Activity time: 10 minutes

Materials for Activity

• Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED/battery-operated candle
• Handout 2, Taking It Home: Our Personal Financial Histories and Identities
• Handout 3, Money Stories
• A copy of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook

Preparation for Activity

• Copy Handout 2 and Handout 3 for all participants and co-facilitators who will be present for Workshop 2, The Meaning of Money in Our Lives.
• Locate and review Reading 684 in Singing the Living Tradition.

Description of Activity

Distribute Handout 2 and say:

At the next workshop, you will be invited to share some of your personal money story.

Invite participants to take a moment to read the instructions on the handout. Answer any questions. Emphasize that the structure of their autobiography and which story from it they will share aloud are up to them.

Distribute Handout 3, Money Stories. Explain that this handout includes excerpts from personal money stories told by members of the UUA President’s Council. Note that the stories selected are only a few examples; they do not represent the full diversity of experiences and money stories among UU leaders, UUs in general, or participants in this workshop. Suggest participants may wish to use these personal reflections as models for developing their financial autobiographies.

Invite participants to join hands in a circle and then to name one meaningful insight, idea, or gratitude they will carry with them from this time together. Share Reading 684 from Singing the Living Tradition. Extinguish the chalice.