• Chalice and candle or LED/battery-operated candle
• Lighter and extinguisher, if needed
• Newsprint, markers, and tape
• Tool of the Day - a piece of sandpaper

• Print the opening words on newsprint and post it in the Council Circle space.

Participants will connect the sandpaper, a tool for smoothing the rough edges of wood, with humor, a quality of our Unitarian Universalist faith which can smooth the rough edges of life.

Invite the children to gather in a circle in the Council Circle space. Light the chalice. Lead the group in the opening words:

We are Unitarian Universalists

with minds that think,

hearts that love,

and hands that are ready to serve.

Hold up the sandpaper and tell the group it is the Tool of the Day. As children pass it around the circle, invite them to share their experiences seeing or using sandpaper. Ask the group, "What do you think makes this a Unitarian Universalist tool?" Allow participants to share ideas. Affirm that there truly is no one answer.

You might say:

Sandpaper represents humor, a tool of our Unitarian Universalist faith which helps us smooth out the rough edges of life, something like the way sandpaper smooths out the rough edges of wood.

Introduce the quality of humor in our faith, with these words or your own:

Humor is about being open and honest. It can help us look at our fears and prejudices. It will underline truths about us. Using humor can help us find healing laughter in the face of life's problems or sadness.

Unitarian Universalism is a faith that respects the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. Using humor helps us stay flexible and "bounce" on the web, with a smile and a laugh. This is a key part of growing in faith and deepening in religious understanding.

One of the sources of our faith affirms the direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life. Wonder can be expressed in laughter and openness.

You may invite a participant to add a piece of sandpaper to the Toolbox of Our Faith poster. Or, do this later in the session.

Collect the tool. Extinguish the chalice.