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.