By gabrielle farrel, natalie fenimore, and jenice view

Ask the children to bring their Window/Mirror Panels to work tables. Distribute magazines to cut up. Say, in your own words:

Look through the magazines and find an image that represents something you love having or doing. Then, reflect on the image you chose. Think about the place, activity or item in the picture. Who made it? Who owns those unseen hands? Who are the people not in the picture whose work brings enjoyment to you?

Invite the children to cut out a magazine image of an activity, place or item they enjoy, glue it on blank paper or directly on their Window/Mirror Panel, and indicate the invisible contributors by surrounding the image with drawings, additional magazine cutouts, stamps or stickers (if you have brought them), and/or writing.

You might use these questions to help spark participants' thoughts:

• 
  What work went into building that boat/theater/basketball court/piano?
  
• 
  What kind of factory is that skateboard/iPod/lipstick/bicycle made in?
  
• 
  Who might have planted the seeds that grew into the plants that were harvested for that meal?
  
• 
  How does water get to a swimming pool? Who makes sure the pool is filled with clean water at the right temperature?
  
• 
  Who mowed that lawn? Who picks up the garbage in that park?
  

• 
  Newsprint, markers and tape
  
• 
  Taking It Home handout
  
• 
  Optional: A copy of Session 1, Leader Resource 2, Namaste (included in this document)
  

• 
  Identify a place for participants to store their Window/Mirror Panels between sessions. Keep in mind, there may be times the panels are not entirely dry when the session ends.
  
• 
  Write the closing words on newsprint and post.
  
• 
  Download and adapt the Taking It Home section and copy as a handout for all participants (or, email to parents).
  
• 
  Optional: Review the leader resource so you can briefly explain the origin and meaning of "namaste" and demonstrate the accompanying gesture.
  

Explain that the session is almost over and we now have to work together as community to clean the meeting space. First, everyone should clean up their own personal area, put away materials they were using and store their Window/Mirror Panel. Then they may clean another area or help someone else. No one should sit in the circle until all are done.

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; allow 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: THANK YOU NOTES (15 MINUTES)

Materials for Activity

• 
  Blank cards and envelopes
  
• 
  Pencils and markers
  
• 
  Optional: Window/Mirror Panel baskets of arts and crafts materials
  
• 
  List of staff and volunteers who keep the facility clean, comfortable and secure
  

• 
  Obtain the names of your congregation's building and maintenance staff, contractors and volunteers. Find out specifically what jobs they do.
  
• 
  Write names and roles on newsprint, and post.
  

A very simple way to show respect and appreciation for work done by unseen hands is to thank people who help make our communities run more smoothly. In this activity, the children write thank-you notes to congregational staff and volunteers.

Form small groups of children to write and decorate cards for different people. Brainstorm how they can tailor their cards to the specific tasks performed by each person. Cards could mention how clean the bathrooms are, how comfortable the indoor climate is or how safe the children feel. Direct children to the newsprint for correct spelling of names.

Collect completed cards. Share with the group your plan for distributing the cards. You may wish to engage children in distributing them personally, perhaps during coffee hour. And/or, obtain postal mail addresses of employees or contracted staff from your administration and send cards by postal mail.

Assist any child who has difficulty writing; some may wish to dictate the text of a card for you to write and then decorate the outside themselves. You may invite some children to pair up with one to write and the other to decorate a card.

Reflect on and discuss with your co-leader(s):

• 
  How did the timing go today? What might we do to make it work better?
  
• 
  What worked well? What didn't?
  
• 
  What connections did children make with the activities and/or the central ideas? How could you tell that was occurring?
  
• 
  What connections did you make with the children? What connections did the children make with each other? How was this evident? How could a sense of community be improved with this group?
  

We reflected on how we view ourselves in terms of socio-economic class, using simple categories of rich, middle class, working class, and poor. We talked about how we learn to compare people in these ways. We reinforced our first Unitarian Universalist Principle, the inherent worth and dignity of every person—no matter how much money or power they have.

We focused participants’ attention on people and classes they might be unaware of—the unseen workers who grow and prepare our food, make our clothing, build our infrastructure and provide our luxuries. The children heard “Yammani and the Soji,” a story by Kenneth Collier about a society where the very reverent, supposedly religious leaders neglect to value workers they consider to be of a low class.

EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. Talk about…

How notions of socio-economic class affect your family. How do you perceive yourselves? How does embracing a class identity (e.g., rich, middle class, working class or poor) help your family? How does it hurt you?

Visit a downtown area, a museum, a library, a grocery store, a park or a shopping mall together. Bring notebooks and pens and take some time to identify and acknowledge the invisible hands that make it possible for you to enjoy your excursion. Identify the behind-the-scenes workers such as plumbers, farmers, bakers, masons, etc.

Play one of the board games, Monopoly or Life, as a family, paying particular attention to the ways the game confers status and power on players. What message is sent when a player achieves or loses wealth or power by the roll of the dice? In what ways are these games like, and unlike, real life?

• 
  Blank paper or index cards
  
• 
  Pencils, pens and markers to share
  
• 
  Optional: Envelopes for completed papers or cards
  
• 
  Chime, bell or other sound maker
  
• 
  Soft music to create a reflective mood, and appropriate music player
  

Introduce the idea of journaling as a spiritual practice. A spiritual practice is an activity that helps us be more connected to ourselves and to others and to the divine—to God, if one believes. Journaling offers an opportunity to be reflective in a very attentive way that can help us understand life better. Ask if anyone has kept a journal before. If someone raises their hand, ask if they would be willing to share why and how.

Explain that each person is going to consider their class identity silently. Tell participants that when you sound the chime, they may close their eyes if they are comfortable doing so or focus their gaze away from others.

Sound the chime. Say:

Reflect about your life, in relation to what we did here today. How do you see yourself or your family in terms of wealth and power? Do you have a social class identity? Do you choose it, or have others given it to you? What about your class identity makes you feel proud? Are there things that embarrass you about this identity? Write your reflections, or express them by drawing.

After about five minutes, thank the children for their participation. Tell them their reflections are intended to remain private. Ask them to fold their papers and put them their pockets. Optional: Distribute envelopes and invite participants to seal their reflections inside.

From Our Seven Principles in Story and Verse: A Collection for Children and Adults by Kenneth W. Collier (Boston: Skinner House, 2007). Used with permission.

It was the first day of the Festival of Purification. All the rites and ceremonies had been celebrated and the people purified, the stain of the sins of the old year washed away so that they might approach the coming year with pure hearts and clean minds. All the village had gathered at the Great Hall for feasting and dancing—and especially for the stories. This year the great storyteller Yammani had come to their village for the festival. Everyone had gathered—that is, everyone except the Soji clan, who were fit only for necessary but demeaning work such as burying the dead and disposing waste.

The people owned no slaves, for they believed that all must be free to live the lives that the gods had granted them. But there were still certain, distasteful tasks that had to be done, and few people would voluntarily do these things. And so, from time out of mind, the members of the Soji clan had been forced to do them. No one knew any longer why or how it had come about, but the Soji and no one else buried the dead and collected the garbage and spread manure on the fields and did the other unclean work. And because they did these things, no one in the village had anything to do with them—unless to give orders. Most people would not even touch a Soji, or if they did, by accident or through necessity, they would go to the river immediately and wash thoroughly.

That night the feast went on and on until all in the village were satisfied, even the few wanderers who happened to be there. Then the dancing began, with its music and beguilingly graceful movements. But even the most graceful body tires eventually, and in time the music stilled and the dancers sat to rest. Then all eyes turned to Yammani, who had been strangely silent all evening.

"So, Yammani," said the Chief of the Elders, rising and turning to her. "You have come into our village this year, and the time has come for us to hear your story."

"So it has," Yammani replied. "So it has. What story would you have me tell? Shall it be a story of the gods or a story of the people?"

"Tell us a story of how the people may approach the gods, for this is the Festival of Purification."

All evening Yammani had seemed to be brooding, as though she was trying to decide how to tell these people the story they most needed to hear. At this suggestion, her eyes brightened, for she knew what to do.

"There was once a family who lived on their farm in the mountains. Their life was one of hard work, but it was sweet enough. Once every year they came in from the farm to sell their crops and buy the tools and other goods that they needed for the coming year. This particular year, the crops were harvested and the family set out as usual for the town.

"On the way, they were attacked by bandits. All men were murdered and the women and children were taken to be sold as slaves or worse in some far country. The only one to escape was a small child, about six years old, who was hidden by its mother and overlooked in the confusion.

"As it happened, the attack was near a village much like this one. The child, driven by hunger, afraid and crying, made its way into the center where many people had gathered in the market that afternoon. The Chief of the Elders was there, but he was so deeply involved in village affairs that he did not notice one more crying child, even though he passed right by it. Many parents were there and they all heard the child, for what parent does not hear a child crying? Many thought that someone ought to help this poor, frightened child, but all were too busy, too hurried or harried, or had barely enough for their own.

"Toward the end of the day, a Soji came to clean out the stalls of the donkeys and the cattle. When this Soji heard the child crying, he stopped his work to look for it. He held the child and comforted it and dried its tears. And when he found out what had happened, he who had so little and was constantly worried about food for his own children, brought this child into his home and loved it and cared for it and raised it as his own."

In the silence, Yammani turned to the Chief of the Elders and asked, "In this village, who approached the gods?" The Elder cast his eyes to the floor, but Yammani demanded an answer with her burning eyes. Finally the Chief of the Elders whispered, "The Soji."

"Yes. It was the Soji," said Yammani, holding the stillness around her. "It was the Soji." And so saying, she swept out of the village to spend the rest of her life among the Soji.

INTRODUCTION

The world of the powerful and that of the powerless... are never divided by a sharp line: everyone has a small part of himself in both. — Vaclav Havel, Czech poet and president

The way a rich nation thinks about its poor will always be convoluted. The richer people become in general, the easier it theoretically becomes for them to share with people who are left out. But the richer people become, the less they naturally stay in touch with the realities of life on the bottom, and the more they naturally prefer to be excited about their own prospects rather than concerned about someone else's. — James Fallows, in a March 19, 2000 New York Times piece, "The Invisible Poor"
Nearly everyone, whatever his actual conduct may be, responds emotionally to the idea of human brotherhood. (Charles) Dickens voiced a code which was and on the whole still is believed in, even by people who violate it. It is difficult otherwise to explain why he could be both read by working people (a thing that has happened to no other novelist of his stature) and buried in Westminster Abbey. — George Orwell

The biggest divider of "haves" from "have nots" is money. Money helps secure our fundamental human needs such as food and clean water, basic healthcare, and a safe and comfortable place to live. A little more money can mean opportunities to better our quality of life.

As Unitarian Universalists, we do not turn away from noticing the gaps that separate "haves" from "have nots." To work against inequity, we know we first have to see it.

Unitarian Charles Dickens saw it. Born poor, he later earned a living as a writer and joined a more comfortable economic class. Dickens used colorful character portraits and complex, often humorous plots, to expose tragic inequities in 19th-century British society. He showed that people at opposite ends of an economic spectrum belong to the same "we," united by our common humanity and destiny—a lesson which resounds with our contemporary Unitarian Universalist Principles.

This session challenges participants: How can we look at our world as Dickens looked at his, take compassionate note of poverty, and see where humanity is needed?

Note: The first activity asks you to introduce the group to Dickens' portrayal of "have-not" children and their lives. While it may be best to prepare to describe and summarize Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol and perhaps others, we suggest a number of book and video resources in Activity 1 and in the Find Out More section.

GOALS

This session will:

• 
  Demonstrate the value of observing and documenting inequities as a step toward promoting economic justice
  
• 
  Guide children to observe a society in terms of its "haves" and "have-nots"
  
• 
  Introduce author Charles Dickens as a prophetic voice from our Unitarian Universalist heritage whose tales presaged the first and seventh Principles we affirm and promote today.
  

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Participants will:

• 
  Learn about 19th-century Unitarian writer Charles Dickens
  
• 
  Learn the terms "haves" and "have-nots" and apply them to Dickens' society and our own
  
• 
  Explore how contemporary media portray extreme poverty and extreme wealth
  
• 
  Identify specific ways for awareness of inequities to guide our faithful actions
  
• 
  Reflect on their own lives, in terms of "abundance" or "scarcity," and express this reflection on their individual Window/Mirror Panels.
  

SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE

Activity	Minutes
Opening	5
Activity 1: Meet Oliver Twist	10
Activity 2: Story — Charles Dickens	5
Activity 3: Victorian Parlor Games	10
Activity 4: Finding the Poor	15
Activity 5: Window/Mirror Panel — Reflection on Abundance and Scarcity	10
Faith in Action: Changing, Like Scrooge
Closing	5
Alternate Activity 1: A Dickensian Drama	15
Alternate Activity 2: Dickens, the Movie

Directory: sites -> live-new.uua.org -> files
sites -> Glossary for Chapter 1 Algorithm
sites -> North Carolina Inclusion Initiative Mapping Where Children with ieps are Being Served Purpose
sites -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations
sites -> Physical custody of 1033 program property accountibility form statement of Physical Custody: By signing for the below 1033 property I am a Law Enforcement Officer of the aforementioned Law Enforcement Agency
sites -> Nstructions for Acquiring Excess Equipment online, through the 1033 Program
sites -> Memorandum of agreement
files -> By mark hicks gail forsyth-vail, developmental editor

Download 1.8 Mb.

Share with your friends: