Activity 2: Soul Stands
Part of Riddle and Mystery
Activity time: 8 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Leader Resource 1, Soul Statements
Preparation for Activity
Familiarize yourself with Leader Resource 1 and add other statements to reflect your congregation if you wish.
Description of Activity
Explain that different people and different religions have different ideas about the concept of "soul."
Say that you will read a variety of statements about soul, and will invite everyone to move around the room to show to what degree they agree or disagree with the statements. Participants will also guess which religion or philosophy each statement represents.
Point out a wall where participants can line up according to their opinions. One end of the wall will represent strong agreement and the other end will represent strong disagreement. Youth can stand anywhere between the two ends.
Read the first statement from Leader Resource 1 and invite participants to choose a position along the wall. . Once youth are in place, invite comments on their positions. Why are they where they are? Allow them to move and change position as they like when they hear the reasoning of others.
Continue in this fashion, reading as many statements as you like, and adding some of your own if you wish. Share as much italicized information as helpful.
Including All Participants
Adapt this activity as necessary to include youth of limited mobility. One possible approach is to have youth remain seated, decide where to place themselves on an imaginary line evenly spaced from 1 to 10, write the appropriate numbers on pieces of paper, then hold the numbers up for comparison and discussion.