Opening (5 minutes)
Materials for Activity
- Altar or centering table
- Cloth for covering altar or centering table
- Chalice and candle
- Small votive candle in holder
- Taper candle in candlestick
- Matches or lighter
- Copies of Handout 1: Roots Hold Me Close for all participants
Preparation for Activity
- Review and photocopy Handout 1: Roots Hold Me Close.
- Prepare the altar or centering table with the cloth you have brought, a chalice and candle, a votive candle, a taper candle, and matches or a lighter.
- Light the votive candle in advance for a smooth chalice-lighting. During the workshop opening, a volunteer will use the taper candle to carry the flame from the votive to the chalice.
Description of Activity
Offer these words of welcome:Welcome to this program on Unitarian Universalist spirituality. Each of our personal spiritualities is shaped by our roots, traditions, and heritage, by our role models, mentors, and teachers. Each one of us has had much life experience. Here may we learn from one another. I'm so glad you are here!
Distribute Handout 1: Roots Hold Me Close. Indicate the unison chalice-lighting words on the handout.
Invite a participant to light the chalice. Show the participant how to use the taper candle to carry the flame from the votive candle to the chalice candle. Ask him/her to blow out the taper candle after he/she has lit the chalice.
Lead the group in reciting the unison chalice-lighting words as the participant kindles the flame.
Invite participants to read silently along with you as you read aloud the Unitarian Universalist Principle and Source that this workshop highlights.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
