WINDOWS AND MIRRORS
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 3: WE NEED NOT THINK ALIKE TO LOVE ALIKE
BY BY GABRIELLE FARREL, NATALIE FENIMORE AND JENICE VIEW SUSAN LAWRENCE, MANAGING EDITOR/DEVELOPMENTAL EDITOR AISHA HAUSER, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES PROGRAM DIRECTOR/DEVELOPMENTAL EDITOR
© Copyright 2009 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 11:40:40 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
We need not think alike to love alike. — Francis David
To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven. — Joseph Priestley
Unitarian Universalism finds strength in explicitly welcoming diversity. It is well known that many of us bring identities and beliefs that are Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Humanist or Pagan to our Unitarian Universalist religious lives. There are also many lifelong UUs, and UUs with neither training in nor attachment to another theology or faith heritage.
In our congregations, however, diversity of faith heritage and belief is not always visible. Yes, many congregations celebrate holidays and draw from religious practices of a wide variety of faiths. But, do we actively engage and affirm each individual's faith heritage and personal religious beliefs?
This session lifts up our denomination's pluralism of faith heritage and theological belief for participants to examine and affirm within themselves, among the group, in their families and in the congregation. Affirming one another's meaningful faith traditions, theological questions and beliefs is a way to affirm one another as truth-seekers—our fourth Principle. It also expresses our third Principle, that we accept every individual and encourage their spiritual growth.
The session introduces the six Sources that support and nurture Unitarian Universalist faith. Children will explore how the Sources embrace a variety of faith traditions, including Unitarian Universalism itself. A story about Thomas Starr King illustrates that to follow one's own faith path is not only allowed but a core value in Unitarian Universalism.
Faith Heritage Letter to Parents
Children will need information about their family's faith heritage to be well prepared for this session. Some may wish to include photos or other items from home in their Window/Mirror panel or a Faith Family Tree (Faith in Action or Alternate Activity 2). Adapt and distribute Leader Resource 1, Faith Heritage Letter to Parents, at least two weeks ahead. During the session that precedes this one, remind children to ask their parents about their faith heritage.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Window/Mirror Panel, Part I — Diverse Faith Traditions | 5 |
Activity 2: Where Do My Beliefs Come From? | 10 |
Activity 3: UU Sources Inventory | 10 |
Activity 4: Story — Thomas Starr King | 10 |
Activity 5: Window/Mirror Panel, Part II — Diverse Faith Traditions | 15 |
Faith in Action: Congregational Faith Family Tree | |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: Listening Activity — Supporting Theological Diversity | 10 |
Alternate Activity 2: Our Faith Family Tree | 25 |
Alternate Activity 3: UU Partner Church | |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Find a place where you can be quiet with your thoughts. Make yourself comfortable, lighting a candle to mark the time differently than you do for other activities. Close your eyes and breathe deeply for about five minutes, perhaps repeating a word or phrase to separate you from the activities of the day.
Let your mind sift through your religious beliefs. Which are most important to you? Ask yourself:
Like adults, children do have beliefs and faith which guide their lives. Today you will ask the children to think about their beliefs and connect them with their family's faith heritage including and beyond Unitarian Universalism. Remember, some children may be articulating their beliefs for the first time. Some may believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy; others may be sure there is no such thing as God. Children may find it hard to see beliefs as something that can change or to see connections among their beliefs, their faith heritage, and the UU Sources. Allow them to be who they are and where they are, and see what you can learn.
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This ritual welcoming reminds participants of the relational nature of the group experience. Gather the children in a circle around the chalice. Invite them to take a deep breath and release it, and create a deep silence for a moment.
Ask a volunteer to take a reading from the Opening Words Basket and read it aloud. Invite another volunteer to light the chalice. Then, lead a greeting:
Now we will take a moment to greet the people next to us. If you are next to someone who is new to our group, offer a welcome, tell them your first and last name, and learn their name.
Lead the group in singing the hymn you have chosen. Singing a congregational favorite helps children grow in their sense of belonging in congregational life. If you choose not to sing, use a bell to ask the group to still themselves for another moment of silence.
Ask the child who lit the chalice to extinguish it. Ask the child who read the opening words to return the reading to the Opening Words Basket.
Including All Participants
If you have a non-sighted participant who reads braille, obtain the braille version of Singing the Living Tradition from the UUA Bookstore. The bookstore orders from an outside publisher, so order several weeks ahead.
ACTIVITY 1: WINDOW/MIRROR PANEL, PART I — DIVERSE FAITH TRADITIONS (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Distribute copies of Handout 1, Faith Symbols. Explain that later in the session they may cut out or draw these faith symbols or others for their Window/Mirror panels.
Point out the Buddhist prayer wheel, the Christian cross, the Jewish Star of David and the Islamic crescent moon and star. Ask the group to identify the symbol that represents Unitarian Universalism; affirm that it is the flaming chalice. Ask if participants have any ideas why the flaming chalice is represented in the center of the handout. Say:
Unitarian Universalism respects all faith traditions and has a rich history and tradition of its own. Unitarian Universalists bring beliefs and practices from many different faith traditions to the religious community we share.
Invite participants to share about other faith symbols they may know, including their own experience with that faith.
Encourage children to share their knowledge of their own faith heritage. If you wish, collect their contributions, phrasing them briefly on newsprint.
INCLUDING ALL PARTICIPANTS
ACTIVITY 2: WHERE DO MY BELIEFS COME FROM? (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell the children:
Let's practice "theological reflection"—that means thinking about a religious question.
Ask the children to consider what they think they believe about God. Have a moment of silence and reflection on this question. You may use a bell or chime to signal the need for silence at the beginning of the time for reflection. Ring the bell or chime again to signal the end of the time for reflection.
Now, invite the children to share their thoughts on what they believe about God. Allow all volunteers to share, yet move conversation along—the focus here is not on the beliefs, but how children came to them. Affirm all contributions succinctly. Make it clear there is no "right" answer. Tell the group, "In our faith, we understand that what people think about God often changes over the course of time in their lives."
Now ask the children to think about how they came to their beliefs. Write their answers on newsprint, in the order in which you hear them (no ranking by importance or tallying to mark a repeated response). Make certain that everyone has a chance to speak.
Some answers you may hear are:
Be prepared for negative comments, e.g., "God is a stupid idea," or "Who would believe something so ridiculous?" A sarcastic or provocative comment may indicate that a child does not feel their belief is really welcome or they are uncomfortable with not knowing what they believe. Gently help a child paraphrase a genuine question. Affirm that "not knowing," skepticism and atheism are legitimate stances on God.
You may wish to introduce terms such as "deist," "humanist," "skeptic" or "agnostic" if you are comfortably sure of their meanings. However, avoid characterizing children's beliefs by denomination—e.g., Christian, Buddhist—based on this brief information from them.
Point out the diversity of the beliefs children have shared. Ask, "If we opened this discussion to the whole congregation, might we find even more beliefs?"
Emphasize that beliefs can change as we learn and have new experiences in life. You may say:
No matter how your beliefs may change, you are always welcome here. People can believe in different religious ideas and still remain in the same Unitarian Universalist congregation because of some beliefs we all share: We believe in the value of a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We believe in the right of individual conscience in our faith choices. We believe in respecting everyone.
Including All Participants
Do not put children on the spot by going around in a circle for responses. It is more important to demonstrate welcome to all religious beliefs and faith traditions, than to make sure all children share with the group.
ACTIVITY 3: UU SOURCES INVENTORY (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Ask the group what "sources" are, as you distribute handouts and pencils. Affirm that a source is "someplace you can get something you need." Tell the group:
Now we are going to look at our Unitarian Universalist Sources. These are places where we look for what we need in faith—answers to our religious questions and guidance about how to live our lives.
Form small groups of three to five participants. With six small groups, assign each group a Source to discuss. With four groups, you might assign direct experience (first Source), words and deeds (second), wisdom (third) and teachings (fourth, fifth and sixth). If the entire group is too small for four small groups, work as one group to consider direct experience, words and deeds, and "teachings and wisdom."
Invite participants in small groups, to apply these questions to their Source:
Watch the time. Save two or three minutes for small groups to share some of their discussion. Use the newsprint to record examples of the Source to help the entire group learn the meanings of all the Sources—for example, under "direct experience" you may note "watching sunset," "singing in church," "helping homeless person," "waking from a powerful dream," etc.
To conclude, point out that people may hold different beliefs, learn from different faith traditions, and look to different Sources for truth, and still remain in the same Unitarian Universalist congregation. Say:
In our religion, we do share many beliefs. We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of everyone. We believe that everyone is free and responsible to search for truth and meaning, and we believe in following our own individual conscience to make our faith choices. And, we believe our members' different faith paths enrich the faith of the whole congregation.
ACTIVITY 4: STORY — THOMAS STARR KING (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Before you begin, ring the chime (or other noisemaker). Make eye contact with each participant. Introduce the story:
Today Unitarian Universalists talk about many other religions and not just Christianity, but Christianity is a part of our history. The founders and early believers of both Unitarianism and Universalism were all Christians. They came from Protestant religions, such as Methodist and Presbyterian.
But these early Unitarian and Universalists believed in following your conscience in matters of religion—deciding for yourself and not simply believing what others in authority tell you to believe. This led our faith community to become something different from a Christian faith. We encourage one another to look to many faith traditions each for their own truth. We find wisdom to feed our faith in many religions and philosophies. We welcome people who have religious roots or find faith wisdom in Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Humanism, Wicca and many other traditions, including Christianity.
Thomas Starr King was one of those early believers, raised in a Christian faith. Let's see how he changed and what he did as he grew up.
Read or tell the story. Sound the chime (or other noisemaker) again at the end.
Invite the children to think silently on their own about the story.
Say:
Now we are going to practice listening and discussing skills—both are needed to better understand the story from the multiple perspectives in the room as we find out what each other thought about the story.
Ask everyone to use "I think" or "I feel" statements. Remind them not to assume others think or feel the same way. You may suggest that a brief silence be maintained after each person's comment.
Invite the children to retell the story, briefly, in their own words. What children recall and relay tells you what they found most meaningful or memorable. Then, use these questions to facilitate discussion. Make sure every child who wants to speak has a chance:
ACTIVITY 5: WINDOW/MIRROR PANEL, PART II — DIVERSE FAITH TRADITIONS (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Say, in your own words:
Today we have spent some time examining our beliefs and where we learned or discovered them. We talked about how our family's faith heritage and our Unitarian Universalist Sources can help us as we keep exploring our beliefs. We have shared some of our own beliefs and seen how different and individual they can be, even just among the people in this room.
Now you have a chance to express who you are in your beliefs by adding to your Window/Mirror Panel.
Ask the children to bring their Window/Mirror Panels to work tables. Distribute Window/Mirror Panel basket(s). Invite the children to:
Walk around and assist. Some participants may need to engage verbally before they find direction.
Give the group a two-minute warning so they have time to complete their image, affix it to their Window/Mirror Panel, clean up, and store their panels.
INCLUDING ALL PARTICIPANTS
Affirm it is perfectly okay to invent a faith symbol, not use a faith symbol, or use a question mark. Remind children they may use the flaming chalice symbol to represent Unitarian Universalism as a faith heritage, a set of shared beliefs learned or practiced in our congregation, or simply where they come to church.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Explain that the session is almost over and we will now work together as a community to clean the meeting space. Ask everyone to first clean up their own area and the materials they were using, then clean another area or help someone else. No one should sit in the circle until the meeting space is clean.
Then bring the group back to the circle. Ask them to think about what happened today that was good or what they wish had gone better. If you are running short of time you can ask them for a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" on the session.
Invite each participant to say, in a word or sentence, why it is important for them to be a part of this faith community. You may go around the circle for responses, allowing individuals to speak or pass.
Then ask everyone to hold hands and say together:
Keep alert;
Stand firm in your faith;
Be courageous and strong;
Let all that you do be done in love. — 1 Corinthians 16
If this is the first time the group is using "namaste," briefly explain its origin and meaning. Then, lead the group in the word and bowing gesture. Or, substitute "thank you." Invite each participant to bow their head to the individuals on either side and then bow to the center of the circle and say "thank you" together.
Distribute the Taking It Home handout you have prepared. Thank and dismiss participants.
FAITH IN ACTION: CONGREGATIONAL FAITH FAMILY TREE
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants build a three-dimensional "family tree," representing the faith and belief traditions in your congregation, in a design and medium of the group's choice. You will need at least three meeting times to:
1. Assign research roles (can be brief).
2. Conduct research.
3. Build the congregational faith family tree.
Even if you think you know all the faith and belief traditions members bring to your congregation, an essential part of this Faith in Action activity is to dispatch participants to look for diversities which may not be obvious. All participants should help in "appreciative inquiry," even if they simply ask their parents about the faith and belief traditions they bring to their practice of Unitarian Universalism. You may wish to assign some children to survey members at a coffee hour and allow others to observe worship services or tour the facility to read posted flyers and analyze art, architecture, etc. for the faith traditions represented.
Offer the group or lead a discussion to develop a concept for a three-dimensional, Congregational Faith Family Tree. How can participants represent what they have learned about religious diversity among congregational members? Make Handout 1, Faith Symbols, available. Other items for the tree might include photographs of congregational celebrations, flyers or cut-outs from flyers for events marking different faith traditions, or "I believe... " statements written on index cards in different handwriting.
Variation
Engage congregational members to co-create the Congregational Faith Family Tree. To introduce the project, ask the children to brainstorm the many religious traditions represented in their Unitarian Universalist congregation. Point out that there may be additional faith traditions and beliefs, too. Say:
Let's celebrate our religious diversity by asking members of the congregation to add to our Faith Family Tree.
Guide the children to:
1. Make a Congregational Faith Family Tree structure or two-dimensional poster for display in a well-traveled place in your congregational facility where it can remain for several weeks.
2. Announce to the congregation (newsletter, worship announcements, etc.) that members are invited to represent themselves on the tree. The announcement and the display itself should clearly indicate what members may do—for example, "Take one of the blank tree leaves provided, list your religious background, your current faith orientation, or a particular Unitarian Universalist Source that is important to you and affix the leaf to the Faith Family Tree."
Once the congregation has had time to interact with the Faith Family Tree, make time for the group—or perhaps a wider, multigenerational group—to respond to the evidence of religious diversity that has been gathered. Encourage sharing about the various faith traditions and how they appear, or do not appear, in congregational worship and other activities. You may find Alternate Activity 1, Listening Activity — Supporting Theological Diversity, useful for such a meeting.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Reflect on and discuss with your co-leader(s):
Approach your director of religious education for guidance, as needed.
TAKING IT HOME
We need not think alike to love alike. — Francis David
To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven. — Joseph Priestley
IN TODAY'S SESSION...
We explored diversity of faith heritage and religious belief as a desirable and welcome feature of a Unitarian Universalist congregation. The activities helped children practice active affirmation of each individual's faith heritage and personal religious beliefs. The children learned that when we affirm each other's meaningful faith traditions and their theological questions and beliefs, we affirm each other as individual truth-seekers (our fourth Principle) and show that we accept every individual and encourage their spiritual growth (third Principle). The session introduced the six Sources that support and nurture Unitarian Universalist faith. Children will explore how the Sources embrace a variety of faith traditions, including Unitarian Universalism itself. A story about Thomas Starr King illustrates that to follow one's own faith path is not only allowed but a core value in Unitarian Universalism.
Children learned symbols of Unitarian Universalism and several other major faiths. Some children used these symbols to represent their faith heritage in an art activity.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER . T alk about ...
Ask your child what they shared about their faith heritage today. Ask if they learned anything surprising about themselves when it was time to think about what they believe about God or another religious topic. Were they surprised by anything a peer contributed? If your child learned that a friend holds a different belief or comes from a faith tradition that is different from yours, ask how it felt to discover this difference. Ask them what they think about the religious diversity around them and the ways this diversity is celebrated in your congregation and/or your home.
Share your thoughts on religious diversity, inside and outside your congregation. Share your feelings about freedom of religious belief.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Try...
A FAMILY ADVENTURE
Do you have friends whose religious beliefs differ from yours and are comfortable articulating their faith choices? Arrange for your family to join them for a religious service or celebration and some conversation about their beliefs. Bring along a copy of the Unitarian Universalist Sources and find out which Sources, if any, resonate religiously for your friends.
FAMILY DISCOVERY
Discuss the theological diversity within your family. Sketch your family's faith heritage "family tree" and discuss the faith journey(s) that led you to your Unitarian Universalist community.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: LISTENING ACTIVITY — THEOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants practice supportive listening by affirming personal belief statements each child shares with a partner or small group.
Distribute paper and pencils. Ask the children to develop a belief statement to share. Allow one or two minutes for each child to develop a statement about God or something else that they consider a religious topic. This statement may be written down or the child may choose to represent their belief in a drawing.
Now, say:
Our faith tells us that anything you believe is okay here. We all know that. Now we will practice how to show it. Everyone will have a chance to share their belief statement. The other(s) will listen in the respectful, supportive way everyone in our congregation should when discussing our beliefs.
You may wish to establish some tools for showing respectful listening. Ask the group for suggestions, and/or suggest:
Form pairs or small groups and invite children to practice telling their beliefs and listening respectfully to those of others. Monitor time and groups to make sure each child has a turn to talk and to listen. If you observe disrespectful listening, gently step in and redirect.
Re-gather the group and debrief. You might ask:
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: OUR FAITH FAMILY TREE (25 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Tell the children they will make a Faith Family Tree to show the diversity of faith traditions represented in the group.
Show the group the poster board. Explain that the flaming chalice will be part of the poster. Children may use other faith symbols, including more flaming chalices, or images they draw or have brought from home to show the diverse faith traditions that feed the Unitarian Universalism we share in this group.
Invite volunteers to share information about their faith heritage and tell how they want to represent it on the Faith Family Tree. Allow the group to suggest symbols for one another to use, as well as suggest ideas for the design of the tree and where the flaming chalice ought to go.
Invite children to cut out, draw and/or decorate their own faith heritage images. As children finish, help them attach their pieces to the Faith Family Tree. You might have some children assemble the tree instead of making their own individual faith heritage images.
As the Faith Family Tree nears completion, encourage conversation about the various faith traditions represented. Invite children to share about how they experience them at home and/or in the congregation.
Including All Participants
Children will need to know something about their faith heritage to represent it on a poster. If you have not sent the Faith Heritage Letter to Parents (Leader Resource 1) or you have reason to believe some children will not describe their faith heritage, invite just a few volunteers to share orally about their faith heritage. Make sure you have assignments—e.g., attaching faith symbols to the poster, decorating the poster title or hanging the poster for display—for children who opt not to add a faith heritage image.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: UU PARTNER CHURCHES
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Say, in your own words:
The Unitarian Universalist Association Partner Church Program connects Unitarian Universalist congregations in the U.S. with congregations outside the U.S. to provide assistance, encouragement and partnership. These congregations in India, the Philippines and Hungarian-speaking areas of Romania represent minority religious communities, often facing misunderstanding and sometimes persecution because of members' religious beliefs.
Tell the children that Partner Churches outside the United States may include people whose beliefs are not exactly the same as theirs, but who, like Unitarian Universalists in the United States, choose freedom of conscience in matters of faith.
If your congregation has a Partner Church, tell the children how the congregation participates and brainstorm ways the group can become involved. Guide them to think of ways they could help the Partner Church children, for example, by sending cards, letters or emails to them or by holding a bake sale to raise funds for school scholarships.
If your congregation is not active in the program, make a commitment to initiate a Partner Church relationship. Lead the children to petition the larger congregation. Brainstorm reasons why you should support a Partner Church, and then write them down in a letter to your congregational leadership.
WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 3:
STORY: THOMAS STARR KING
From A Lamp in Every Corner by Janeen K. Grohsmeyer (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2004).
A Bright Star
A long time ago, when railroad trains were still brand new and the United States had only twenty-four stars on its flag instead of fifty, there lived a boy whose name was Starr. That may seem like an odd sort of name to us today, but his mother's last name had been Starr before she was married, and back then, children were often given their mother's maiden name as their middle name. Starr's full name was really Thomas Starr King, but there were lots and lots of boys named Thomas around, and so his family called him Starr.
Starr was bright, just like his name. He was bright in school, learning his lessons well. He was bright at home, helping out cheerfully and doing his chores without complaints—not too many, anyway. And he was bright at the Universalist church his family went to, where his father was a minister. Starr was always happy to help. He carried the hymnals, he polished the candle holders, and he helped dust the pews.
But most of all, Starr loved to ring the church bell. On Sunday mornings, bright and early, he'd climb the stairs to the bell tower. He'd grab the rope with both hands and pull! And then: bong! would go the bell, and up would go Starr. That rope would pull him right off his feet! And then down he'd come with a thump, and the bell would go dong! Then Starr would give that rope another pull, and up! he'd go again, even higher this time, and the bell would go bong!
Starr loved ringing that church bell. He loved other music, too. He loved singing, especially at church, where lots of people sang in harmony. Some sang high, some sang low, some sang in-between, but all the different voices worked together to create one glorious song.
Starr liked everything about church. "When I grow up," Starr said, "I'm going to be a minister in a church, just like my father." And Starr was. When he was twenty-one, he was a minister in a Universalist church. But then, when he was twenty-four, he changed churches. He became a minister in a Unitarian church. (Back then, the Universalists and the Unitarians were still separate. Starr was ahead of his time. He was a Universalist Unitarian over one hundred years before the rest of us became Unitarian Universalists.)
Some of his friends weren't happy to see him change. "Starr!" they said, "how can you leave Universalism?"
"I'm not leaving Universalism," Starr said. "I can be a Unitarian and Universalist at the same time. I'm just singing a different part. We all sing together to make one glorious song."
In 1860, when railroads went from state to state and there were thirty-three stars on the American flag, Starr left Boston, Massachusetts, and moved all the way across the country to San Francisco, California . His friends weren't happy to see him go. "Starr!" they said, "how can you move so far away?"
"I'm not leaving our country," Starr said. "I'm just moving to a different state. All the states work together to make one great nation." But the year was 1860, and not everyone agreed. The Civil War was coming, and the nation was being torn apart, some states to the North and some states to the South. The stars were coming off the flag. California was in the West, and no one was sure which way it would go.
Thomas Starr King was sure that the states should stay together, "one nation, indivisible," and he set out to convince everyone in California of that, too. He was a minister at his church in San Francisco , and he preached there on Sundays, but he also traveled around the state and made speeches. He made speeches in towns and in mining camps, in great lecture halls and in canvas tents. He made speeches in front of thousands and thousands of people. He didn't convince all of the people, but he convinced enough, and in 1861 California voted to stay in the Union and to keep its star on the American flag.
"He saved California for the Union," said a general in the Union army, and that helped the North win the war. The people of California still remember him for that today. California put a statue of him in the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and sent another statue to Washington, D.C. He has two mountains named after him: one in California's Yosemite National Park and one in New Hampshire's White Mountains. Both the Unitarians and the Universalists still remember him, and we've set his name on the school where some of our ministers go: the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, California .
So you may hear his name from time to time, and now you know why: Thomas Starr King was a bright and shining star.
WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 3:
HANDOUT 1: FAITH SYMBOLS
WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 3:
HANDOUT 2: UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SOURCES
The Unitarian Universalist Principles and Sources can be found on the UUA website.
Unitarian Universalism draws from many sources:
WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 3:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: FAITH HERITAGE LETTER TO PARENTS
Adapt and distribute to parents at least two weeks before leading this session.
Dear Parents of the Windows and Mirrors Group,
On (date), please make sure your child brings knowledge of their faith heritage to the session. The group will explore the diversity of faith heritages and beliefs represented in our Unitarian Universalist community. We will explore our own individual beliefs and examine where we learned or how we discovered them. We will share about the faith heritage of our families.
Children may also want to bring a photo or other image from home that says something about your family's faith heritage. In an art project, they will represent their faith heritage and/or beliefs with one or more faith symbols. Symbols of Unitarian Universalism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism will be provided. If another faith heritage is important in your family, or a particular faith symbol is meaningful for your family, please send an appropriate image with your child to this session.
Thank you,
(Co-leaders names and contact information)
FIND OUT MORE
Theological Diversity within the UUA
Organizations affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association testify to the variety of faith heritages represented in our denomination. Find out about the HUUmanists Association (at www.humanists.org), the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship (at www.uuchristian.org/), the Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship (at www.uua.org/uubf), the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (at www.cuups.org/), and Unitarian Universalist Partner Churches (at www.uupcc.org/) in Romania, India and the Philippines .
In her 2004 UU World article "What can Jewish Orthodoxy teach us?," (at www.uuworld.org/2004/03/bookshelf.html) the Revered Elizabeth Lerner, who was raised UU, writes:
I am a Unitarian Universalist in the same way I am an American—born to it, out of a colorful ancestral stew. My ancestors arrived here from Poland, Russia, and Italy within the same twenty-year span. Roman Catholic on one side of the family, Jewish on the other, I am a perfect candidate for Unitarian Universalism—which is exactly why my parents chose this faith and raised me and my sister in it. Unitarian Universalism's religious pluralism, as so many of us have found, is a good match for American cultural pluralism.
The website of Rev. Marti Keller (at www.revmartikeller.com/sermons/humanist.html), the Jewish Voices in Unitarian Universalism (at jewishvoicesinuuism.homestead.com/index.html) website, and the website of Unitarian Universalists for Jewish Awareness (at www.uuja.org/) are places to explore Jewish connections in our faith.