On Animal Blessings Sunday in CRE, the children heard a Creation Story on how the world came to be. It seemed to fit well with our 1st UU Principle and in the timing of the Jewish Holiday Simchat Torah, which finishes and begins the Torah again with the text about how the universe came to be.
Here's the story from this week.
Creation Story (Christian/Jewish)
1.
In the beginning there was no earth or sky or sea or animals. And then the spirit of the universe spoke in the darkness: “Let there be light!” And right away there was light, scattering the darkness and showing the infinite space. “From now on, when it’s dark it will be ‘night” and when it’s light, it will be ‘day’.” The evening came and the night passed and then the light returned. That was the first day.
2.
On the second day, God, the Spirit of the universe made the earth and over it carefully hung a vast blue sky.
3.
The next morning God looked around and thought, “the earth needs to be a bit more organized.” So, the Spirit of the Universe put all the water in one place and all the dry land in another. When that was finished, God made plants to cover the land. Dandelions and daffodils appeared. All sorts of trees and grasses began to grow. “It’s looking great”, said God and that was the end of the third day.
4.
On the fourth day, The Spirit of the Universe looked around and though, “the daylight still needs a bit more work and the night is just too dark.” So, God made the sun to light the sky during the day and the moon and stars to add a bit of sparkle to the night.
5.
The next day, God’s attention was on the waters. “I want these waters teeming with life!” In no time, there were millions of small fish darting through the shallow water and huge fish swimming in the ocean. God made birds, too. Sending them soaring through the air. “Ahh, that IS good!, “said God. The dusk fell over the water and the sky grew dark and that was the end of the fifth day.
6.
On the sixth day, The Spirit of the Universe added creatures to the land. Making lions and tigers and bears, making rabbits and sheep and cows. Adding everything from ants to zebras to the land. But God felt like something was missing so, God, the Spirit of the Universe created a human being.
After six days, the whole universe was completed. On the seventh day God had a nice long rest and enjoyed looking at all that was created.
