Taking It Home for Sunday, May 19th

Grades K-2: Wonderful Welcome

Taking It Home, Session 14: The Gift Of Spirit

Life becomes religious whenever we make it so: when some new light is seen, when some deeper appreciation is felt, when some larger outlook is gained, when some nobler purpose is formed, when some task is well done.

— Sophia Lyon Fahs, Unitarian minister and religious educator

IN TODAY'S SESSION... The children explored the intangible gift of spirit. They learned about ways they can give and receive this gift with others in our religious education group, in their congregation, and in the larger Unitarian Universalist faith community. The children experienced a ritual of sharing joys and concerns that illustrated one way we give and receive the gift of spirit. They sang together and made a chalice to bring the gift of spirit home.

EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about...

Help your child understand how the gift of spirit is shared when people intentionally come together in faith.

EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try...

Spend some arts-and-crafts time together making individual "spirit posters." Give each family member a blank sheet of poster board or heavy paper, a photo of themselves, magazines to cut up, a glue stick, scissors, markers and stickers. You may like to title each poster, "The Gift of (Name's) Spirit." Invite each person to glue their own picture to their poster and add images that represent who they are, what they care about, and what they believe.

A FAMILY RITUAL

Try sharing your joys and concerns as a family at home. You will need some stones and a partially filled bowl of water. Have each member of the family hold a stone while they think about their joys and concerns. Then invite family members to drop a stone in the bowl as they share their joys and/or concerns aloud or speak them silently to themselves. Affirm each new stone by saying together, "We accept the gift of (name's) spirit." See how each added stone makes the water in the bowl rise, symbolizing how when each person shares their spirit and others accept it, our sharing of spirit grows.

Grades 3-5: Love Will Guide Us

Taking It Home, Session 9: Love of Learning

The reward of the young scientist is the emotional thrill of being the first person in the history of the world to see something or to understand something. Nothing can compare with that experience... The reward of the old scientist is the sense of having seen a vague sketch grow into a masterly landscape. — Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, astronomer, accepting the Henry Norris Russell Prize from the American Astronomical Society

IN TODAY'S SESSION... the children learned about the fifth Unitarian Universalist Source, in child-friendly words "the use of reason and the discoveries of science." We heard a story about Cecilia Payne, a Unitarian Universalist and the first professional astronomer. We conducted simple experiments to observe gravity and to investigate why sunsets are orange. Children learned that scientific investigation of falling objects or sunsets does not reduce their beauty or mystery, yet helps us understand our world.

EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about... your own love of learning. We continue to learn new things all the time. Cecilia Payne faced challenges as a woman interested in a scientific field (astronomy) which did not yet exist, and yet she persevered. Discuss with your family a time you made a commitment to lifelong learning. Talk about something new you learned—in school, or not—and what that was like. How did you feel about school? What did you most enjoy doing in school? Why? Share with your child why you believe it's important that we learn and discover.

EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Learn about and track the Hubble telescope (hubblesite.org/) on a website that includes downloadable photographs. Another online resource is Astronomy magazine(www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx) ; take note of the special editions.

Books your family might enjoy include:

• A Child's Introduction to the Night Sky: The Story of the Stars, Planets, and Constellations — and How You Can Find Them in the Sky by Michael Driscoll (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2004)
• Astronomy by Kristen Lippincott (DK Eyewitness Books, 2008)
• The Stars: A New Way To See Them by H. A. Rey (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008)
• Maybe Yes, Maybe No by Dan Barker (Prometheus Books, 1993). In this child's introduction to healthy skepticism and critical thinking, the ten-year-old heroine, Andrea, is "always asking questions," writes Barker, because she thinks you should prove the truth.
• Humanism, What's That? by Helen Bennett (Prometheus Books, 2005). "This small volume holds out the hope and openness of Humanism in a form that can help young people confront Fundamentalist approaches to religion with confidence," writes Rev. William Sinkford, former President of the UUA.

Family Discovery. The science experiment that shows why the sky is blue, but the sunset is red would be easy to replicate at home. Download Session 9, Activity 3, Blue Sky, Red Sunset from the Tapestry of Faith website (www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith/index.shtml) .

A Family Ritual. Every week, take time to observe the night sky. Note the position of the Big Dipper and locate the North Star. Keep a log. The cold winter months are the best time of year to view these constellations.

Middle School: Riddle and Mystery

Taking It Home, Session 14: Life as Mystery

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science... It was the experience of mystery, even if mixed with fear, that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty—it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude. In this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man. — Albert Einstein

Talk about the quote. Do you agree with it? Are you religious in the same way Albert Einstein said he was? When you look at the stars at night, do you have an appreciative sense of wonder and mystery?

WHAT WE DID TODAY

Today's Big Question asks, "Will we ever solve life's mystery?" We reviewed UU responses to some of the other Big Questions we have asked in Riddle and Mystery. We saw UUs have many responses to mystery, but mystery will never be completely "solved." Our story showed that questions lead to more questions, and that exploring mystery can lead to more mystery. 

MYSTERY TOOL KIT

If your family had a mystery tool kit, what would you put in it? Maybe someone knows a lot about science, and knowledge could go in it. Maybe others are very familiar with UU Sources, and our Sources could go in the tool kit. Someone who likes to dance or sing might have tools for celebrating mystery. What else? You decide.

FAMILY MYSTERY

When is the last time someone in your family said: "I don't know. It's a mystery to me." What is the biggest mystery your family has talked about in the last week? Did you solve the mystery? Will you ever solve it?

SHARE YOUR FAVORITE MYSTERY BOOKS AND TV SHOWS

What are some of your own or your family's favorite mystery books, films or television shows? What about your friends'? If you have a favorite mystery book or movie, share it with a friend or family member. If you really love mysteries, start a mystery book club at your school or congregation.

SHARED SEARCH

Travel to a mysterious place. Maybe it will be a haunted house. Maybe it will be a place where most people do not think about mystery—but you do.

PHOTO CHALLENGE

Photograph a mystery or try just the opposite: Photograph something that has no mystery to it at all. Can you think of such a thing? Before you answer "yes," remember some of the Big Questions you have talked about—like where things come from, and what they are. Now see if you can find something that has no mystery at all.