Taking It Home for Sunday, January 27, 2013

TAKING IT HOME INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES

SUNDAY, JANUARY 27, 2013

Grades K-2: Wonderful Welcome

Taking It Home, Session 2: The Gift Of Covenant

A covenant is not a definition of a relationship; it is the framework for our relating. ... This calls for a level of trust, courage and sacrifice that needs to be nurtured, renewed and affirmed on a regular basis. ... Abiding in covenant is an art form. A mutual creation.

 

— Rev. Lisa Ward, in a sermon, "From Creed to Covenant," delivered November 17, 2002 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Harford County ( Churchville, Maryland )

IN TODAY'S SESSION... The children explored the intangible gift of covenant. They learned how covenants are made in various contexts such as on the playground, in their school classrooms, and in the larger Unitarian Universalist faith community, and they made a covenant for how they want to be together in Wonderful Welcome.

EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER . Talk about ... 

Whether or not you have articulated them, a variety of promises form the basis of your family relationships. Give some thought to the covenants that already exist in your family. By accepting the responsibility to parent your child, you have made a set of deep promises that you act on every day. Beyond feeding, clothing and sheltering your child, the love, protection and guidance you provide are fulfillments of a covenant.

Take the time to identify for yourself, and share with your child(ren), the covenants that support the relationships in your family. What promises do children make? What promises do adults make? Engage your child(ren) in exploring how your family's covenants are a "two-way street." Your child can understand that love, for example, goes both ways.

 

This may be an opportunity to develop together some covenant rules just for your family. For example, if you set aside times, such as a family meal, when you do not answer the phone or have a television on, engage your child as a willing participant in this agreement. Together, you will covenant to treat that time in a special way, so that nothing outside interferes with your time together.

FAMILY DISCOVERY

It is likely that your family's values and practices mirror some if not all the Unitarian Universalist covenant expressed in the seven Principles of our faith. How do individual members of your family keep the covenant of Unitarian Universalism? If you do not have a copy of the seven UU Principles (www.uua.org/visitors/6798.shtml) , you can find them online.

A FAMILY RITUAL

You may like to express your family's covenant or your Unitarian Universalist faith by taking a moment before shared meals for prayer or thanksgiving, and/or the lighting of a chalice or candles. One source of simple prayers for UU families is the UUA pamphlet, Family Prayers: a Sampler, available online at uua.org or for purchase through the UUA Bookstore.

Grades 3-5: Windows and Mirrors

Taking It Home, Session 2: Me in Faith Community, Faith Community in Me

It matters what we believe.

Some beliefs are expansive

and lead the way to wider and deeper sympathies.

Some beliefs are like the sunshine,

blessing children with the warmth of happiness;

some beliefs are bonds in a universal brotherhood,

where sincere differences beautify the pattern;

some beliefs are gateways

opening up wide vistas for exploration.

Some beliefs nurture self-confidence and

enrich feelings of personal worth;

some beliefs are pliable like the young sapling,

ever growing with the upward thrust of life.

It is important what we believe.

And what a child believes is also a serious matter

— not a subject for jest or sentimentality. — Sophia Lyon Fahs

Children, though natural questioners, are not skeptics, for whom doubt is an end in itself. Children are as open to belief and faith as they are to questioning. They are looking, as we are all looking, for things on which they can depend, values they can faithfully live by, ideas that make sense, things to believe in. — Rev. Earl Holt in Religious Education at Home

IN TODAY'S SESSION...

We affirmed the relevance and meaning of church attendance for individuals and asked the children to consider these for themselves. As usual, we played a game. This time everyone was a winner of ten jelly beans. Surprisingly enough, the title of today's story was "Jelly Beans." It comes from our Quaker brothers and sisters and reminds us that kindness often is what people need. The story also helped us demonstrate how church and what we learn here can help make our lives happier and better. We asked some adults why they come to church and why it is important that children to come to church, regularly. 

EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about...

Ask your child(ren) what they found most meaningful about church today—having this conversation directly after church tends to yield the most information. They may share something that happened outside of the religious education program. That is appropriate. Ask them what they have liked the best during your family's relationship with this congregation, or what they remember most.

Share what prompted your initial attendance and why you are part of our congregation now. Share something your child may not know about your childhood religious upbringing and how it affects the choices you make for them. Explain in a meaningful way why it is important to you that your child attend church with you. Using the phrase "church matters" in the conversation might surprise them.

EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER . Try...

Create a "seven cents a day" bank for each family member. Place banks where coins are likely to be discovered and added to the bank—grandparents and cousins are not to be excluded! Search the congregational newsletter for other social justice efforts if your church is not involved with hunger work. On the Unitarian Universalist website, research projects that help alleviate poverty and hunger. Talk about where else in your daily lives issues of hunger or poverty arise and where else are you called to attend to them? How does church or religious education attendance connect to your family's response to hunger or poverty locally or in the larger world?

As a family, choose an organization to receive the money you will collect over time.

A FAMILY RITUAL

Develop a Sunday-after-church or Sunday-before-church ritual. Choose one small activity or food treat that your family can include into Sunday morning churchgoing. It is vital that your child (not just you) perceive this as a treat. Involve your child in developing the ritual. Consider realistic timing—before church or after—especially if the ritual involves a stop for food. Consider the seasonal activities that happen on Sunday, such as sports, that might interfere with the ritual. Some suggestions:

• A trip to a bakery or doughnut shop
• Hot chocolate with whipped cream every Sunday morning
• Riding bicycles or scooters to church
• A stop at a playground or library after church
• Breakfast or lunch at a special place
• Donating non-perishable food to a shelter that has Sunday drop-off times
• Buying flowers for home or for a neighbor
• Singing special funny songs in the car
• Looking for a specific person at church
• Playing after church with a friend you know only from church.

A FAMILY GAME

Church Charade s. (travelwithkids.about.com/cs/travelgamestoys/l/blcharades.htm) Charades originated in France . It is a great game to play with your children, as you have to act silly! To play a church-focused version:

• Form two teams (even two can play, pantomiming for each other).
• Each team thinks of a church-related phrase or a congregational activity to be acted out, and writes it on a slip of paper. Examples: grounds and maintenance committee, worship, singing "Spirit of Life," walking in a peace march, coffee hour, reading, playing, holiday pageant, ushering, flower communion, child dedication ceremony.
• Teams collect slips of paper in the bowl or bag and give them to the opposite team. (When two people play together, each should act out their own phrases or activities and see if the other person can guess.)
• Decide on a time limit, or individual time limits, to suit players' ages and pantomime abilities.
• Teams take turns drawing slips of paper. Each time, one team member pantomimes for teammates to guess the word or activity.
• Before you start, review the pantomime descriptors so all can use and understand them:
• "Sounds like... " — Cup your hand around your ear.
• "Little word." — Bring your thumb and index fingers close together. The guessers should now call out every little word they can think of ("on," "in," "the," and," ... ) until you gesticulate wildly to indicate the right word.
• "Longer version of the word." — Pretend to stretch an elastic.
• "Shorter version of the word." — Chop with your hand.
• "Close, keep guessing!" — Frantically wave hands to keep the guesses coming.
• With older children, you can communicate in pantomime how many words and/or syllables are in a phrase they are guessing. For number of words, hold up that many fingers; hold up one finger to pantomime the first word. To show that a word has X syllables, lay X fingers on your forearm. To act out a first syllable, lay one finger on your forearm.
• Score by keeping track of how long it takes each team to guess the right answer; the team with the fewest minutes wins. To make it easier, just keep track of how many correct guesses each team makes before time runs out.
• Then, start acting silly!

FAMILY DISCOVERY

Make congregation-related tee shirts for every member of the family. Purchase some plain tee shirts and fabric paints and/or fabric markers. Spend a few minutes talking to one another about what parts of being a member of this church are fun, meaningful, or special. Help one another create symbols for those feelings or thoughts. Each person designs their own tee shirt with the name (or part of the name) of your congregation and symbols that convey why the church is important. Each person can use the symbols the entire family came up with or only those that are personally meaningful. Wear the tee shirts to a congregational gathering or any other time.

Middle School: Riddle and Mystery

Taking It Home, Session 2: Religion to the Rescue

This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, argue, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek. — Terry Tempest Williams

Talk about the quote with family and friends. During which activities do you feel a greater sense of faith? Of spirituality? Of religion?

WHAT WE DID TODAY

Today's Big Question is "What are we?" We said that one possible answer to that is that we are Unitarian Universalists. We asked another question that is big for us: "What are Unitarian Universalists?" We answered that partly with a story and partly with our own ideas. We thought about what religion, faith and spirituality have in common, how they are different, and what each might mean to us as a UU.

We said that the Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion because instead of telling people all the answers, it supports the individual's search for answers and accepts that we all do not have to share the same beliefs about everything. We discussed some of the beliefs UUs do share and how we put our Faith in Action.

ANSWERING TODAY'S BIG QUESTION

What do family members and friends have to say about the question: "What are we?"

SHARED SEARCH

Go together to a place that is special to your family. Sit quietly together at the place and talk about what the place would tell a stranger about your family. You might try the same thing with some of your friends.

REFLECT ON YOUR RELIGION

What do people in your family mean when they use the words "faith," "religion" and "spirituality"? Ask them. The definitions may be different from those we heard and shared in the group.

PHOTO CHALLENGE

Photograph something that shows what you are as a person—an item you like to have, or a place outside your house that feels like another home to you.

FAMILY MUSIC

Do something musical. Try making music by singing, or playing instruments together. Go to a concert that everybody will enjoy. Talk about any musical rituals your family has. Do you listen to certain songs at special times or holidays? Do a family's musical rituals help show who and what the family is?

FAMILY FAITH IN ACTION

Another way to answer the question "What are we?" is that we are citizens of the world. What does your family do to help others in the world? If you need a place to start, share the Kiva website(www.kiva.org) and read about opportunities to make small loans that may help save lives.