Love is the Golden Rule

Twice a month during this past church year, the elementary children's religious education program has focused on allowing Love to guide us through life, just as stars in the night sky guide travelers along a journey.  As Unitarian Universalists we develop our belief systems, in part, from a wide variety of Sources that we think have important things to teach us.  By listening with an open mind and heart, we integrate the teachings that ring true to us into our own personal theology that can change and grow over our lifetime.

During the year we have explored stories from a vast array of different religions, beliefs, and cultures that have held important teachings about this central message of allowing Love to guide us.  In today's lesson, the final one is this series, children heard a story about the nearly universal message of the Golden Rule as the wisdom of ancient cultures and religions have all emphasized variations of the message "Love your neighbor as yourself."  We decided that if we had only one rule to follow, this would be a very important one.  We concluded that the world would be a nicer, kinder place if everyone let Love guide them.

As a culminating activity, children each made their own Night Sky poster using the UU "constellations" that symbolized each of our six Sources of Belief:

• The sense of wonder we all share;
• Women and men of long ago and today whose lives remind us to be kind and fair;
• The ethical and spiritual wisdom of the world's religions;
• Jewish and Christian teachings that tell us to love all others as we love ourselves;
• The use of reason and the discoveries of science; and
• The harmony of nature and the sacred circle of life.

Next Sunday the children will celebrate with the adults in the opening portions of the worship service for the formal robing, ordination and installation of Dr. David Newell as UUCR's new minister.  Children will then be sung out of the service to their own year-end celebration of games and a special treat.

As a reminder, there is no Religious Education or Childcare during the summer months as we transition from Sunday morning worship services to less formal discussion groups.  RE and Childcare will resume in September.

Coming of Age/Flower Communion/PEAK

Children participated in several special celebrations in today's worship service.  We celebrated a "Coming of Age" for our oldest middle school student, Margaret. The congregation pledged to walk with her as she enters young adulthood as a high school student, continuing a spiritual journey that will last her lifetime. 

We also celebrated a unique Unitarian Universalist tradition, the Flower Communion.  As everyone entered church this morning they brought a flower and added it to a communal bouquet, signifying that we come as unique individuals with a diversity of beliefs and talents, and form a beautiful bouquet when we share together in community.  As the service ended, each person took a flower different than the one they brought, signifying their acceptance of the gifts that others bring to our community.

We also enjoyed the wonderful sounds of our church choir joined by the choir from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Easton.  Looking at the children's faces, it was easy to see the awe and wonder they felt experiencing the power of song and harmony.

After the elementary children were sung out to their RE program, we wrapped up our year's PEAK (Promoting Environmental Awareness in Kids) program, reviewing the principles that we’ve discussed during the year.  We talked about all of the ‘life’ that is in and on the ground where we walk, hike, pitch tents, etc., ; how all life is sacred, in all of its forms, but that in order to live we must sometimes take the lives of plants and animals.  But by being respectful and not wasteful, we can minimize the damage that we do, especially when we are outdoors.  It led to a nice discussion about hunting, how it is ok as long as you eat what is killed, and don’t waste any of it – not ok to do just for sport.

Then we went outside, broke into two groups (younger and older), and stretched out a piece of string in a circle about 2 feet in diameter, and explored and identified all of the life forms that we found within the circle(s).  Identified were ginko trees, poison ivy, dandelions, rotting ginko fruit, spiders, gnats, mosquito larvae, algae, several types of lichens, grasses, as well as some ‘non-living’ items like litter, trash, dead leaves, etc.  It was wonderful to have a lovely warm and sunny day to do this activity, and the children enjoyed being able to ‘run off some steam’!

Love Builds Trust

Love is the strongest force the world possesses,
and yet it is the humblest imaginable.
     - Mahatma Gandhi

Today's elementary group learned about UU minister Rev. Margaret Barr, and how a casual trip to India in the 1930's to see Mahatma Gandhi turned into her life's passion to break down the religious and caste barriers between children there.  Barr's work to provide a non-denominational school for children in India exemplifies the words and actions that shape our UU heritage.  We discussed that while it is important to understand UU beliefs, what is even more important is being willing to take action based on one's beliefs, in order to make the world a better place.

We explored diversity by saying Hello in many different languages.  The children heard the story of Rev. Margaret Barr and her shock and horror upon witnessing the animosity and attrocities of children toward one another based upon beliefs taught in the different parochial schools they attended (Hindu, Muslim, or Christian) about who was superior and who was inferior, and how they should treat one another based upon those beliefs.  We discussed how Rev. Barr's UU beliefs guided her toward taking action to create a school where all children could learn together regardless of their religions, and where education was not only about academics but also learning to put Mahatma Gandhi's principles of loving kindness into the forefront of all their relationships.  We learned how Barr's school not only transformed the children of that village, but the adults as well.  The children were amazed to hear that Barr's school, founded in the late 1930's in the Khasi Hills region of northeast India, is still providing education and lifeskill opportunities for children and orphans today, and enjoys an active partnership with several UU congregations in the United States and Great Britain.  We ended the session by playing Pachisi, a classic game of strategy that children and adults have played in India for centuries.

Native American Art

Native American creativity is boundless and sacred.   Artistic expression has been a way to worship the gods.   Art for art's sake is not part of the Indian psyche.  Their artistic designs have beauty and care motivated by their love for nature.
       - www.nativeamerican-art.com
 
Today's elementary religious education session, led by Laura Mitchell, focused on Native American art.   Native Americans historically created art from materials taken directly (and reverently) from the earth, and  their artwork has lasted for thousands of years.  There was animated discussion about how so many contemporary items are made with little regard for the earth, and become broken or destroyed within a very short period of time.

Children used existing black and white native American symbols as inspiration to make their own symbols on little medallions.  They ground sandstone to make their own paint, coloring the symbols in subtle, earthy colors. As an added authentic touch, children were able to mix the paint in shells before applying it.

The middle school group put their finishing touches on their end of year "Marty's Party" plans as well as Margaret's Coming of Age recognition.  The group is eager to celebrate this momentous event with her, and are looking forward to their own celebrations in another year or two.

Love in Action

I had reasoned this out in my mind -
There was one of two things I had a right to, 
Liberty or death.  
If I could not have one, 
I would have the other.
     - Harriet Tubman, conductor of the Underground Railroad


Today's session of children's elementary RE lifted up Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave who returned again and again to the South to lead more than 300 slaves to freedom.  Although she was certainly not a Unitarian Universalist, Tubman exemplified our second UU Source of Beliefs, "the women and men of long ago and today whose lives remind us to be kind and fair."

The children learned that love calls us to be courageous and to take action in the face of injustice, and Harriet Tubman was seen as a remarkable example of how one person put love into action in addressing the injustice of slavery.  They discussed Tubman's role as a leader, and thought about what being a leader means.  They pondered the implications of using good judgement as both a leader and a follower, and talked about differentiating between choosing to follow a leader showing good judgement, and choosing to follow a leader showing poor judgement. 

After hearing the story about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, children delved into the issue of injustices.  They discussed whether they had ever witnessed injustice or experienced injustice, and whether they had taken action or if someone else had taken action on their behalf as an ally.  They thought about reasons why people would or would not take action when confronted with injustice.

Children learned about the role that Freedom Quilts played in the Underground Railroad, acting as symbolic messages to escaping slaves about the relative safety or dangers along the route, where the next safe house was, and who to look for at the next Underground station.  Quilters created hidden messages in these special quilts using common quilt patterns which escaping slaves learned to "read" to guide them to safety.  Because quilts were so commonplace, one could be casually tossed upon a clothesline or draped across a picket fence without attracting attention.  The children then created their own quilt blocks using construction paper, and pieced together their own symbolic Freedom Quilt.

The lesson ended with another look at our UU Sources Night Sky display, reminding us that our UU Sources of Belief act like guiding stars in the night sky, guiding us toward making decisions based on Love.

TAKING IT HOME:
Talk with your children about rules and what you can do when they are unfair.  Emphasize that the majority of rules are created in order to ensure fairness and safety; however, some rules are created that are not fair.  Share your own examples of times when you thought rules were unfair and how you responded.  Talk about ways to change unfair rules, such as writing a letter, signing a petition, or meeting with the appropriate leaders to discuss it.  Be willing to reconsider family rules!  Look for an opportunity to engage everyone in creating family rules that everyone agrees are fair, while also establishing emotional and physical safety and well-being.

Here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, we have a rich abundance of history about the Underground Railroad; and in fact, Harriet Tubman was born and lived in Dorchester County.  The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park is slated to open in 2013 near Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, along with a 125 mile driving tour of places of historic importance in Caroline and Dorchester Counties.

Crestview Pond Water Monitoring Project

Today's elementary group took advantage of a gloriously warm and sunny morning to visit our Crestview neighborhood pond.  The RE group has been periodically sampling the water quality at the pond this year to determine the relative stability and overall health of the pond environment.

We first made observations about the greater ecosystem, noting that the pond lies in a small valley between the Crestview neighborhood on one side, and farm fields on the other.  We discussed the fact that this pond was man-made, as evidenced by the dam and earthen berm we walked across to access the far side of the pond.  The children were very curious about the bales of barley straw partially submerged along the shorelines, and were fascinated to learn that they are a natural algaecide, releasing algae-inhibiting compounds as they decompose.

We startled a blue heron as we approached the pond; marveled at the presence of numerous dragonflies; slapped a couple of pesky mosquitoes; and were amused by the sight of several dozen turtles sticking their heads out of the water every few minutes.  Were they taking their own version of field notes observing us?

For some of the children the water sampling was a familiar process.  For others it was a fascinating new experience.  They seriously noted air temperature, water temperature, turbidity, pH, and dissolved oxygen content.  Then we compared today's results with our records of samples taken at the end of September and the end of November.  What we discovered was that our results were impressively consistent from season to season, leading the children to reach the conclusion that the Crestview pond is a relatively healthy and stable ecosystem that supports a variety of life.

During this past year the children have been engaged in curricula that support our Unitarian Universalist sources of belief, including the WOW we experience when we learn from sources as diverse as science and reason as well as inner transcendental experiences.  They have participated in activities from the PEAK Leave No Trace program that have bolstered their sense of environmental stewardship, honoring our seventh Unitarian Universalist principal "the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part."  And they have learned to appreciate the similarities and differences between themselves, growing and thriving within their own community.  Within this stimulating and nurturing environment, our children are incorporating knowledge and direct experience into a spiritual framework that will become the foundation for them to engage the world with a free and open mind, and cherish all its amazing inhabitants.

Love of Learning

Today's lesson for elementary children allowed them to encounter our fifth Unitarian Universalist Source of Beliefs, which "...counsels us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science..."

Cecilia Payne was the first woman to be awarded a PhD in physics and astronomy, and the first person to be given the title "astronomer".  Her story formed the basis of today's lesson, not only of the awe and wonder we experience in the discoveries of science, but in human perseverance to overcome injustice as well.  An extraordinarily gifted and talented academic whose love of learning continued throughout her lifetime, Payne (a British Unitarian) completed a rigorous field of study in both physics and astronomy at Cambridge University in London.  When it came time for her to graduate, however, she was refused a degree because she was a woman.  Harvard University in the United States had just begun a graduate program in astronomy, and Payne came to the department's attention.  So enamoured were they with her intellect and passion for the field that they awarded her a fellowship and paid for her to come to the United States.  During her studies at Harvard, Payne wrote one of the most extraordinary theses in the field (the discovery that stars are composed primarily of hydrogen), and it still stands as one of the most-cited pieces of research and investigation ever conducted in physics and astronomy. 

Children explored some basic concepts of science such as gravity, and pondered the reaction of primitive people to "magical" experiences such as a spinning disk.  They heard the story of astronomer Cecilia Payne and her love for the stars, and they crafted their own "telescopes" through which they viewed constellations they made.  Finally, they were charged with developing an intense love of learning, such as Cecilia Payne carried with her throughout her life.

Children learned that scientific investigation of falling objects or the colors of sunsets or the twinkling mystery of stars so far away does not reduce their beauty or mystery, but rather helps us to understand our world.  And in that understanding comes an even greater sense of awe and wonder of the universe we are a part of.