Lessons and Carols

Lessons and Carols

May our Life circle be filled 

with lessons of Light, Love and Peace

The Origins of 10 Popular Christmas Carols

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

1. What do you think the "Lessons" of the Winter holiday seasons are? Lessons means the teachings….

2. Where do you enjoy singing the most! 

    What about the least? 

    Do you have a favorite holiday song? Sing it NOW! :)

3. Why do you think some people get very stressed out during the      Winter Holiday Season? How do you feel inside right now? 

An Evergreen Tree with Mittens

An Evergreen Tree Dressed with Mittens

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. 

I awoke and saw that life was service. 

I acted and behold, service was joy. 

Rabindranath Tagore

Questions to Ponder with your family and/or friends:

1. This Sunday December 14th the 3rd Advent wreath candle is lite. The JOY candle! 

What "service" do UU do that brings UU "JOY"?

2. This is a hands on question/challenge: 

Make mittens for the Tree this Sunday! http://frugalliving.about.com/od/craftsgifts/ss/Sweater_Mittens.htm

3. What UU Principles does Mitten Tree Sunday connect to?, Why? http://www.uua.org/beliefs/principles/294308.shtml

Print this Evergreen Tree out and decorate it with Mittens, gloves, etc...

                                

Scarf Making

Hands are for giving and receiving!

print     color     hug    share

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends

1. What is the Friday Night Supper Program (FNSP)? 

    Have you been a part of it, if so HOW?

2. Where do you get your warm winter clothes? 

   How are they paid for, In money, service, gifts….?

3. Do you think making a scarf for someone you have never met makes a difference? If so why or why not? 

Thankfulness

Thankfulness 

#ASCThanks

At times our own light goes out 

and is rekindled by a spark from another person. 

Each of us has cause to think 

with deep gratitude of those who have

lighted the flame within us. 

- Albert Schweitzer, (1875-1965) Unitarian

Print and color for your thanksgiving ritual

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

1. THANKFUL and/or GRATITUDE, what would your acrostic poem be for these words?

2. Where does the food come from that you eat each day and during a Thanksgiving feast? Who grows it? How does it get to you? Does your food live up to your UU values?

3. Have a friend or family member read the quote above by Unitarian Albert Schweitzer. How does his words relate to this Autumn season and/or Thanksgiving?

Stones and Hearts

STONES

And

HEARTS

Questions to ponder with your family and friends:

1.  Listen and watch http://youtu.be/fimOE5_Tm2w  Who would UU  make  Stone Soup with? Who would UU be in the story? 

2.  WHEN is your heart in a holy place? http://youtu.be/nEg4amz_ptg

3.  Where in your heart do UU feel the word, disABILITY? 

    What does it mean to UU?

 

What is REALLY going on?

What is REALLY going on?

photograph: Thea Shapiro, graphic: Laura Evonne Steinman

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

1.  What will UU do this weekend that is related to really Seeing the natural world around you?

2. Where will UU be on Tuesday, November 11th Veterans Day?

https://www.facebook.com/events/1572419226305425/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

A great place to be could be Marching with the Vets for Peace.

http://www.buzzle.com/images/drawings/coloring-pages/psychedelic-peace-sign-and-doves-print.jpg

3. Do UU believe that people should go to war to solve problems? why or why not?

Candy, Altars and Skeletons

Candy, Altars and Skeletons

During this aus·pi·cious

(ôˈspiSHəs/)weekend

which starts tonight-Sunday evening;

including ~ Halloween, Day of the Dead, All Saints and All Souls Day, Below are some questions to ponder…….

Questions to ponder with your family and friends:

1. What does "Candy, Altars and Skeletons" have to do with this weekend anyway? Do you know the origins of these items?

2. Why do some people dress up their bodies and also "dress up" the graves of those that have died? What do UU think of this?

3. How will UU be honoring/celebrating this weekend 

   and with WHO, WHO?

feel free to print and color

Dear Loved Ones,

Dear Loved Ones, 

We remember you. 

We honor the life you lived. 

We miss you.

You are in our hearts and prayers now and forever.

Day of the Dead, Mexico

Thoughts to ponder with your family and friends:

~ Who has died that you know, 

   and what is something special you remember about them?

~ How do you honor those who have died?

~ It is said that the vail between the living and the dead is very thin between Oct 31st and Nov 1st. It's a time when those who have died; their spirits come back to celebrate with us!

That is one reason why BIG alters are set up for them. 

What will you bring/would you bring to an alter for them in their honor?

Light a Candle for a loved one that has died

To Life!

To Life!

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

1. If you could go on an Adventure with your friends this weekend, what would you do and why?

2. What do you think happens when someone or something dies? 

    What kinds of rituals do you know people do to celebrate the lives of those things or people? 

    Do you know of something/someone that has died?

3. What does this mean to UU?  "To Live in Hearts that Love is not to Die"

Spirit of Life

HONK!

HONK!

 

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/blog/2014/09/18/honk-festival-returns-in-october/#.VBxRPnlw_aI.facebook

Questions to ponder with your family and friends

1. WHAT is an ACTIVIST BAND? 

and WHY are so many coming together for the HONK Festival?

2. WHERE are all the Bands coming from? 

(Clue you can find a list on the HONK webpage)

3. As a Unitarian Universalist (UU) HOW is being a part of this festival demonstrating our 5th and 6th UU principles? And WHAT about relating to our 1st and 6th sources?

(clue you can the adult ones ~> here)  

            

http://theoldphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/today-on-your-call-how-are-indigenous-people-struggling-for-.jpg

WE BELIEVE

Click this ~> http://vimeo.com/13394129

Questions to ponder with your family and friends

1. Where do your UU beliefs come from?

2. How do you show what UU believe in service to your neighbors,   classmates, family...?

3. Why does it matter what UU believe anyway? 

    Do UU believe you can fly?

Coloring Blessings

Colorful Blessings

The first day of autumn began this week along with the Jewish New year 5775 with a new moon.

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

1. What rituals do U,U do at the beginning 

of a new school year, season…? Draw a picture of that ritual or share a story about it with someone who doesn't know about it.

2. What have you done this year that makes you feel like your heart is singing!!! What have you done that has made other hearts hurt? How do you say you are sorry?

3. At this shift in season, where do you find the beautiful colors of nature and what animals do you see.

Boston Common http://irishrainphotography.com/irishrain/tag/usa/page/7/

Earth Justice

EARTHJUSTICE

DESIGN: LAURA EVONNE STEINMAN

This Sunday, September 21st is:

 International Day of Peace & 

the People's Climate March!

People's Climate March NYC Sept. 21, 2014

Questions to ponder with your family and friends:

1.  WHERE WILL UU BE ON 9.21.14? 

    AND WHAT WILL UU BE DOING FOR EARTH JUSTICE?

2. WHY DO WE NEED TO CARE ABOUT THE CLIMATE?

3. HOW DOES MARCHING AND SINGING AND PRAYING MAKE JUSTICE AND PEACE HAPPEN?

Let's make a Covenant (Promise) together!

WATCH this video about Covenant

hand chalice to print and color by: Laura Evonne Steinman

http://vimeo.com/68767404

image via http://heartofaleader.wordpress.com/
print and color

Questions to Ponder with your Family and Friends:

1. How do you live your UU Promise?

2. Why is it important for groups to make a covenant together?

3. Give an examples of what happens when a promise is broken. What can you do to fix it using your UU values?

UU Water Communion/Ceremony

In this season of changes in daily patterns for many, 

let the water bring us together in beloved community.

Questions to ponder with your family and friends:

1. Where did you COLLECT water from during the season of summer? (This might be actual water or a memory of water you have saved).

2. What ACT(s) of justice are you doing so that clean water is available to all on this interdependent web we share called home.

3. SING a song about WATER. 

Example: I've Got Peace Like A River http://youtu.be/N2R4D6qhaD8

P is for Peace

“Peace can happen in 24 hours....

just like war can happen in 24 hours.” 

                                               ― Sari Nusseibeh  سري نسيبة‎

http://livingstonespilgrimage2012.wordpress.com/2012/10/18/welcome/

Questions to ponder with your family and friends:

1. When you are super angry at someone because they believe something different than you, what does your Unitarian Universalist faith call you to do?

2. If you were in charge of the military and could do anything so that peace surrounded all begins, what would your action plan be?

3. Life is like the ocean, going in and out with rhythm of the universe. Today what would you like to give to the ocean so it is washed away, and what would you like to save in a bottle as a memory?

http://igoogledisrael.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/achzivbeach5_small.jpg

Sheva - Sallam (Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu) 

| السلام שָׁלוֹם | Israel & Palestine PEACE

Salaam (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Salaam (Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu) (Arabic: سلام‎, Hebrew: (סלאאם (עוד יבוא שלום עלינו‎ is a popular Israeli folk song by Mosh Ben Ari sung in Hebrew and Arabic.^[1] The song, called "Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu" means "Peace Will Come Upon Us". It is an upbeat song and has become a theme tune to almost all youth movements in Israel and in the Jewish diaspora. A large chart hit in Israel several years ago, it has now come to symbolize a call for peace and end to the struggle in the Arab-Israeli conflict.^[1]

Text of the bridge[edit]

#	English translation	Transliteration	Hebrew
1	Again peace will come upon us	Od yavo' shalom aleinu	עוד יבוא שלום עלינו
2	Again peace will come upon us	Od yavo' shalom aleinu	עוד יבוא שלום עלינו
3	Again peace will come upon us	Od yavo' shalom aleinu	עוד יבוא שלום עלינו
4	and on everyone.	Ve'al kulam (x2)	ועל כולם
5	Salaam ('peace' in Arabic)	Salaam (Salaam)	סלאאם
6	Among us and on all the world	Aleinu ve'al kol ha olam	עלינו ועל כל העולם
7	Salaam, Salaam	Salaam, Salaam (x2)	סלאאם ,סלאאם [2]

"Where is the LOVE?"

Summer Love

Standing on the side of LOVE 
ALWAYS and at GA!

Got Milk?

Got Milk?

Harvey Milk

HOPE!

From: http://vimeo.com/8679445

Harvey Milk was the first openly-gay man to be elected to public office in the US in 1977. His most recognized speech, "You Cannot Live On Hope Alone," was given in 1978, shortly before he was assassinated. His words resonate particularly today as Californians debate a resolution to ban gay marriage.

To learn more about Harvey Milk, check out causecast.org/member/harvey-milk

And to learn about more causes, check out causecast.org

---
"Somewhere in Des Moines or San Antonio there is a young gay person who all the sudden realizes that he or she is gay; knows that if their parents find out they will be tossed out of the house, their classmates will taunt the child, and the Anita Bryant's and John Briggs' are doing their part on TV. And that child has several options: staying in the closet, and suicide. And then one day that child might open the paper that says "Homosexual elected in San Francisco" and there are two new options: the option is to go to California, or stay in San Antonio and fight. Two days after I was elected I got a phone call and the voice was quite young. It was from Altoona, Pennsylvania. And the person said "Thanks". And you've got to elect gay people, so that thousand upon thousands like that child know that there is hope for a better world; there is hope for a better tomorrow. Without hope, not only gays, but those who are blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us's: without hope the us's give up. I know that you can't live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you, and you have got to give them hope."
-Harvey Milk, 1978

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

1. What father figures in your life give you HOPE?

2. Why do some people not like that Harvey Milk is on a US postage stamp? What do you think?

3. Where are you working for HOPE and LOVE for all?

Why?

Marty Forth is a Canadian living on the Upper West Side with his husband, Patrick, and their 3-year-old son, Grayson. He is a licensed social worker who specializes in youth, teens and families and has worked for the YMCA for more than 15 years.

He tweets at @marty4th. He wrote Our Son has TWO Dads for our blog.

Photo: Marty Forth and family.