Session 13: Our Worship Home

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

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Creating Home, Kindergarten-1st Grade

In This Section

Introduction
From Creating Home

A place will express itself through the human being just as it does through its wild flowers. — Lawrence Durrell In Session 12, children explored how we make a faith home. This session goes more deeply into that topic, focusing on the realm of worship. Worship is an expression of faith. Our…
Session-at-a-Glance
From Creating Home

ACTIVITY MINUTES Opening 5 Activity 1: Story — The Empty Pot 5 Activity 2: Our Special Gifts Paper Dolls 15 Activity 3: This House 5 Activity 4: Child Dedication Role Play 15 Activity 5: WORSHIP Acronym Picture 10 Activity 6: Faith in Action: Joining in Worship —Short-term 60 Closing 5 Alternate…
Spiritual Preparation
From Creating Home

In our lifetimes, we have attended both good worship experiences and bad worship experiences. Close your eyes and take three deep, slow breaths. Focus on a bad worship experience you have had. Now switch your focus to a good worship experience. What made this experience so good? Remember that…
Opening
From Creating Home

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice candle or LED/battery-operated candle Lighter and extinguisher, if needed Labyrinth Basket of name stones Newsprint, markers, and tape Preparation for Activity Write the chalice-lighting words on newsprint, and post. Memorize the…
Activity 1: Story - The Empty Pot
From Creating Home

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity A copy of story, “The Empty Pot” Optional: “The Empty Pot” coloring sheet, and crayons Preparation for Activity Download, and print out story, “The Empty Pot.” Review the story and prepare to tell it, rather than read it, to the group. Optional:…
Activity 2: Our Special Gifts Paper Dolls
From Creating Home

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 1, Paper Doll Blank paper or construction paper, any size, for all participants Scissors, including left-handed scissors Crayons or markers Shiny gift wrap paper with plain paper on one side Optional: Arts and crafts items such as…
Activity 3: This House
From Creating Home

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity A copy of Leader Resource 2, This HouseA copy of the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook, Singing the Living Tradition Preparation for Activity Review Leader Resource 2, This House so you can comfortably teach the children their part and smoothly read…
Activity 4: Child Dedication Role Play
From Creating Home

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Copy of the liturgy for a child dedication service at your congregation Optional: Roses (plastic or real), bowls for water, chalice candles, or other items used in child dedication services at your congregation Baby dolls, one for each participant…
Activity 5: Worship Acronym Picture
From Creating Home

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Large sheets of construction paper for all participants Newsprint, markers, and tape Crayons or color markers Preparation for Activity Write the word “WORSHIP” on newsprint, vertically down the left-hand side of the page, and post. Space out the…
Closing
From Creating Home

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Chalice candle or LED/battery-operated candle Lighter and extinguisher, if needed Labyrinth, with participants’ name stones placed on it Basket for name stones Optional: Index cards or post-its, bold marker, and tape Preparation for Activity Review…
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Creating Home

As a religious education leader, you probably have more contact with the children of your faith home than other adults in your congregation do. Think about yourself and these children as co-creators of this faith home. What have you learned about these children today? What observations or…
Faith In Action: Joining In Worship - Short-term
From Creating Home

Activity time: 60 minutes Preparation for Activity Choose a specific worship service at your congregation for the Creating Home group to attend together with you….
Alternate Activity 1: My Worship Booklet
From Creating Home

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Four blank pieces of heavy paper or card stock for all participants Hole puncher, scissors, and yarn Crayons and/or color markers An order of service from recent worship at your congregation Preparation for Activity Stack four pieces of heavy paper…
Alternate Activity 2: Designing Seasonal Worship Service Covers
From Creating Home

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Blank paper for all participants Pencils, markers, and/or crayons Preparation for Activity Ask worship planners if the children may design the front of a worship service bulletin for the next season….
Taking It Home: Our Worship Home
From Creating Home

A place will express itself through the human being just as it does through its wild flowers. – Lawrence Durrell IN TODAY’S SESSION… Today we talked about our worship home. It is an important distinction for children to understand that worship is our corporate response to our faith. It is in…
The Empty Pot
From Creating Home

Adapted from The Empty Pot by Demi (New York: Henry Holt, 1990); permission pending. Long, long ago, the Emperor of an ancient land was old and dying. He loved children but had none of his own. So the Emperor decided to choose one of the children of his land to be the next Emperor….
Leader Resource 1: Paper Doll
From Creating Home

Printing This Handout Download a high-resolution copy of this Handout (PDF) for printing.
Leader Resource 2: This House
From Creating Home

This reading combines the words of Kenneth L. Patton (Reading 444) and Psalm 133 (Reading 433) as published in Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook. Permission granted for Reading 444….
Find Out More
From Creating Home

This version of the traditional Chinese story, “The Empty Pot,” was adapted from the version by Elaine Lindy on the website Whootie Owl’s Stories to Grow By….