Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: Building Bridges: A World Religions Program for 8th-9th Grades

Opening

Activity time: 10 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Chalice, candle, and lighter or an LED/battery-operated candle
  • Name tags
  • Optional: Additional items to decorate the worship or centering table
  • Optional: Centering music and music player

Preparation for Activity

  • Create a worship space or centering table for the chalice.
  • Optional: If you will include music in the centering time, have the music player ready to play.

Description of Activity

Answer any questions you could not answer from the last workshop.

Invite participants to gather around the chalice. Have volunteers light the chalice and read the chalice lighting words:

We light this chalice in celebration of Unitarian Universalism and the sustaining faiths of all people of the world. May the flame represent the fire of our commitment to understand all faithful people and build bridges that connect us as one human family.

Invite participants to check in by saying their name and the religions represented in their immediate family.

After everyone has checked in, announce that the group will start their investigations of world religions by talking about Unitarian Universalism. Acknowledge that though you are in a UU congregation, some members of the group might not yet identify as UU and this is okay.

Referring to the check-in, note that UUism has been described as a "multi-faith" religion because Unitarian Universalists come from so many religious backgrounds. Ask if this is true of the families of this group.