AMAZING GRACE
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 8: UUS IN ACTION
BY RICHARD KIMBALL
© Copyright 2008 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/7/2014 7:12:00 AM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
[T]he making of justice does not define our faith. Rather, our faith calls us to work for justice.
— Rev. William G. Sinkford
This is the last of four Amazing Grace sessions that focuses on Unitarian Universalism. The session speaks of the denomination's many continuing efforts to achieve social justice at all levels of society.
The central story is taken from the Christian scripture accounts of Jesus as shepherd and the parable of the lost sheep. A brief introduction to UU social activism follows. The session includes a round of Ethics Play. Faith in Action offers a chance for further exploration of UU social justice activities.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
ACTIVITY | MINUTES |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Story and Discussion – Jesus and the Sheep | 10 |
Activity 2: Conundrum Corner – Speaking of UUs and Social Justice | 10 |
Activity 3: Finding Social Justice in Music | 10 |
Activity 4: Ethics Play | 15 |
Activity 5: Wall-to-Wall Questions | 10 |
Faith in Action: Magazine Search | 10 |
Closing | 3 |
Alternate Activity 1: When I Made a Difference | 15 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
In the days before you present this session, consider your own work for social justice. What was the first action you can remember taking to make the world a better place? How have the consequences of that action influenced your social justice work today?
In the moments before you present this session, with all preparations complete, make a peaceful moment for yourself and for your connections with all. Breathe deeply. Know that your efforts to assist youth are themselves virtuous. Breathe deeply. Connect with what is good and true. Breathe deeply. Relax. Feel the energy of sharing fill you. Connect again with your leadership team, and be ready to greet your youth.
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
As participants enter, greet them. If you have newcomers, greet them warmly and be sure they know others in the room. Give them nametags if others have them. Ask newcomers and old timers alike to look at the Conundrum Corner but do not say anything more about it. In answer to any questions about it, say you will be talking about it later.
If playing "Amazing Grace," stop the music or reduce the volume to a very low background level.
Lead the group in the day's opening rituals—a chalice lighting, a moment of focusing silence, and a moment of sharing.
Light the chalice, or let a youth do so, and speak these words (asking the group to join you if you have posted them):
May this light show us the way to full social justice.
Ask the group to be silent for a moment as they reflect on the opening words and settle in for the session. End the silence by saying "blessed be," or other appropriate words. Ask the youth to share briefly something they have done right since your group last met.
Extinguish the chalice without ceremony and move the chalice table aside as necessary to allow movement in the room.
ACTIVITY 1: STORY AND DISCUSSION – JESUS AND THE SHEEP (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth hear a parable of love and forgiveness.
Read or tell the story "Jesus and the Sheep." Alternately, you might ask for one or more volunteers to read it.
Ask the youth for comments and reactions. Do they like hearing Jesus' parables? Is telling stories a good way to teach? Why do they think Jesus did not tell people more directly how they should act?
Offer these ideas if the group has not already done so in the discussion:
Would participants agree that UUs believe many of the things Jesus taught?
ACTIVITY 2: CONUNDRUM CORNER – SPEAKING OF UUS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth explore the idea of balance as it relates to social justice.
Ask youth to demonstrate what balance looks like by balancing on one foot. Then let them try that with their eyes closed. See if anybody can do that for a timed minute.
Point out the scales of justice in the Conundrum Corner and ask participants what they are. Say, if they do not, that these are the scales of justice. Scales of justice are often used as symbols by lawyers and in courts. Ask them what connects the scales of justice with what they just did. Here are some thoughts to offer:
Ask participants why they think Unitarian Universalists spend so much time and energy working for social justice. Why not just spend their time making money and having fun?
Suggest some of these answers if participants do not:
Introduce the group to some of the social justice resolutions the Unitarian Universalist Association has passed at its annual General Assemblies. Say that the Commission on Social Witness is the organization in the UUA that is responsible for preparing these statements each year and making them available in print and online. Show the youth samples of such statements that you have found on the web or use the ones in Leader Resource 2, Social Justice Resolutions. Try to use recent statements about subjects that you think will interest your sixth graders most.
Ask if your youth have ever attended general assemblies. Have they heard of them? General assemblies are held each year in a different American city. Thousands of delegates, representing every congregation, come together for meetings and worship, for fun and work. Some of the people at every GA are official delegates from their own congregations. They have the right to vote on behalf of their churches for or against ideas presented at large meetings called "plenary sessions." Some of the things they vote on are social action resolutions. These say what the Unitarian Universalist Association believes should be done to make the world a better place. One resolution might be about ending a war. Another might be about equal rights for minority groups.
Before concluding the activity, mention that Unitarian Universalists pride themselves on their work for social justice. However, many other denominations and religions do social justice work, and some of it is wonderful. Youth who visit other houses of worship with their friends will find that they, too, may go to soup kitchens, oppose wars, and support minority groups. Of course, different religions do not always agree about justice issues. Sometimes UUs work for causes that some other religions work against, and vice versa. But caring enough about the world to try and help it is common to religious people of many different faiths.
Say that in the next activity, Ethics Play, the group will think about doing the right things in their own lives.
Including All Participants
Skip the balancing demonstrations if youth have physical limitations that will preclude their involvement, but do not conclude too hastily that this is the case. A youth in a wheelchair may take pride in balancing on the rear wheels and somebody with crutches might have a special talent, too.
ACTIVITY 3: FINDING SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MUSIC (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity introduces your youth to music of social justice.
Play one or two Pete Seeger songs as examples of social-justice music. Explain that Pete Seeger is a famous folk singer who has performed all over the world. Many of his songs have something to do with social justice. Seeger is a member of a UU church in New York City .
The album, "Pete Seeger's Greatest Hits" has several songs associated with social justice. "Talking Union," with words written by Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, and Pete Seeger in 1941, is a call to join organized labor. "Which Side Are You On," another union song, was written by Florence Reece in response to a Kentucky coal strike in 1931. "We Shall Overcome," has been sung for decades to support various causes. It was especially popular during the civil rights movement, when thousands of Americans (including Unitarian Universalists like James Reeb) struggled to win equal rights for African Americans in the 1950s and '60s. "This Land Is Your Land" is Woody Guthrie's passionate tribute to the democratic vision. Written in the 1940s, the original version challenged the establishment with words that said, in effect, the land belongs to everybody, not just the rich, who treat it as private property.
Ask participants to identify more recent songs they have heard calling for social change. Ask also whether they think music is an effective tool to use in working for social justice. Are any members of the group musicians? Have they sung any songs relating to social justice?
You can extend this activity by having participants look through Singing the Living Tradition for hymns related to social justice. ("We Shall Overcome" is Hymn 169.)
ACTIVITY 4: ETHICS PLAY (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants play a game replicating real-life situations involving ethical decisions.
At the end of the game ask if participants had to do any balancing acts as they made their decisions. Is it always easy to tell right from wrong or justice from injustice?
Including All Participants
If some participants have limited mobility, you might wish to have the group remain seated, or at least give individuals a choice between standing and sitting when they speak.
ACTIVITY 5: WALL-TO-WALL QUESTIONS (10 MINUTES)
Description of Activity
This activity asks youth to move around and show their answers to some belief questions based Sessions 4 through 8 of Amazing Grace: Exploring Right and Wrong.
Ask the youth to help move aside any chairs or other furniture that might prevent easy motion. Explain that you are going to play wall-to-wall questions. You will ask a series of questions and you want the youth to show their answers by choosing and moving to one of two opposite walls. Say that there are only two choices for each question, yes or no; standing in the middle is not an option.
Show the youth the two walls where they are to go in response to the questions. Then ask the questions from the following list, stating after each question which wall represents which answer. Give youth a chance to talk about each question and their responses before moving on to the next one.
Do you believe...
Including All Participants
If some of your participants have limited mobility, devise a different way for the group to make their choices known. They might use a thumbs-up for yes and thumbs-down for no. Alternately, you could provide everyone with two differently colored index cards: blue for yes and yellow for no, for example. Do not, however, assume that a youth using a wheelchair or crutches would not enjoy the movement of this activity as much as any other youth.
CLOSING (3 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Briefly summarize what you have done in this session. Hand out any Taking It Home activity suggestions you have prepared.
If you earlier moved your chalice from its central position, retrieve it and re-light it without fanfare. Ask the group to sit and speak these closing words with you:
As we extinguish this chalice, may its light shine within so we may see the difference between right and wrong.
FAITH IN ACTION: MAGAZINE SEARCH (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth look through magazines to find out about social justice work UUs have done and are doing.
Distribute copies of UU World magazine and tell the youth to search through them for information about UU social action efforts. Pass out sticky notes or scrap paper so youth can mark their discoveries.
After youth have spent several minutes in their search, ask them to come forward and write social action topics they have found on the newsprint.
In the last few minutes of the activity, ask participants to put the magazines aside. Call attention to the newsprint and read the entries together. Do any common themes unfold? Does the list make the group feel proud to be UUs? Do they think we all had better get busy if we are going to achieve all the goals the denomination talks about? Are there any issues they would add, issues that they know their congregation or others are actively working toward improving?
Including All Participants
If participants with limited mobility have difficulty reaching the magazines, bring the magazines to them. If they have difficulty reaching the easel, bring the newsprint to them or write on it for them. However, do not assume that youth using wheelchairs or crutches do not wish to move about the room. The goal is to assist, but only when needed. If some youth have limited reading ability, have the group pair up to go through the magazines.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Meet with your co-leaders after the session to reflect on how it went. How was your mix of discussion and action? Have you successfully found ways to involve all youth fully in your sessions despite any limitations they might have? Do you believe your youth feel a commitment to social-justice work as part of their UU identity? Can you lead them to projects that will help them put their ideas about right and wrong into action?
Look ahead at Session 9. Decide who will lead which activities, and who will be responsible for which supplies.
TAKING IT HOME
[T]he making of justice does not define our faith. Rather, our faith calls us to work for justice.
— Rev. William G. Sinkford
IN TODAY’S SESSION… We heard about some of Jesus’ ideas about right and wrong, and we talked about UU social action projects. We shared our beliefs by moving between two walls. We talked about the scales of justice and we did Ethics Play.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about…
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try…
MYSTERY AND ME
Take some personal quiet time and think what you do to help make the world a better place. Is it a social action project you do through your church, something at school, or something you do on your own? If you are journaling, write what the activity is and how you feel about it. You can also write about an action you would like to take in the future.
A FAMILY RITUAL
Talk each day about the right and wrong you have experienced. Did you each do something good you want to share? Is there somebody in the family you want to thank for a virtuous act? Is there something you wish you hadn’t done that you need to talk about? How can you make tomorrow a better day?
A FAMILY GAME
Have a family competition. See who can come up with the longest list of things you can do at home to help the environment or improve some other area of concern.
FAMILY DISCOVERY
Find out about the social justice work of your friends and relatives. Are any of them doing something unusual, something you want to do, too? Are any of them doing something you feel is wrong? If so, what tells you the action is wrong?
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: WHEN I MADE A DIFFERENCE (15 MINUTES)
Description of Activity
This activity asks youth to think about times when they have made a difference in someone's life.
Ask participants to tell about times when they have done something right and made a difference for somebody else. Say that their stories do not need to be exciting and dramatic tales of rushing into burning buildings. Most of us do not get called on to do those, but each of us has a chance to help other people in some way every day.
Ask the youth if they think they are bragging when they talk about good things they have done. Say that you do not believe this is the case. We all know that none of us leads a perfect life. We do wrong things as well as right things, and it is okay to talk about either. That is one of the ways we learn together and get to know each other better.
Higher-energy option: You can energize this activity by asking youth to pantomime the stories they are telling while others guess at their meaning.
Including All Participants
If you use the higher-energy option, be sure to give instructions that can be followed by all participants, including any with physical limitations.
AMAZING GRACE: SESSION 8:
STORY: JESUS AND THE SHEEP
Excerpts from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.
Sheep were important in biblical times. They provided not just wool, but also meat and milk. Their horns were used as musical instruments or to hold oil. The skins were made into clothing and coverings for walls.
If you read the Bible today, you'll find that sheep and shepherds are mentioned many times. One person who counted says the Bible talks about sheep and shepherds 247 times.
The first part of the Bible, called the Hebrew scripture, includes a famous song called the twenty-third Psalm. It begins with these words: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures." In other words, people are like sheep, cared for by God.
The second part of the Bible is the Christian scripture. It tells about Jesus' life and teachings. In one famous story told by the disciple John, Jesus calls himself a shepherd. He says these famous words: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
Of course, when Jesus said "Father," he meant God. But it wasn't always easy to know exactly what Jesus meant. That is because he often taught by telling stories called parables. One of the best known is called "The Parable of the Lost Sheep." Here is the way the disciple Luke tells the story:
So he told them this parable: "Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance."
Why is this story so important? There are two reasons. The first is that it helps people know the difference between right and wrong. When there is a problem, the story says, you should not go away and ignore it. You should actively try to fix it.
The second is that the story talks about God's forgiveness. If you do something wrong, that is bad. But if you repent, God will celebrate. Repenting means feeling badly about what you did. If you repent, you admit that you were wrong, you say you are sorry, and you find ways to make things better.
So sheep in biblical times were good for more than meat, milk, wool, and skin. They and their shepherds were a big help to religious leaders and teachers who wanted people to know the difference between right and wrong.
AMAZING GRACE: SESSION 8:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: SCALES OF JUSTICE
Clipart drawing of the scale is from the CorelDraw! clipart collection.
AMAZING GRACE: SESSION 8:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: SOCIAL JUSTICE RESOLUTIONS
From the Social-Justice Statement Book of the UUA
Here are a few sample resolutions.
1. END OF TOBACCO PRICE SUPPORT PROGRAM—1978
WHEREAS, tobacco smoking is harmful to human health; and
WHEREAS, the world needs more food crops grown on the limited areas of fertile land; and
WHEREAS, the United States Department of Agriculture spends many millions of dollars each year to support tobacco production; and
WHEREAS, such tax money should be used for more constructive purposes, not for the encouragement of farming practices that are ultimately detrimental to consumers;
BE IT RESOLVED: That the 1978 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association urges the United States Congress to terminate all price support programs for tobacco, beginning with the 1980 crop of tobacco, and to establish a program funded over a four-year period by part of the money thus saved to assist small farmers to convert from tobacco to the production of other commodities.
2. ABOLITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT—1973
BE IT RESOLVED: That the 1973 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association opposes the corporal punishment of children in schools, juvenile detention facilities, and other public institutions where children are cared for or educated and urges that members of UUA societies work actively through school boards, legislatures, and courts to help arouse public opinion to bring an end to the practice.
3. AGAINST CENSORSHIP IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS—1988
Because Unitarian Universalists have historically affirmed the value of public education in a pluralistic society; and
Because we believe that free inquiry strengthens minds in the individual search for knowledge; and
WHEREAS, recent history shows a continuing series of attacks on access to information and ideas in the classroom as well as attempts to promote sectarian ideology in public education at national, state, provincial, and school-district levels; and strategies are being pursued to eliminate from public school curricula any material considered by some parents to be offensive to their own religious beliefs; and
WHEREAS, a broad-based, multicultural public school system requires that teaching instruments, including textbooks, film, video, speakers, and student publications exhibit a varied and open exposition of historical, scientific, and cultural fact;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Unitarian Universalist Association, mindful of the roles played by religious movements throughout our history, encourages its members to affirm that educational excellence rather than the promotion of sectarian ideology is the proper business of public education and calls upon congregations and individual members:
1. To educate themselves and the public on censorship and sectarian interference in education;
2. To organize groups to monitor religious intrusions affecting public schools, especially curricula and educational materials;
3. To encourage teachers, parents, students, librarians, and other school officials and community residents to remain vigilant in the fact of censorship challenges;
4. To advocate laws, regulations, and policies in educational, legislative, and judicial arenas ensuring freedom from sectarian based censorship of curriculum and extra-curricular activities, which include student publications;
5. To oppose vigorously efforts to make public education conform to any group's sectarian beliefs;
and
6. To support the development of curricula designed to teach the historic and cultural influence of religious movements and religious motivation while excluding the teaching of specific sectarian doctrine.
4. ACCESSIBILITY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES—1997
BECAUSE Unitarian Universalists affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person; and
BECAUSE Unitarian Universalists promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; and
BECAUSE Unitarian Universalists believe in the importance of religious community; and
WHEREAS people with physical, psychiatric, and developmental disabilities are becoming more involved in all areas and levels of the Unitarian Universalist Association; and
WHEREAS people with inabilities to see, hear, or maneuver around allotted space are often excluded from full participation in and leadership of our worship services and other activities because of the inaccessibility of our buildings;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 1997 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association undertakes an aggressive plan to address accessibility within the Association for people with disabilities by:
1. Establishing written policies and practices, providing staff training, and creating an accessibility manual for the Unitarian Universalist Association, allowing the Association to serve as a model of physical and attitudinal accessibility for its member congregations;
2. Encouraging congregations and districts to become more accessible by providing a variety of resources, including information on the Internet; and
3. Assuring that a Board-appointed standing committee, supporting congregations in their efforts to become more accessible, address matters of disability concerns and report annually to the General Assembly on these issues.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Unitarian Universalist Association acts as an advocate for the human and civil rights of people with disabilities both within its own association and globally.
FIND OUT MORE
Parker, Victoria. The Children's Illustrated Bible (Great Britain: Hermes House, 2001). This book has a large and very good collection of Bible stories for young people, including pictures.
Seeger, Pete. Where Have All the Flowers Gone: A Singer's Stories, Songs, Seeds, Robberies (Bethlehem, PA: Sing Out Corporation, 1993); and Pete Seeger's Greatest Hits (New York: Sony Common Cord CD, 2002).
Morales, Peter, ed. The Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=649) (Boston: Skinner House, 2012). This is a brief but excellent introduction to Unitarian Universalism.
The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (at uua.org/)' website has back electronic issues of UU World and information about social-action programs and general assembly resolutions.