Activity 1: Song - From You I Receive
Part of Gather the Spirit
Activity time: 10 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook
Preparation for Activity
- Review the song "From You I Receive", Hymn 402 in Singing the Living Tradition. If you are not comfortable leading the song, invite a musical volunteer to assist or to accompany you with piano or guitar.
Description of Activity
Invite participants to rise, as they are able, and form a circle. Invite participants to pair up with their immediate neighbors; if there is an odd number, a leader can partner with someone.
Say you will lead them in a simple song with hand gestures. Teach "From You I Receive." The song has four phrases, and this is how the gestures go:
- First phrase ("From you I receive"): First partner holds hands out, palms up; second partner holds hands out, palms down, and places them over first partner's hands.
- Second phrase ("to you I give"): Partners reverse their hands.
- Third phrase ("together we share,"): Partners take each other's hands.
- Fourth phrase ("and from this we live."): the partners hug themselves or each other, whichever seems more appropriate for your group
(The lyrics are reprinted here by permission of Rabbi Nathan Segal.)
Have the group sing the song, with the hand gestures, two or three times. You may wish to ask each participant to turn away from their first partner and pair with their neighbor on the other side.
Ask the group to sit, and offer this transition into the workshop's story:
This is a very simple song, with very simple words. But it has deep meaning. I receive something, and feel grateful. Then I give something. We share, because we are both giving. And this sharing helps us live. Now we're going to hear a story about someone who received something and was grateful, so then they gave something.
Including All Participants
Be mindful of accessibility issues. This activity can be done seated, with partners turning in their chairs so they face each other.