Punishment Resolution — Simplified Poster-making materials (poster board, markers and tape) Optional: Letter-writing materials (writing…
Alternate Activity 1: Notable Thoughts
From Riddle and Mystery

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…
Alternate Activity 2: Song - In Sweet Fields of Autumn and Nearer, My God, to Thee
From Riddle and Mystery

Activity time: 8 minutes Materials for Activity Copy(ies) of the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook Singing the Living Tradition Optional: A recording of the hymns and a music player Preparation for Activity Decide how best to present the songs “In Sweet Fields of Autumn,” Hymn 52 in Singing the Liv…
Alternate Activity 3: Challenge Question
From Riddle and Mystery

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….
Alternate Activity 4: A Science Report
From Riddle and Mystery

Activity time: 5 minutes Preparation for Activity Prepare to tell youth about attempts scientists have made to find out what happens when we die. Find the experiments in the activity description, plus others, in…
Alternate Activity 5: Death and Your Congregation
From Riddle and Mystery

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Orders of service for funerals or memorials recently held in your congregation Obituaries or newspaper articles about congregational members and friends who have recently died Unitarian Universalist books or pamphlets about death Congregational…
Alternate Activity 6: Another WIT Time - About Death
From Riddle and Mystery

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 2, What I Think Paper, envelopes that can be sealed and pens/pencils for all participants Preparation for Activity Copy Handout 2 for all participants. Description of Activity If you have time, use this activity at the end of this session.
Taking It Home: Thinking of Death
From Riddle and Mystery

The question is not whether we will die but how we have lived. — Joan Borysenko, psychologist Talk about the quote. What does it mean to you? WHAT WE DID TODAY Today’s Big Question is “What happens when you die?” We talked about some different answers to the question which come from a variety of…
Reflections by Forrest Church

Forrest Church

From Riddle and Mystery

Based on excerpts, adapted with permission, from Love and Death: My Journey through the Valley of the Shadow by Forrest Church (Beacon Press, 2008). Reverend Forrest Church is a minister of a very large Unitarian Universalist church in New York City. Rev. Church has cancer….
Handout 1: Today's Big Question
From Riddle and Mystery

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….
Handout 2: What I Think
From Riddle and Mystery

Here are some ideas about death. Use check marks to show whether you agree or disagree. Remember—this is a private page. You can share it with others if you want, but you do not have to. Agree Disagree _____ _____ Thinking about God can help you explain life and death. _____ _____ Science is…
Leader Resource 1: Matching Belief Systems and Statements
From Riddle and Mystery

Unitarian Universalism — We agree that after physical death, a person lives on through the people who have known them and the deeds they have done. We may hold different ideas about the nature or existence of an afterlife. Roman Catholicism — We believe people are judged when they die, based on…
Leader Resource 2: Belief Systems and Statements - Leader Key
From Riddle and Mystery

Unitarian Universalism — We all can have different ideas about an afterlife, whether it exists, and what it might be like. We agree that after physical death, a person lives on through the people who have known them and the deeds they have done.(Our century-long Universalist heritage taught that…
Leader Resource 3: WCUU Script - A Visit to UUville
From Riddle and Mystery

To the Anchor: In today’s WCUU broadcast, Roving Reporter wanders around UUville and asks citizens what they believe happens when we die. Your job is to follow the script, read your part and otherwise keep things going….
Leader Resource 4: Memo to Citizens of UUville
From Riddle and Mystery

The WCUU script includes short speaking parts for four UUville Citizens. You will need to decide exactly what to say when the Roving Reporter interviews you. The paragraph about your role will help you get started….
Leader Resource 5: Capital Punishment Resolution
From Riddle and Mystery

Find this 1961 UUA General Resolution text online….
Leader Resource 6: Capital Punishment Resolution - Simplified
From Riddle and Mystery

Paraphrased from the 1961 UUA General Resolution.All our laws must respect human life. Our laws and courts should help criminals, not hurt or kill them. Nobody can prove that capital punishment stops crime. If we make a mistake and put the wrong person to death, we cannot correct the mistake.
Find Out More
From Riddle and Mystery

Talking with Children about Death About Death: A Unitarian Universalist Book for Kids. About Death presents a gentle, yet unsentimental, story about how a family deals with the death of their beloved dog. The story is followed by a series of questions a child might pose about death and its…