WINDOWS AND MIRRORS: SESSION 15: HANDOUT 1: FINGER LABYRINTH

Within our faith, prayer has a wide range of functions, meanings and practices. Find eight contemporary UU m i nisters' diverse perspectives (at www.uuabookstore.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=512) in the pamphlet, "UU Views of Prayer," edited by Catherine Bowers (Boston: UUA, 1999). Read the text or order the pamphlet online.

From "What to tell young people about Unitarian Universalism," by Charles Scot Giles, in the loose-leaf resource Unitarian Universalism in the Home, edited by Ellen Johnson-Fay, Roberta Nelson and Elizabeth B. Stevens, published in 1965 and reprinted in 1981.

Do Unitarian Universalists Pray?

Prayer means many things to many different people. To some people prayer is a way of asking God for special favors. It's safe to say that Unitarian Unviersalists do not believe that this is possible. Whatever powers and principles run the universe, they certainly can't be bribed and forced to do errands an odd jobs for people! Unitarian Universalists think that this sort of prayer is probably misguided.

However, there is another sort of prayer that many Uniarian Universalists do practice. This is the sort of prayer which helps each of us look inside of themselves and decide on what part of our personalities and lives need attention, rethinking and working on. This sort of prayer is often called "meditation" and may be silent (which I like to call "the social silence") or spoken, and the word prayer and the word "meditation" are really almost the same. Sometimes a private form of this kind of prayer is called "sitting for ideas" and there are many people who keep a journal of the insights they get during such times of quiet.

Find interfaith guidelines for public prayers (at www.cres.org/pubs/InterfaithPray.htm) such as invocations, in an article by Vern Barnet, a Unitarian Universalist minister and minister emeritus of the Center for Religious Experience and Study in Kansas City, Missouri . He considers these questions:

How can we honor diversity at moments of public reverence? While it is easy to enjoy friends of many religions in our neighborhoods and workplaces, how can we embrace people of different faiths when we are asked to offer an invocation or blessing at a public event, or when we select someone to offer such remarks?

The Roche Sisters' " Zero Church " Prayer Project

In 2002, musicians Suzzy and Maggie Roche released a CD of prayers set to music, based on work they did with the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue founded by Anna Deavere Smith at Harvard University . Artists Ysaye Barnwell and others contributed arrangements and vocals. "Zero Church" refers to the address of The First Church in Cambridge Unitarian Universalist, where the Roches worked on the CD project. Hear samples (at www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/radio/B00005TPF2/ref=pd_krex_listen_dp_img?ie=UTF8&refTagSuffix=dp_img) from " Zero Church " online.

The website, Awakenings, provided the finger labyrinth in this session and contains abundant informatio n about labyrinths (at lessons4living.com/): "At its most basic level the labyrinth is a metaphor for the journey to the center of your deepest self and back out into the world with a broadened understanding of who you are." Daniel Johnston's essay on this site, "The Labyrinth Map," begins:

A labyrinth looks like a maze but is not. A maze is like a puzzle to be solved. It has twists and turns and dead ends. You have to think and think and be alert for any clues you may find. A maze can be frustrating, frightening, or challenging. You can get lost in a maze.

A labyrinth, unlike a maze, has no dead ends. There is only one path, and while it does have twists and turns, you can't get lost. The same path takes you into the labyrinth and out again. With a labyrinth you don't have to think, or analyze, or solve a problem. With a labyrinth you just trust that the path will lead you to where you need to be.

Ours is often referred to as a chosen faith. Choosing is terribly difficult, but it is an important human freedom. Unitarian Universalists lift up our responsibility to choose as a defining aspect of our faith identity.

Yet our faith is about much more than choice; it has deep roots and religious mandates. Unitarian Universalism asks us to think about and evaluate our spiritual relationship with the Divine, calls us to be mindful of our role in the world around us and compels us to help the causes of peace and justice. Yes, our faith demands, too, that we choose it consciously, perhaps more than once in the course of our lives.

Kate Tweedie Covey in her book, Full Circle: Fifteen Ways to Grow Lifelong UUs, offers a challenge posed by religious educator Riley McLaughlin:

So when we raise our children to be UUs are we raising them specifically to join a UU congregation, or to be sustained by UU values in their lifelong effort to be wonderful people?

As Rev. Francis Manley suggests, also in Full Circle , we need to explicitly invite our children to choose to be UU. This session extends that invitation. Children learn how choosing to be a UU is an expression of UU faith on many levels.

The session presents a story of Dorothea Dix. A 19th-century woman who chose to become a Unitarian as an adult, she transformed the treatment of mentally ill people in the United States .

If this is the final session of Windows and Mirrors, have a plan ready for presenting the children's Window/Mirror Panels as a group exhibit for the congregation. You may wish to extend this session with Alternate Activity 3, Window/Mirror Panel Group Exhibit, or add another meeting to engage the children in preparing the display of their work.

This session will:

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  Provide participants with an understanding of free will as it relates to a Unitarian Universalist identity
  
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  Challenge participants to choose and articulate preferences, including religious ones
  
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  Invite participants to explore, articulate and artistically express their own religious identity.
  

Participants will:

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  Contemplate the idea of choice and how it relates to Unitarian Universalism.
  
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  Experience finding affinity groups based on their own choices and preferences
  
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  Explore, articulate and artistically express their own religious identity, in a combination of individual and group activities.
  

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 a few minutes, perhaps repeating one word or phrase to separate yourself from the activities of the day.

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  Consider the difference between saying, "I am a Unitarian Universalist," and saying, "I attend a Unitarian Universalist congregation." Which do you more readily use? Why?
  
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  If you identify as a Unitarian Universalist, how do you remember making this choice? How might you share with the children your moments of consciously identifying as a UU?
  
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  If you do not identify, or do not yet identify, can you articulate why? Is your hesitancy part of a process of choice, or something else? Is there anything in your non-identification as UU that may be helpful to share with the children? Give careful thought to how you might do so.
  
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  If you attended a religious institution as a child—UU or not—recall its relevance to you at the time. What was important there? What do you still affirm?
  
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  What are your expectations for this session? What do you hope is created at its conclusion? What difference do you hope it makes?
  

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  Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle
  
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  Large, round mirror to hold the chalice
  
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  Reflective materials, such as beads or pieces of stained glass
  
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  Newsprint, markers and tape
  
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  Opening Words Basket and opening words (see Session 1, Leader Resource 1 (included in this document) )
  
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  Optional: A copy of the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook, Singing the Living Tradition
  
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  Optional: A bell, chime, rain stick or other musical noisemaker
  

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  Set up the chalice on the mirror to enhance its reflection. The chalice may be filled with reflective materials, such as beads or pieces of stained glass, to represent the idea of light, reflection and mirrors.
  
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  Write the words to "Spirit of Life," Hymn 123 in Singing the Living Tradition, or another hymn you prefer, on newsprint, and post.
  
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  Obtain a basket to hold numerous slips of paper with opening words. Print out Session 1, Leader Resource 1, Opening Words for Basket. Cut out the short readings and place them in the basket. Of course, feel free to add your own.
  
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  Prepare to lead the group in singing "Spirit of Life" or another song commonly sung in your congregation. Optional: Arrange to have someone else musical lead the singing, perhaps with instrumental accompaniment.
  

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, ask the group to still themselves for another moment of silence. Sound the bell or other instrument to begin and end a short 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.

If you have a non-sighted participant who reads braille, obtain the braille version of Singing the Living Tradition from UUA Bookstore. The bookstore orders from an outside publisher, so order several weeks ahead.

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  Copy of the Story "Dorothea Dix (included in this document) "
  
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  A bell, chime, rain stick or other musical noisemaker
  

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  Read the story. Prepare to read or tell it dramatically.
  
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  Create an atmosphere to set this time apart from other activities of the session. Turn off overhead lights and use lamps. You might don a storytelling shawl to enhance the moment and help you claim the storytelling.
  

Gather the children. Ring the chime, bell or other noisemaker and make eye contact with each participant. Tell the story.

At the conclusion, ring the chime again to signify the end of the story. 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 help us understand the story from multiple perspectives. Let's find out what one another thought about the story.

Remind them not to assume others share their opinions. Ask everyone to use "I think" or "I feel" statements. Encourage the group to listen to each comment and then share some silence. Use the bell or chime to move between speakers.

Begin a discussion by asking participants to recap the story in their own words. What they recall indicates what they found most meaningful or memorable. Use these questions to facilitate discussion, making sure everyone who wants to speak has a chance:

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  What do you think Dorothea Dix was like? What kind of friends do you think she had? What do you think they did together? (this age is so peer-oriented, and we're asking them to think about their religion as a choice, it might be good to help them relate to Dorothea Dix when she was their age — can you think of better or more questions?)
  
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  Why do you think it was so important for her to help poor children?
  
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  Can you imagine what she heard the day she walked into a Unitarian church?
  
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  Do you think it was a difficult decision for her to change churches, even though no one in her family was a Unitarian?
  
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  Have you ever made a choice in your life that was different from your family? If yes, what was that like?
  

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  A space large enough to play the game comfortably
  

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  Arrange a large, open space where participants can move around freely.
  
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  Become familiar with the rules of the game so you can lead it smoothly.
  
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  Prepare a list of choices the children will find relevant for the Sorts portion of the game. Devise some value-neutral categories or favorites by which children can group or categorize themselves for the Mingle section.
  

Invite everyone to gather to play a game. Say something like "The first part of the game is the Sorts game." Explain that you will offer two contrasting choices and the group has to move either East or West of the room (e.g. "Do you prefer Target or Walmart?"). Then you will throw out two more choices and they will move South and North. That way, everyone moves somewhere and can't get "lost" in the crowd. Sorts that work well include: movie/book; salty/sweet; dress up/casual; inside/outside; be on the stage performing/in the audience watching, like school/like reading at home; like watching sports/playing sports; math or English homework. Choices should not reflect opposites but different activities, etc. Ask questions rapidly.

After playing for two minutes, invite the group to suggest any additional sorts. Play for another minute. Then bring them together and ask:

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  Was it easy or hard to know the answers?
  
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  What questions did you like being asked?
  
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  Did they learn anything new from playing the game?
  
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  What is involved in making a choice? Did they think about the answer or already "know" the answer somehow? Did they watch what others were doing? Did that influence their choice?
  

Accommodate children with physical limitations. Assist groups to form around a child who has less mobility.

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  A space large enough to play the game comfortably
  

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  Ensure that an appropriate space for the game is arranged
  
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  Become familiar enough with the rules of the game that you can lead with out referencing rules very often.
  
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  Review the Sorts and Mingle questions in the Description of Activity. Adapt them to make sure they present religious choices the children of this age, in this particular group, can quickly understand and respond to.
  
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  Become familiar with the Sorts preferences so you can deliver them in a rapid-fire way.