Kindness

Stories and Voices

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  Fiercely UU: Grace and Salvation

  By Annie Gonzalez Milliken

  Fiercely UU is a new blog series where Unitarian Universalist young adults tell stories about what our faith requires of us and how they...

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  The Kindness of Others

  By Rayla D. Mattson

  A white woman pulled over and ran over to me with a shopping bag. She noticed that I never have on a coat and I often stand in the rain. She didn’t know if the things would fit, but the receipt was in the bag. She smiled and drove away. As I looked down at the bag, I had very mixed emotions.
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  Someone Loved by Someone Else

  By Kat Liu

  If a friend were in my situation, I would have seen their failings as human. So why hold someone to an unforgiving standard just because that someone is me?
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  Love's Pronoun Is Plural

  By Elea Kemler

  My son, Caleb, and I went to Starbucks on a recent Saturday morning. We often do this as a prelude to the weekly grocery shopping. It...
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  Blessed by a Stranger

  By Erika A. Hewitt

  There we were, two strangers idling at the red light―but I felt seen, and blessed, by a stranger.

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  A Painting and a Memory: World AIDS Day

  By Jessica York

  [Editor's note: World AIDS Day is December 1.] This painting was a gift from a man I barely knew, but the beauty of the real gift he gave...

Chalice Children

• Session 25: Teddy Bear Month — Friendship
• Session 34: Valentine's Day
• Session 10: Helping Others

Moral Tales

• Story 1 The Good Samaritan

  Adapted from Hebrew scripture (Leviticus 19:18) and Christian scripture (Luke 10:25-37). Preparation To make this story participatory: Open...
• Story 1 We Are All One

  Adapted from the story, "We Are All One," in Stories in Faith by Gail Forsyth-Vail (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2007),...

Love Surrounds Us

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  Love Surrounds Us, Grades K-1

  By Christy Olson, Lynn Kerr

  The Love Surrounds Us program explores all the Unitarian Universalist Principles in the context of the Beloved Community of family/home, school, and neighborhood.
• Session 10: Our Words Matter
• Session 6: Acceptance
• Jesus Teaches the Beatitudes

  An adaptation of Matthew 5:1-11, Christian scripture. Jesus was a teacher. He lived thousands of years ago, in the part of the world we now...
• Session 1: Love Surrounds Us

Signs of Our Faith

• A Calabash of Poi

  Based on "A Calabash of Poi," originally published in In the Path of the Trade Winds by Coral Wells Thorpe (New York/London: G.P. Putnam's...
• Session 10: Signs of Welcome

World of Wonder

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  The Noble Ibex: A Jataka Tale

  By Sarah Conover

  From the book Kindness: A Treasury of Buddhist Wisdom for Children and Parents. Once upon a time, the Buddha was born as a magnificent ibex...
• Session 11: Kindness in Nature

What Moves Us

• Workshop 2: Charles Chauncy

Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

• Fragments and Front Porches

  By Rev. Elizabeth Buffington Nguyen, Leadership Development Associate for Youth and Young Adults of Color. When I was 24, my father gave me...
• Workshop 7: Resistance
• Russell

  By Jose Ballester

  Russell was an amateur geologist, paleontologist, and professional teacher. He took his young charges on an overnight field trip. While...

Gather the Spirit

• The Dog at the Well

  Permission to use "The Dog at the Well" in this curriculum granted by Marilyn McFarlane, author of Sacred Myths: Stories of World Religions...
• The Teachings of the Rain God

  Adapted from a version on the 2003 International Year of FreshWater website . One day a long time ago, the elephant acted like a bully. He...

Wisdom from the Hebrew Scriptures

• The Ugly Duckling

  This story is abridged from one published by Hans Christian Anderson in 1844 and translated by H.P. Paull in 1872. (Hans Christian Anderson...

Love Will Guide Us

• The Dervish in the Ditch

  Once upon a time, in a land to the east, a Dervish holy man and their student were walking from one village to the next. Suddenly they saw a great huge cloud of dust rising in the distance. They stood and stared at a grand carriage, pulled by six horses approaching at a full gallop. Riding on top...
• Session 13: Responding with Love
• Session 10: Love for All Creatures
• For the Love of Stars

  By Gail Forsyth-Vail

  Adapted from Stories in Faith by Gail Forsyth-Vail, a Tapestry of Faith Toolkit book (Boston: UUA, 2007). Used with permission. Once there...

Love Connects Us

• Session 14: Our Heritage's Calling
• Session 9: Kindness is the Key
• Activity 1: Story - Craig Keilburger and Free the Children

  Materials for Activity A copy of the story, " Craig Keilburger and Free the Children " Preparation for Activity Read the story and prepare...
• Faith In Action: Hold Benefit for Free the Children

  Description of Activity Fundraising with a talent show or benefit concert can give children a fun and empowering way to join the tens of...
• Activity 3: Affirmation Badges

  Materials for Activity Heavy paper or card stock, one for each participant plus a few extra Yarn or string, scissors, and hole punch(es)...
• Activity 2: Story - Crossing the Finish Line Together

  Materials for Activity A copy of the story, " Crossing the Finish Line Together " Preparation for Activity Read the story several times so...
• Faith In Action: Making Greeting Cards

  Materials for Activity Card stock in different colors Markers, pens, or color pencils Optional: Envelopes Optional: Decorative stickers...

Windows and Mirrors

• Session 9: Lean On Me