Opening
Part of The New UU
Activity time: 2 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook, for all participants
- Chalice, candle, and lighter, or an LED battery-operated candle
- Appropriate stand or small table for the chalice
- Cloth or decorative covering for chalice stand
Preparation for Activity
- Prepare a welcoming space, including comfortable seating arranged in a circle around a small table with a chalice at its center.
- Place a hymnbook on or near each chair.
Description of Activity
At the designated starting time, bring participants together. Invite a volunteer to light the chalice. Share Reading 439, "We Gather in Reverence," responsively with the group.
Remind participants that Sophia Lyon Fahs was introduced in Workshop 2 as a religious educator whose curricula and inspiration profoundly shaped mid-20th-century Unitarianism. Expand on that description, using your own words to explain:
Sophia Fahs grew up the daughter of Christian missionaries. As she moved away from her religion of origin, she became intrigued with progressive ideas in education that led to her lifelong involvement with Unitarian religious education. The materials she created and developed integrated science with religion, took children's questions and concerns seriously, and presented religion as wonder rather than belief. Her more than thirty years of service to our religious tradition profoundly shaped twentieth-century Unitarian religious education for children.