Closing
Activity time: 10 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook
- Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED battery-operated candle
- Taking It Home
- Optional: Tambourines, drums, and other percussion instruments
Preparation for Activity
- Familiarize yourself with "I Wish I Knew How," Hymn 151 in Singing the Living Tradition.
- Adapt Taking It Home and copy for all participants or arrange to distribute by email after the workshop.
Description of Activity
Ask participants to sit in a circle and close their eyes. Say:
You have now spent some time considering interfaith interaction and service here in (name of your congregational community). Keeping your eyes closed, imagine this community in five years. What will it look like? How will people interact? What will we do and accomplish together?
After a few minutes, ask one or two participants to share something they have imagined, while keeping their eyes closed. Then, say, slowly and taking your time:
Begin to imagine backwards from the future you have imagined. What would need to happen in four years to accomplish your vision? Three? Two? In the next few months? Take one minute to imagine this time line. Then open your eyes.
When everyone has opened their eyes, invite volunteers to share and discuss the different visions people had and the role they can take in building the future of religious pluralism they dreamed up. Emphasize that no action is too small; simple actions such as asking a schoolmate about their faith tradition, speaking out when someone mocks a religion at school, or offering to go to another youth group's service day can build religious pluralism. Elicit broad and specific ideas. Distribute Taking It Home and tell participants it gives them ways to work further with these ideas.
Distribute percussion instruments, if you have them. Lead participants to sing Hymn 151 in Singing the Living Tradition, "I Wish I Knew How."
Extinguish the chalice. Thank and dismiss participants.