Activity 3: Story - God Is . . .
Part of Riddle and Mystery, 6th Grade
Activity time: 10 minutes
Materials for Activity
- A copy of the story "God Is . .."
Preparation for Activity
- Print and review the story "God Is . . ."
- Decide how to present the story; if you want youth to assist with the telling, make a second copy and cut the entries apart for easy distribution and use.
Description of Activity
Consider introducing the story with words like these: "UUs have a lot of different beliefs about God. This is true of UU youth, and it is true of UU adults. What if somebody asked you to write down some ideas about God? What would you say? A director of religious education of a UU congregation in Portland, Maine, did that. Today we are going to hear what some of the youth in her program had to say.
Read as many of the entries as you like, presenting ideas of both boys and girls of different ages. Or, to have participants share in the telling, simply copy the story, cut the entries apart, and give to participants to read aloud.
After the reading, ask participants their thoughts. Ask:
Do you agree with any of them? Do you hear recurring themes in what the young people said? Do you believe your own congregation has many different ideas about God? Where do they think the youths' ideas about God came from?
Including All Participants
If you ask youth to share in the reading, ask for volunteers. Offer quick and gentle assistance to anybody who struggles with reading.