Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: Spirit of Life: An Adult Program on Unitarian Universalist Spirituality

Activity 6: Reflecting on Spiritual Moments

Part of Spirit of Life

Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Paper for drawing or writing
  • Pens and pencils
  • Bell
  • Optional: Color pencils, markers, crayons

Preparation for Activity

Gather the necessary supplies and put them out on a table or another easily-accessed place in the meeting room.

Description of Activity

Invite participants into a time of quiet reflection.

In the quiet, ask participants to read to themselves the words they circled on their list. Or, if you used the adaptation in Activity 5, Words of Wonder and Reverence that involved spoken responses, you may now choose to read aloud to the group all of the words that earned tally marks.

Invite the group to reflect on this question:

What experiences or moments have you had of feeling wonder and reverence-feelings of oneness with the earth, feelings of connection with the mystery and wonder of the universe, or a sense of God or the Spirit of Life? In other words, what experiences or moments have led you to appreciate the words you chose?

Allow one or two minutes of shared silence. Then, distribute paper and writing/drawing implements. Invite participants to write about or draw their memories of, or responses to, those experiences or moments. You may suggest that participants list words or memories, create a poem, write their thoughts in prose, or draw abstractly or realistically.

An invitation to draw can make "art-phobic" participants nervous. Make it clear that this activity presents an opportunity to be creative, which can involve writing or drawing. Suggest that participants try drawing with their non-dominant hands, to free themselves from self-judgment about their drawing ability.

Let the group know they will have ten minutes for reflecting and responding on paper. After ten minutes, ring the bell and invite participants to return their attention to the whole group.

Including All Participants

Welcome participants who do not wish to or are not able to write or draw to sit comfortably and contemplate in silence. While the objective of this activity is spiritual reflection and expression, neither a specific product nor its quality matter. Invite participants to engage in the form of creativity that most awakens their spirituality in this moment.