Howdy Parents,

Today’s lesson in Elementary and Spirit play was the Unitarian Universalism Flaming Chalice Lesson.

 This lesson about our faith shows how we make Promises (our Principles) to each other about how we are going to treat each other so we can get along.  These promises then connect us to each other and are considered by some to be the heart of our faith. 

 In order to make the principles more tangible we assign colors to each promise.

 Our Unitarian Universalist Promises:

·         Red – We promise to Respect All People 

·         Orange – We promise to Offer Fair and Kind Treatment to All

·         Yellow – We promise to Yearn to accept and Learn about ourselves, others, and the Mystery       

·         Green – We promise to Grow by Exploring what is true and right in life  

·         Blue – We promise to Believe in our ideas and Act on them

·         Indigo – We promise to Insist on a Peaceful, Fair and Free world for all

·         Violet – We promise to Value our home, Earth, that we share with all living things

 In the Elementary Class the children worked with clay to make images that think of when they here to promises. A good follow up for parents of elementary children might be “what images did you make for the different colors?”  “Why do you think certain colors go with the different promises?” “If you were to give the different promises colors, what colors would you pick?

 In Spirit Play the children did their own individual reflections of the lessons after going over the wondering questions listed below. Parents of Spirit Play children might want to revisit these questions.

 Wondering Questions:

 I wonder if you have seen this anywhere else?

I wonder how big our church community could really be?

I wonder what makes you the same as these other people?

I wonder what makes you different?

I wonder if you have ever made a promise?

I wonder what happens when you break a promise?

I wonder what would happen if the promises weren’t here?

I wonder which promise is the most important?

I wonder if there is one promise we could remove and still live together peacefully?

The teen group set about creating their own sacred space today. They spent time decorating banners to hang on their walls, discussed what the important elements are to creating a room for community.  Questions to follow up with the teens this Sunday might include “What do you add to the rooms to make them your own?” “What does it mean to create a space for the sacred?