Tapestry of Faith: Riddle and Mystery: A Program on the Big Questions for Grade 6

Leader Resource 1: WCUU Script - The Dream

To the Anchor:

Today's WCUU program is a UU Kid's dream. Your job is to follow the script, read your part, and otherwise keep things going. When the broadcast begins, you are alone, sitting or standing in front of a microphone.

[Director: Cue the station break.]

[Director: Cue the theme music. Cue the Anchor.]

Anchor: This is WCUU, Wisdom of the Community of Unitarian Universalists, on the air.

Good morning. I am [give your real or stage name], and I am here in the WCUU newsroom with an unusual report, a wonderful report, call it a dream report. Let's bring UU Kid in to explain.

[Director: Cue UU Kid joins Anchor at the microphone.]

Anchor: Good morning, UU Kid, and welcome to our show.

UU Kid: Thanks for having me.

Anchor: You look wide awake this morning, UU Kid. I understand that was not the case a couple of Sundays ago.

UU Kid: That is correct, [use Anchor's real or stage name], but I can explain. I was up very late the night before.

Anchor: Working on homework, I assume?

UU Kid: No. I was at a party. When I got home I watched TV. My parents went to bed, and I stayed up.

Anchor: And they got you up for church the next morning.

UU Kid: Right. And that was a day we had no RE, so the kids were in the worship service.

Anchor: Sermon and all?

UU Kid: Sermon and all. I guess it was a good one.

Anchor: You guess? Don’t you know? Weren’t you there?

UU Kid: I was there, but I kind of went to sleep.

Anchor: Did your parents wake you up?

UU Kid: They tried. They gave me a big nudge every time I snored, but I stayed asleep.

Anchor: I understand it was a great sleep because it had great dream.

UU Kid: I thought it was great.

Anchor: [to camera] So did our producers, and that's why they asked UU Kid to come here and tell us about the dream. So it's all yours, UU Kid.

[Director: Cue Anchor to step aside. UU Kid is alone on camera.]

UU Kid: I did hear part of the minister's sermon. It was about standing up for what you believe. That can be tough, the minister said. But not as tough as figuring out what you believe, to begin with. That sounded right to me, and that's what I was thinking of when I dozed off. So there I was, snoring away, and I dreamt I was rich. Rich, and wondering what to believe. But I couldn't even figure out how to know what to believe. So I hired a squad of private detectives.

[Director: Cue the Detectives to gather around UU Kid.]

First Detective: Yeah, boss?

UU Kid: You guys must be good at knowing what to believe, right?

Second Detective: Sure, boss. We believe whatever we find out.

UU Kid: So how can I know what to believe?

Third Detective: Sounds like a job for us, boss.

Fourth Detective: Right. As long as money's no object.

UU Kid: Money's no object. You're hired.

Fifth Detective. Okay, boss, we're on it. We'll let you know when we've got something.

[Director: Cue Detectives to move off camera.]

UU Kid: The detectives reported back one at a time.

[Director: Cue First Detective to join UU Kid.]

First Detective: Hiya, UU Kid.

UU Kid: Hiya, back. Did you find out how to know what to believe?

First Detective: I found one thing. Trust is a big part of it. If you trust someone, you might hear some useful beliefs from them.

UU Kid: You mean, people I trust the way I trust my family?

First Detective: You got it, boss. In fact, your family is a good place to start with beliefs. Ask your mom or dad what they believe and see if it fits for you.

UU Kid: Do I have to believe what they believe?

First Detective: No. A lot of kids start off that way, and that's great. Then as they grow older, they develop their own beliefs.

UU Kid: But how do I know whether what they believe fits me?

First Detective: Trust again, boss. Trust yourself. You will know if it fits. You will know if it doesn't.

[Director: Cue Second Detective to come in and First Detective to step out.]

UU Kid: Hey.

Second Detective: Hey.

UU Kid: So, what have you got?

Second Detective: Community. That's what I have got. You have a community of friends. You have a UU community. You have a school community. People in all those communities will help you know what to believe.

UU Kid: But they will say different things. How do I know which ones to believe?

Second Detective: You have to know who to trust, boss. That's what you have to figure out.

UU Kid: How do I do that?

Second Detective: You got me there, boss. All I know is community works. Ask one of my partners.

[Director: Cue Third Detective to come in and Second Detective to step out.]

UU Kid: Wow! This dream moves fast.

Third Detective: We're a dream team.

UU Kid: Then tell me how to figure out what to believe.

Third Detective: Easy. Three words: observation, reason, science. Trust your own eyes and your own ears. Trust your brain to figure things out, boss. Trust science because scientific proofs work over and over again. That's what they are all about. Science rules!

UU Kid: I think you are right about that. That is pretty easy as far as it goes. But what about the stuff that can't be proved? Like belief in God and life after death and all that?

Third Detective: Well, I only looked at science and reason and observation. See what Fourth Detective has to say about all that other stuff.

[Director: Cue Fourth Detective to come in and Third Detective to step out.]

UU Kid: So, Fourth Detective, what have you got to say?

Fourth Detective: Gut.

UU Kid: Gut? What does that mean? Gut?

Fourth Detective: [slaps own stomach] Gut. That's what it means. Gut. You know in your gut what to believe. That's what you can trust most of all. Your gut.

UU Kid: You mean all my beliefs are already in my gut?

Fourth Detective: No. Some ideas come from inside, but a lot come from outside. What your gut tells you is what feels right to you.

UU Kid: What if nobody else agrees?

Fourth Detective: That's okay. It's your gut. Everybody else can trust their own gut. It's sort of like art. What feels right to my gut in terms of art could feel wrong to your gut in terms of art. That's okay. It's like our gut is testing things for our soul, our inner self.

UU Kid: Wow. That's deep!

Fourth Detective: Yeah. [Slaps stomach again.] That's where the gut is, really deep. But look, I gotta go.

UU Kid: But I need to find out how to get all those outside ideas you talked about.

Fourth Detective: Try Fifth Detective for that.

[Director: Cue Fifth Detective to come in and Fourth Detective to step out.]

UU Kid: So where do I get all these big ideas for my gut to react to?

Fifth Detective: Hah! It's right over there on the wall!

UU Kid: [looking around] It is? Where?

Fifth Detective: [pointing] Right over there, boss. The UU Sources.

UU Kid: I should have known.

Fifth Detective: Think about it. All those Sources! Every one of them represents years of wondering and thinking and writing and talking and meditating and thinking again. And all those Sources have something useful to say, something that serious people somewhere believe.

UU Kid: But all the Sources are different. I bet they tell you to believe different things.

Fifth Detective: Right. And parents are different, too. Communities are different. And scientists are different, too. So are guts. You have to decide what beliefs fit you best.

UU Kid: All by myself?

Fifth Detective: No, not by yourself. A lot of people will help. UU communities are really good at that. But look, I'm on my way. Another client is calling.

[Director: Cue Anchor to come in and Fifth Detective to step out.]

UU Kid: Then I woke up. I was still in the worship service. But I think my dream really helped.

Anchor: Does that mean you are working on your beliefs?

UU Kid: Yes, [Anchor's real or stage name]. I'll be talking with the minister about that at my appointment this afternoon.

Anchor: You have an appointment with the minister?

UU Kid: Yes. My parents said I had to apologize for falling asleep in the sermon. But I don't mind. Now I have something to say.

Anchor: Well thank you, UU Kid, thanks very much.

UU Kid: My pleasure.

Anchor: Now for a quick analysis by our favorite NUUs Analyst!

[Director: Cue UU Kid to step out and NUUs Analyst to join Anchor.]

Anchor: So, NUUs Analyst, did that dream really help the UU Kid figure out how to know what to believe?

NUUs Analyst: Yes, it did. The dream detectives said what most UUs believe: Your family, your friends and your UU community can all help you figure your beliefs. Science, reason and observation also mean a lot. But when it comes to beliefs you cannot prove, it is time to turn to some other UU Sources. As you search through them and everywhere else, you will find wonderful ideas that somebody, somewhere, believes. Then it is up to you. Only you can decide which beliefs fit you best.

Anchor: That sounds like a lot of work.

NUUs Analyst: It is. But you don't have to do it right now or all at once. Many UUs enjoy a lifetime of search and increased understanding. They wonder at the mystery of life and they delight in the detective work of trying to solve it.

Anchor: Thank you, NUUs Analyst. That is just what we needed to know. Which brings us to the end of our show.

NUUs Analyst: Wait a minute! We were talking about dreams. I had a great dream last night. Do you have an hour or two to hear about it?

Anchor: No! We have under a minute and that is for music!

[Director: Cue the theme music.]

[Director: Cue the station break.]

Anchor: This is [your real or stage name] signing off for WCUU.