Taking It Home For Sunday, May 26th

Grades K-2: Wonderful Welcome

Taking It Home, Session 15: The Gift Of Ourselves

Be here now.

— Ram Dass (Richard Alpert)

IN TODAY'S SESSION... The children explored the intangible gift of ourselves. They heard a story, "Maya's Questions," in which a young girl learns to be herself, to pay attention to what is going on around her, and to be kind. When we are present and attentive and our true selves, we are best able to respond to others authentically and kindly. Children learned the phrase, "Be here now" as a short way to remember what Maya learned.

EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about... It is easy for adults as well as children to become distracted, to lose their sense of grounding, to be in a rush and not pay attention to what is going on around them. Talk about the situations and places where each member of the family feels most calm, most themselves, most able to pay attention to their environment and the people in it. Talk about situations where it is hard to simply "be here now."

FAMILY DISCOVERY

Try being present together by meditating as a family. Even young children can sit still for about a minute. Gather the family and have everyone agree to sit in silence for at least one minute. If you have meditation chimes, use them to begin and end the meditation. You may wish to use the phrase, "be here now" as a silent mantra. As your family increases its experience with sitting quietly, you may try increasing the time spent in meditation.

Mealtime is a different opportunity to be attentive and present with each other. Think about how family members can "be here now" at meals.

Middle School: Riddle and Mystery

Taking It Home, Session 15: What to Believe

Don't believe everything you think. — Bumper sticker

Talk about the quote. Have you ever seen it on a bumper sticker? What kind of people do you think have bumper stickers saying that? Would UUs use a bumper sticker like this?

WHAT WE DID TODAY

Today's Big Question asks, "How can I know what to believe?" We began with a story that led not to new beliefs but to new big questions. We saw that big questions grow out of our experiences. We said that mystery and big questions are among the reasons that religion exists. We made some art that came from deep inside us and saw that everybody has different art ideas, just the way everybody has different beliefs. In WCUU, a group of private detectives searched for help in knowing what to believe. In WIT Time, we thought about our favorite places, at this time in our lives, where we look for help shaping our beliefs.

FAMILY BELIEFS

In UU World magazine of Spring 2008, a father talks about sharing his beliefs with his seven-year-old son. The son had asked about Heaven and death. His father said he believed that when people die they live on in the memories of other people, but not in Heaven. The son replied this way, "I'll believe what you believe for now, and when I grow up I'll make up my own mind." Talk about this story. Is that how most UU kids decide on their beliefs? Is that the way it is in your family? What age do you think most kids are when they start to develop their own responses to the big questions?

BUILD A FAMILY BELIEF TREE

Use a piece of poster paper and some markers to create a family belief tree. Draw a traditional tree diagram if you like, using horizontal and vertical lines to show all the generations descended from somebody who lived long ago. Write the names of all the family members you know, along with their religions and their core beliefs if you know them. One might have been a Buddhist, for example, or a Roman Catholic, or a UU. Or draw a realistic tree, and hang tags with names and beliefs from the branches of that. The point is to have fun with the drawing and get an idea of some of the most important beliefs held by members of your extended family.

SHARED SEARCH

Visit a place you have never been that can help you decide what to believe. Maybe it is a library, or a museum, or a different Unitarian Universalist congregation.

PHOTO CHALLENGE

Photograph something that represents a belief of yours. Share the photo and belief with someone.

FAMILY FAITH IN ACTION — ACTING ON A BELIEF

Think about something your whole family believes related to the Unitarian Universalist Principles, then act on it. Maybe you will choose belief in "acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth." How can your family act upon this belief? Can you participate together in a program at your congregation? If the Riddle and Mystery group will design a worship service, could family members help? Maybe it's as simple as inviting someone you don't know well from your congregation to lunch and listening to their story. Beliefs are more meaningful when you act on them.