Tapestry of Faith: Exploring Our Values Through Poetry: A Program for High School Youth

Alternate Activity 2: Wwmsgd? Bracelets

Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Soft, flexible wire, hemp, leather, or cotton cord cut into two-foot lengths
  • Lettered beads
  • Question mark beads
  • Optional: A WWJD? (What Would Jesus Do?) or WWUUD? (What Would UU Do?) bracelet

Preparation for Activity

  • Make sure you have plenty of multiple-letter beads, especially W beads.
  • Practice making a bracelet. Use your practice bracelet as a sample.
  • If you want to have a sample WWUUD? bracelet available during this activity, you can purchase one designed by Susan Johnston from UniUniques.

Description of Activity

Participants make bracelets to help them remember to seek assistance from spiritual guides.

Ask participants if they are familiar with WWJD? (What Would Jesus Do?) or WWUUD? bracelets. If you obtained one as a sample, pass it around. Ask why the youth think someone would wear such a bracelet. They might say for decoration or to identify their religious beliefs. If the idea does not come up during the conversation, ask if participants think wearing the bracelet might remind the wearer to live his/her faith by making decisions the way she/he imagines Jesus would or according to their UU faith.

Invite everyone to make a spiritual guide bracelet. Ask participants to think of someone who they would emulate in their decision-making. It could be Jesus, Buddha, Gandhi, their parent, older sibling, Nature, or anyone or anything they see as a guide in life. Have them pick out letter beads that would represent that guide and complete the following: WW(insert individual letter bead)D? Some participants may choose to make a WWUUD or WWMSGD? (What Would My Spiritual Guide Do?) bracelet. They can also keep the activity light by making a humorous bracelet, such as WWHPD? (What Would Harry Potter Do?).

Arrange the supplies on a table. Everyone will need a piece of cord or wire. A youth in your group might be an expert at making bracelets and be willing to help with this activity. The simplest instructions are to imagine the cord is divided into thirds (do not actually cut or mark the cord). Tie a small knot at the one-third mark. Add beads, checking the order. Add the question mark bead last. Tie another knot after the last bead. Put the cord around your wrist and ask someone to tie it. Trim the excess cord, leaving enough on the bracelet to allow for retying if needed. If you made a sample bracelet earlier, leave it on the table as a guide.

If you would like to make a more complicated bracelet, see Find Out More for websites with instructions.