Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: Amazing Grace: A Program about Exploring Right and Wrong for Grade 6

Alternate Activity 2: Theme Song Revisited

Activity time: 7 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Copies of the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook, Singing the Living Tradition
  • Music player
  • Recording of "Amazing Grace," preferably one that includes lyrics

Preparation for Activity

  • Have your recording of "Amazing Grace" ready to play. See the Introduction for a list of versions.

Description of Activity

Help your group connect this session's ideas to the curriculum's theme song, "Amazing Grace."

Play a minute or two of the song and ask participants to say what they think the words mean. Remind the group as appropriate of any discussion you had during Activity 2: Meeting the Theme Song, in Session 4: Telling Right from Wrong.

Distribute copies of Singing the Living Tradition and ask participants to turn to Hymn 205. Remind the group, as appropriate, of what you discussed during Session 4. Then ask them to think about verses 2 through 4. Use the following questions to derive meaning from those verses:

  • What do you think the word "home" refers to at the end of the third verse? (Heaven is a good guess.)
  • Where do you think you might be for ten thousand years and still have at least as many more years to go? (Heaven, again.)
  • Repeat the idea from Session 4 that some people think of "grace" as a gift given by God. What does that gift seem to be, according to the song? What is the "Amazing Grace"? (Possibly God's forgiveness and acceptance proven by salvation and eternal life.)
  • Have the discussions and the activities the group has done since Session 4 helped you understand the lyrics better or in a different way?
  • Why do you think so many people feel a deep connection with this hymn?
  • Two versions of this hymn are included in Singing the Living Tradition. What connection do you think UUs, both Christian and non-Christian UUs, feel with the lyrics of this hymn?
  • Why do you think this program's title is Amazing Grace?

Singing the Living Tradition Hymnal Pew Edition

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