Taking It Home for Sunday, April 7th

Spirit Play (4-5 year olds):

This week's story is called "The Butterfly and the Cocoon: A Tale from Islam" and it comes from our world religions source. Children will hear about how the struggle of the butterfly to come out of its cocoon is part of what prepares the butterfly to use its wings. They will learn that Allah, what the Muslims call God, is seen as the Spirit of mystery, awe and wonder in the Islamic faith.

This is an Islamic Prayer:

I asked for Strength

And Allah gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom

And Allah gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity

And Allah gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage

And Allah gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love.

And Allah gave me Troubled People to help.

I asked for Favors.

And Allah gave me Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted

I received everything I needed!

So blessed be Allah, the best of creators!

Wondering Questions:

I wonder which part of this you liked the best?

I wonder which part of this is most important?

I wonder if you have ever heard any of this before?

I wonder if you have ever watched a butterfly come out of a cocoon?

I wonder if you have ever felt sorry for an animal, bird or insect and tried to help it out?

I wonder if you have ever struggled with obstacles in your life?

I wonder how it feels to try to grow?

I wonder what it feels like to worship Allah as the Muslims do?

I wonder what this prayer means to you?

I wonder what other ways people pray?

I wonder if you have a special way of being with the Spirit of Love and Mystery?

Grades K-2: Wonderful Welcome

Taking It Home, Session 10: The Gift Of Protection

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another and all involved in one another.

Thomas Merton




IN TODAY'S SESSION... The children discussed the importance of connecting with nature and took a nature inventory of the grounds around the congregation.




EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about...

Together with your child(ren), estimate the time they spend playing indoors as opposed to playing outdoors. Then, compare the free time they spend in front of computers, television, video games, etc. with the time spent in nature. Ask them which is more fun, and why. Some factors that can limit children's outdoor play time include the location of your home, the proximity of safe outdoor play places, the extent of a child's structured, indoor non-school activities, and your family's culture and practices. As you talk with your child(ren), think about ways you could increase their access to outdoor experiences.




EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try...

Make a commitment to engage your children in unstructured, outdoor play time. If you are concerned about children's safety outdoors on their own or with peers, spend time as a family in unstructured time outdoors. At a park, on a trail hike, at a beach, in a rowboat, or even at a neighborhood playground, make time for your children to simply be outside.




FAMILY ADVENTURE

Take pencils and notebooks to a meadow, a wood, or a body of water and do a nature inventory together. Sketch or write about some of the flora and fauna you see. At home, use the Internet and books to identify the plants and creatures you saw and learn more about them.




FAMILY DISCOVERY

The song, "Blue Boat Home," Hymn 207 in Singing the Journey: Supplement to Singing the Living Tradition (words by Peter Mayer, melody by Rowland Huw Prichard), would be a good one to listen to, talk about and sing together. Some of the lyrics are:




Far away from the rolling ocean 
Still my dry land heart can say 
I've been sailing all my life now 
Never harbor or port have I known 
The wide universe is the ocean I travel 
And the earth is my blue boat home.




A FAMILY RITUAL

Plan to include outdoor time in your week. Walking a short distance you normally drive (such as to school or to a nearby friend's house); having a snack or meal outdoors instead of indoors; or simply playing outdoors one afternoon a week will improve your child(ren)'s acquaintance with the outdoors and decrease their time spent interacting with two-dimensional media such as computers, video games and television.



Grades 3-5: Love Will Guide Us



Taking It Home, Session 4: Love in Our Congregation

The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life. 

— Jane Addams, American social activist and 1931 Nobel Peace Prize recipient



IN TODAY'S SESSION... the group learned about Jesus' life through a story, "Meet Jesus," based on passages from Christian scripture. They explored the fourth Unitarian Universalist Source, "Jewish and Christian teachings which tell us to love all other as we love ourselves," learning that Jesus preached and demonstrated the importance of taking care of everyone in a community. 



EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about... Jesus' message of love and his ability to use love to create community wherever he went. Explore the meaning of community in your own life. What communities are important to you?



EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Online, learn about Jesus and Christianity from a Unitarian Universalist perspective (www.uua.org/visitors/beliefswithin/6633.shtml) . 

Read five UU perspectives in the pamphlet UU Views of Jesus (www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=514) , edited by Bruce Southworth. 

Read resources about UU Christianity from the UU Christian Fellowship(www.uuchristian.org/R_Welcome.html) website.



The UUA Bookstore (www.uuabookstore.org/) offers Our Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism by John A. Buehrens and F. Forrest Church (Beacon Press, 1989). Highly recommended for leaders of this program, this book presents two essays focused on each of the six Sources of Unitarian Universalism. The UUA Bookstore also offers:


Meet Jesus: The Life and Lessons of a Beloved Teacher by Lynn Tuttle Gunney (Skinner House, 2007)
Unitarian Universalism Is a Really Long Name by Jennifer Dant and Anne Carter (Skinner House, 2008)
What If Nobody Forgave and Other Stories by Colleen McDonald (Skinner House, 2003).

A Family Ritual. If you read to your children on a regular basis, consider adding the parables of Jesus to your repertoire. You might read:


The Parables and Miracles of Jesus by Mary Hoffman (Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2007)
Tomie dePaola's Book of Bible Stories, Tomie dePaola (Putnam Juvenile, 2002).