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9:00 AM ALL-AGES RE PROGRAM

THE 8 PRINCIPLES
GENERAL OUTLINE [RITUAL ELEMENTS]
1. Nametags: when appropriate
2. Principles/theme for the day
3. Chalice Lighting (and introduction)
4. Sharing joys and concerns
5. Opening song or reading
6. Meditation moment (movement, thought)
7. Story
8. Questions and discussion
9. Getting-to-know-you game (when appropriate)
10. ACTIVITIES
11. Closing ritual
a. Meditation moment
b. Repeat principle
c. Closing words or song
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First Principle Lesson 09/23/2018

1. Make name tags as they arrive.
2. Welcome and Introduction of today’s topic-
Today we will be learning about our First UU Principle-We affirm the
inherent worth and dignity of every person, which also means that we
believe each person is important and needs love.

3. Chalice Lighting-
Introduce the chalice and chalice lighting:
Someone is selected to light the chalice and we say the chalice
response with this introduction: “Because some of us don’t know the
chalice response by heart, I will say a part first and you will repeat what
I said”
We light this chalice
to remind ourselves
to treat all people kindly
Because they are
our siblings in spirit
To take care of the earth
Because it is our home
And to try and live lives
filled with goodness and love
Because that is how we will become
the best people we can be.

4. Sharing joys and concerns

5. Opening song and reading
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6. Meditation moment
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7. Story:
Peetie and Nora in the Ditch:
[Narrator: A story is always more fun if it has some background sounds or music or something
like that… So, for this story I need some volunteers to do some sounds for us. Here’s what we
need:

 A few of you who can do bird sounds: tweeting, twittering, cooing, cawing…like that.
And some of who could sounds like bees buzzing and like coyotes in the distance.
 About three of you to do roaring motor-bike/ATV sounds…
 About three of you to do kids mocking and insulting…
When I say something about sounds, I’ll hold up my hand and you will add your sounds. If I
forget to hold up my hand, you’ll do the sounds anyway, just at the right time.]

The story goes like this—I think it might be a true story…or not.
But it could be true. There was a girl named Nora…or Dora…or
Menora (I don’t remember) she was about 9 years old (or maybe she
was 7…she looked grown-up for her age). She lived by a tree-covered
park at the foot of a mountain (or perhaps a high hill) and she had a
friend, more or less the same age…a boy named Peter. Everyone
called him Peetie. Nora was tall and pretty athletic. Peetie was short
and had a bad leg that made it difficult for him to walk or run easily.
The leg was something he was born with and to Nora, it was just a
normal part of Peetie, had been her neighbor and friend since they
were babies.
Nora and Peetie had a thing they did often…at least every other week
whenever it wasn’t pouring down rain or snowing or one of them was
on a trip or sick. They called their thing “walking to the falls”.
You see, in the woods behind their houses there was a trail. It was a
fairly wide trail—probably a very old logging road—and it climbed
slowly and then more steeply up to a lovely little waterfall pouring
down over a sheer rocky ledge.
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In all seasons, they would trudge up the trail heading for the falls—
very slowly because even a little climb was very difficult for Peetie.
But he loved the walk even though it exhausted him. In fact, in the
three years they had been walking to the falls, they had never once
made it all the way. When Peetie would finally grow so tired he
couldn’t take another step, they would stop and rest and then turn
back and head for home. Both Peetie’s and Nora’s parents offered to
carry Peetie up to the falls many times, but he always said “No, Nora
and I will walk up next time.”
One day, in the spring time, they began their walk near the end of a
perfect day. The birds were twittering, cawing, cooing and croaking in
the bushes and trees. Bees buzzed around flowers blossoming on the
banks of the water-filled ditch beside the road and sounds of coyotes
yapping could be heard in the distance.
All of a sudden, the peace was broken by the roar of 4-wheeled motor
bikes rushing up behind them. They turned to see three bikes
careening around a curve and coming straight at them. Nora and
Peetie tried to hurry to a wide spot where they could let the bikes
pass but Peetie was not fast enough. One of the bike-riders shouted,
“out of the way slowpokes” and Nora grabbed Peetie and rolled with
him into the wet and muddy ditch as the riders roared past, shouting
taunts and insults.
Peetie and Nora finally dragged themselves out of the ditch, wet,
muddy, and bedraggled. They made their way to a log by the side of
the road where they sat to empty the water out of their shoes, to
wring out their sox, and scrape some of the mud off their faces and
out of their hair. As they sat there gathering strength enough to make
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the walk back down to their homes, they again heard the roar of
motor-bikes coming back down the trail.
Nora was angry and started to rise to her feet saying, “I’m going to tell
those miserable so-and-sos what a bunch of jerks they are…”. But
Peetie pulled her back down and got up himself. As the bikes passed,
he shouted at them over the roar, “I hope you get all you need to be
happy. I hope you get all you need to be happy! I hope you get all
you need to be happy!!!”
Nora just stared at Peetie and finally said, “Peetie, have you
gone crazy? These people almost ran us over...we ended up jumping
in the ditch, in the water the muck, and the mud... And you are
wishing that they will get all they need to be happy? What’s with
that, silly boy???”
Peetie smiled at her and replied, “Do you think that if they were
really happy, if they had all they need to be happy, that they would be
so thoughtless and cruel and run down an innocent girl and a boy with
a limp and make them roll into the muck?”
Then Peetie turned and started walking—very slowly—toward
home. And Nora was silent and thoughtful the whole way...while the
birds tweeted, cooed, and cawed and the coyotes sang to the moon
which was just starting to rise...

8. Questions and discussion

 What was Peetie trying to tell Nora?
 What was Nora thinking on the way home?
 If someone did something mean like that to you, how would you normally
respond? What would you do or say?
 Would this story make you think a little differently about your response?
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 If the riders had known Nora and Peetie, would they have acted in the
same way?
 How is this story about our first principle?

9. Getting-to-know-you game

10. ACTIVITIES
1. Activity (1)[redo thIS before 9/23]

2. Activity (2) [Older kids]

Break into small groups (three to five people depending on the size of the whole group).
The project for each group is to come up with a sequel to the story they just heard. For
example:

 What do the bike-riders talk about the next day? Or what do they do? What do they
learn?
 What do Nora and Peetie talk about? What do they do?
 Does Peetie ever get up to the falls? How does he do it?
 How did Peetie respond to people who teased him about his leg?
 Make up your own scenario...
3. Activity (3)

4. Activity (4)

Materials for Activity

 Construction paper in a variety of colors
 Scissors (including left-handed scissors) and glue sticks
 Pencils, and color markers

Make a card saying “I hope you get all you need to be happy”...something you could
give to someone who is not treating others with love and respect or to a friend or someone you
would like to have as a friend.
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5. Activity (5)

Materials for Activity

 Construction paper in a variety of colors
 Scissors (including left-handed scissors) and glue sticks
 Pencils, and color markers

Description of Activity
Children offer one another compliments and build their own "compliment flower," practicing a way of
responding with love.
Give each child a whole sheet of construction paper. Place construction paper, in a variety of colors, on
the work tables with pencils, scissors, glue sticks, and color markers. Tell participants:
Compliments are like flowers, with the power to build a person up and allow them to glow from the
inside out.
Invite each child to draw a flower stem on their paper, and then cut out two leaves from another sheet
of paper and glue the leaves to their stem. Invite them to write one thing they like about themselves on
each leaf.
As children finish, ask them to use whatever colors of paper they wish to cut out petals for their flower.
The number of petals should equal the number of people in the group, minus one. (If the group is small,
have children cut out two petals for each person.) Have the children write their names on the backs of
all their petals, then distribute their petals, one (or two) to each person in the group.

Ask the children to look and see whose petal they have, then turn it over, write a positive comment or
compliment, and then return the petal to its owner. Encourage them to take a moment to think of
something special (specific) about each person.

You may wish to post a few "generic" compliments on newsprint to get the children started, for
example:
I am glad you are my friend.
You are fun to play with.
You have a nice personality.

As children receive their petals back, invite them to glue petals to the stem so all the positive comments
can be seen. Tell the children they may take their Flower Power flowers home.

Additional Activity
A discussion for older youth:
Point out that the story of Nora and Peetie is a remake of a traditional Sufi story and give a little
introduction to Sufism. [Perhaps a Sufi poem or the like because the Sufis teach through stories
and poems.] They are believers in the power of love and the idea that love is the only reality in
all the universe.
THE DERVISH IN THE DITCH
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This story is found in a number of sources, including From Once Upon a Time...
Storytelling to Teach Character and Prevent Bullying by Elisa Davy Pearmain;
Doorways to the Soul: 52 Wisdom Tales from Around the World, edited by Elisa
Pearmain (Pilgrim Pres
Once upon a time, in a land to the east, a Dervish holy man and his student were
walking from one village to the next. Suddenly they saw a great huge cloud of dust
rising in the distance. They stood and stared at a grand carriage, pulled by six horses
approaching at a full gallop. Riding on top were two liveries dressed in red, each holding
a rein. The Dervish and the young student soon realized that the carriage was not going
to slow down, let alone veer to the side to avoid hitting them. The carriage was coming
at such a speed that they had to throw themselves from the road and jump into a ditch
to save themselves. Covered with dirt and grass, the two men got up. They looked after
the carriage as it sped away into the distance.
The student was first to respond. He began to call out and curse the drivers. But the
teacher ran ahead of him, cupped his hands over his mouth, and called to the carriage:
"May all of your deepest desires be satisfied!"
The student stared at his teacher and asked, "Why would you wish that their deepest
desires be satisfied? Those men nearly killed us!"
The old Dervish replied, "Do you think all their deepest desires are satisfied? If they
were happy, would they be so thoughtless and cruel as to nearly run down an old man
and his student?"
The younger man had no answer, for he was deep in thought. And so, in silence, the
two continued their journey down the dusty road.

11. Closure ritual

 Focus/Meditate for 10-15 seconds - close your eyes, try to keep your body
perfectly still, take some deep breaths
 Re-iterate the message of today: We affirm the inherent worth and dignity
of every person, which also means that we believe each person is important
and needs love.
 Get a volunteer to “un-light” the Chalice.

CLOSING WORDS OPTIONS:

 Sing a closing hymn, such as “When the heart is in a holy place” or
something else that seems appropriate and is easy to sing.
OR
 Say as a call-response something like:
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As the flame goes out

Let us take the chalice flame
With us in our hearts:
A flame of being together
A flame of making new friends
A flame of learning together
A flame of playing together
Go in peace and love...

Put away name-tags on cork board for next time & say goodbye.

Second Principle Lesson 09/30/18

2. Second Principle
We believe that all people should be treated fairly and kindly.
Second Principle Lesson
1. Arrival, Nametags
Kids/Parents/Teachers introduce themselves. Returning kids get their name-tag while new kids
make a name-tag. If there is too much down-time, send kids to one of the free-choice stations
until we are ready to start class.

Materials for Nametags

● Construction paper in a variety of colors, precut to the size of name-tags
● Pencils/crayons/color markers
● Stencils and stickers
● Name-tag holders

2. Welcome and Introduction of today’s topic

Today we will be learning about our Second UU Principle-We believe in justice, equity, and
compassion in human relations, which also means that we are kind to everyone.
We are going to do our chalice lighting, play a getting-to-know-you game, read a story, and do
some activities. If you really don’t want to do something, you don’t have to. But please always be
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respectful of the adults and other kids who are doing an activity, and keep yourself safe by
making sure a teacher knows where you are.
Chalice Lighting-Light the chalice and say the chalice response we say in the sanctuary-
We light this chalice to remind ourselves to treat all people kindly
Because they are our siblings in spirit
To take care of the earth
Because it is our home
And to try and live lives filled with goodness and love
Because that is how we will become the best people we can be.

3. Getting To Know You Activity

Here are some ideas (Let’s just print out a folder of these and choose one every week)
https://danielharper.org/yauu/2012/09/games-sampler/
http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2012/08/20/10-getting-to-know-you-activities-for-kids/
https://teachstarter.com/blog/classroom-getting-to-know-you-icebreaker-games/

4. Story and Discussion

NEEDED - Interactive component

The Excruciatingly Scrupulous Twins

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, and in a place not so very different from our own, there lived a
pair of twins named Tim and Tom, and they looked exactly the same: same hair, same eye color, same
weight, same height. They wanted everything else in their in their lives to be exactly the same too. So
Tom and Tim were always fair with each other--excruciatingly, scrupulously fair.
Everything simply had to be fair. If Tom got a new pencil, Tim had to have a new pencil--same
length, same color, same sharpness. If Tim got a new skateboard, Tom had to have a new skateboard.
“Why don’t you take turns?” asked their father, but taking turns wasn’t the same as having your own,
which meant it wasn’t fair.
The twins were always careful to be fair--excruciatingly, scrupulously fair. In the morning at
breakfast time, they counted every flake of cereal in their bowls, to make sure they had the same number.
They each measured one half cup of milk for their cereal. If Tim had three strawberries, Tom had to have
three strawberries (even though Tom didn’t really like strawberries), and the strawberries had to be
exactly the same size. Oh yes, they were fair.
“Why don’t you share?” asked their mother, but sharing wasn’t the same as having, and it
certainly wasn’t fair. The twins knew about sharing. They slept in the same bedroom, and they had to
share that. So they did: excruciatingly and scrupulously. They put a line of tape down the exact center of
the bedroom to split the room in half. On one side of the room were a bed, a dresser, and a desk. On the
other side of the room were a bed, a dresser, and a desk: same kind, same size, same color. Luckily, the
line of tape went through the center of the door, so they could both get in and out of the room without
crossing over the line, even if they did have to turn sideways and not breathe and suck in their tummies to
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squeeze through. But one side of the room had a window and the other didn’t, and so their bedroom
wasn’t fair.
And sometimes, no matter how hard they tried to make every single thing in their lives
excruciatingly, scrupulously fair, they couldn’t. Tom could run faster, and Tim could do cartwheels. Tom
was good at math, and Tim was good at spelling. It didn’t seem to make any difference how much they
exercised or how hard they studied, they weren’t identically the same, and that wasn’t fair.
“Life isn’t fair,” said their father, but that wasn’t...well, it wasn’t fair! Things ought to be fair and
even and equal.
Only things weren’t.
And neither were their parents. “Go study your spelling,” said their mom the night before a
spelling test, but she said it only to Tom.
“Why doesn’t Tim have to study?” Tom asked.
“Because he already knows how to spell all the words.”
“That’s not fair!” Tom said.
“You’re right,” his mom agreed. “But that’s the way it is, so go study. You flunked the last
spelling test, remember?”
Tom remembered. That had been the test with all those “I before E” words, except there were
also a couple of tricky ones that were “E before I.” Spelling was weird, anyway. Who cared?
“Go study now,” said his mom.
His mom cared. His dad cared. His teacher cared. Tom got out his spelling book and thumped it
down on the table, but he didn’t open it. He poked at the book with his pencil and stared gloomily at the
wall. Tim sat down at the table, too, but he had a picture to color instead of homework to do. Tom made a
face at him, and Tim made a face right back, so that was fair. But it didn’t make Tom feel any better. He
opened his book to the right page then poked at it with his pencil. This week it was words with with silent
Es. It was still weird.
“You want help?” offered Tim.
Tom looked up in surprise. “You’d help me?”
“Well...yeah. Sure. If you want.”
“But you already did your spelling homework. It won’t be fair for you to have to do spelling
again.”
His brother shrugged. “That’s okay. I don’t mind helping you.”
“Well, um, yeah. Thanks!” said Tim. “And hey, you know, two days from now we’re going to
have a math test, so tomorrow I can help you.”
“Hey, yeah!” Tom said. “That’s right!” Then he grinned. “That’ll make it fair.”
It would be fair tomorrow, but even more important than that, Tim decided, was that it was nice
right now.
And maybe, Tim decided, maybe it was always more important to be nice than it was to be
excruciatingly, scrupulously fair.

Break-out by age/interest
We will need one teacher to quietly guide younger/fidgetier children to an activity while older,
more engaged children remain in the circle with the other teacher to discuss the story.
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Discussion questions:
1. Have you ever been treated unfairly or unkindly? How did that feel?
2. Do you think you’ve ever treated someone else unfairly or unkindly?
3. Why do you think Tim & Tom thought it was so important to be fair?
4. When is kindness important? When is fairness?
5. Do you think one is more important than the other? Why?
6. How is this story about our 2nd principle?
Extension Role-Plays (if the group is super engaged and/or the discussion goes this way)
1. Your friend dropped all of their candy out of their bag. You still have your whole bag of
candy in your hand.
2. You see your friend crying on the playground. When you ask why they are crying, they
say "I wanted to play tag with the older kids, but they said, 'No.'"
3. You are in the grocery store with your parents and you see someone drop items from their
hands onto the floor.
4. You notice a new child your age walk into the sanctuary at church holding tightly to their
father's leg.
5. During coffee hour you notice an adult in a wheelchair holding a cup of coffee with both
hands, but they do not have a treat to eat.
6. At school you notice that when your class ran outside for recess, only one classmate
stayed behind to help your teacher clean up after snack.

5A. Principle Activities:

Loving Kindness Walking Meditation (approx 15 mins)
https://uua.org/re/tapestry/children/lovesurrounds/session6/activity4

Preparation for Activity

● Choose a path for participants to walk, either indoors or out. If walking any distance poses a
problem, have participants walk in a circle in the meeting room. If needed, meditation can be
done as a sitting meditation instead.

Description of Activity

Participants learn a simple loving kindness walking meditation in the Buddhist tradition. Explain that
meditation is a way of focusing thoughts to achieve calm and has been a spiritual practice in many
religions for thousands of years. Explain, in your own, child-friendly words:
Although most people associate mediation with Buddhism, where it is an integral spiritual practice,
people of any religion can practice meditation. Some people sit to meditate and some people walk.
Tell participants they will be walking in this session. They will do a meditation to send loving kindness to
the world and to individuals.
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Ask participants to line up with an arm's length between them. Have a co-leader take the last place in line.
Tell the children to notice their starting spot.
Lead the meditation, with these words or your own:
Don't close your eyes because we will be walking.
Take a deep breath and slowly exhale.
Now breathe normally.
Notice the air coming out of your nose.
Focus the mind on normal breathing.
Feel your feet pressed into the ground.
Try to gently push away other thoughts.
Allow the body to relax. Try not to be stiff.
Breathe slowly for one minute.
Now begin to think about acceptance and kindness.
Is there someone you need to be kinder to? Begin to repeat that person's name in your head.
Begin walking slowly and continue throughout the rest of the meditation.
Continue to focus on that person.
Stop speaking for one minute, but continue walking.
Now begin to think about a group of people that need kindness and acceptance. Perhaps it is your family,
maybe it is children you know without parents, or maybe it is people who are homeless. Think about the
groups of people who need loving kindness sent to them.
Stop speaking for one minute, but continue to lead the group in walking.
Now begin to think about our world. Think about things in this world that could be better if there was
more love and kindness. Think about specific places in the world that need more love. It might be
rainforests, animals, warring countries, your school, your home.
Stop speaking for one minute, but continue to lead the group in walking.
Now let us send love out to the world and ourselves with every breath. Repeat the word "love" in your
mind as your exhale. Continue to walk in silence, and return to your starting spot.
When the mediation is complete, ask participants how it felt to send love to people they know and people
they don't know. Ask participants how they feel in their bodies right now. Do they feel calm and relaxed?
Did they like the quiet time?

Short-term Service Project to support others our community

See p. 15 or p. 38 of “Creating Justice Together” by Susan Dana Lawrence for two simple ideas:
● Make cards or write letters for someone in the community who needs some support, or
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● Help assemble the little bags of crayons, wixi stix etc. that are handed out to kids attending
service. Nicole might have other projects that she could use help with too.

5B. Other free-choice activities (at least 2 or 3 of these options every week)
Kids should be able to float freely between these, but it may not always be practical to let them
hop over to one of the “Principle” activities (eg, if that group has gone on a walk), so we will
have to make it clear what their choices are. I think it would be good to have most of these set up
adjacent to each other so one or two adults can supervise all the activities at once.
● Art
● Legos
● Origami/paper airplanes (get some books so they can learn new ones)
● Puzzles/games/playing cards
● Cars with track
● Long-term service project (such as making blankets for homeless or gardening)

6. Closure
Bring everyone back to the circle.

Focus/Meditate for 10-15 seconds - close your eyes, try to keep your body perfectly still, take
some deep breaths

Re-iterate the message of today: We believe in justice, equity, and compassion in human
relations, which also means that we are kind to everyone. (Optional: Ask people to share
something they heard, saw, or did today that shows this principle)

Sing a closing hymn, such as “Filled With Loving Kindness” (#1031,

https://youtube.com/watch?v=uLwm68BlH_4 ).

Get a volunteer to “un-light” the Chalice.

Put away name-tags on cork board for next time & say goodbye.

Third Principle Lesson 10/07/18

2. Third Principle
We believe that we should accept one another and keep on learning together.
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Fourth Principle Lesson 10/14/18

2. Fourth Principle
We believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in
life.

Fifth Principle Lesson 11/04/18

2. Fifth Principle
We believe that all persons should have a vote about the things that concern
them.

Sixth Principle Lesson 10/21/18

2. Sixth Principle:
We believe in working for a peaceful, fair, and free world.

7. Story:
The King’s dog
A long time ago...or maybe it was just the other day—anyway, there was a ruler—
maybe a king, or even a president—this person was very rich from money he took
from the people of his land in various ways. As he grew richer, the people grew
poorer. He lived in a magnificent palace and they lived tiny run-down houses or
even in boxes and tents under the bridges... He and his rich friends ate the most
expensive and delicious food. The people lived on scraps, roots, and wild
berries...when they had any food at all. The ruler didn’t really mind this. In fact,
he never even noticed the hungry people and their thin, unhappy children
begging in the streets.

One day, a man showed up at his palace with a dog. It was the most incredible
dog the ruler—or anyone else— had ever seen. It was huge...bigger than a horse
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and almost as big as an elephant! It had huge teeth, as big as carving knives, and
a mouth that could swallow a hog.

The ruler took one look and just had to have that dog. Nobody else could have a
dog bigger and more frightening than his dog. He turned to the man and said,
“you have to sell me this dog.” And the man replied, “If I must...but you need to
know that this is a very special dog.” The king said, “Well duh! Anyone can see
that. This is exactly why I want it. I want the biggest, nastiest dog in the
kingdom!” The man shrugged his shoulders, “I think it might be more special than
you realize.” The king was fed up, “Stop haggling! Name your price, and give me
the darn dog, right now!” The man shrugged again, took a very reasonable price,
and left the palace without another word.

About 12 of the king’s servants grabbed the dog’s leash and led him into the
palace. But as soon as the palace doors closed behind them, the dog began to
bark furiously. It barked and barked and barked without stopping, as loud as a
stadium full of roaring lions, tigers, and bears. The servants were terrified.
Nobody could hear themselves think, and the king was at a loss for what to do.
So, he sent a servant running after the man, who came back and stood before the
king. “Well?” said the man. “Uh...about the barking...?” said the King. “The dog
is hungry”, answered the man.

The king clapped his hands and the servants rushed off and came back with a
whole roast goose. The dog gobbled it up in an instant and stopped barking for
about a half second. The king clapped again, and the servants rushed off and
brought back a grilled hog. That bought about 3 seconds of silence. A baked cow
brought a whole 5 seconds. This wasn’t working, and no one had a clue what to
do. So the king sent for the man again and asked, “What in the world is going on
here?” The man shrugged for a third time and replied:

“I told you this was a special dog. It’s not only big but it has a superpower.”

“A superpower?” asked the king.

“Yup, a superpower.”

“What kind of a superpower, pray tell?”

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“Ah, glad you asked... You see this dog feels everybody’s hunger. In your
kingdom, some people are eating like, like...well, like kings. And the people who
work in the fields growing the vegetables and fruit, who raise the cattle and
chickens and geese, they are all starving...and the dog feels their hunger...and
when even one person is hungry it barks. Simple as that...”

Everybody in the palace was going crazy with the constant barking. The king
shouted to the man over the noise: “Take your dog out of here...this is awful!”
“Sorry,” said the man, “It ’s your dog now. He won’t go with me. You can try to
make him go...but I wouldn’t suggest that...You wouldn’t want to make him angry
too!. Good luck...and bye!” The man scooted off and the king remained in the
ear-splitting noise, struggling to think what to do. He couldn’t see what he had
done to deserve this. Finally, one of his advisors got up the courage to give some
advice!

[Ask the listeners: So... what do you think she advised the king to do?]

The advisor said: “Well, your majesty, the solution is really rather simple. Make
sure that no one is hungry.

“Is that all?, said the king.

“I think so, your majesty.”

“let’s try it...Ok, you servants, slaves, soldiers, tax collectors, and hangers-on! Go
to the royal storehouses and get food, every kind of food you can find. Go to the
storehouses of my rich and noble friends and get some of their food too. Take it
around to anyone who is the least bit hungry. And set it up so that they can
always get food. How does that sound, advisor?

“Sounds good to me, your majesty.”

...And it worked. When the people were fed, the dog stopped barking, and lay
down contented by the throne, where the king could scratch his head...if he stood
on the throne or a ladder!

For a very long time, the people were happy, the dog was happy, and even the
king and his family and his rich friends were happy.
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8. Questions and discussion

 What does this story have to do with the sixth principle? (We believe in
working for a peaceful, fair, and free world.)
 Was the King’s world fair and free?
 What was the problem?
 In our time and place do we have any problems like this?
 In our time and place, who are like the king and his friends?
 In our time and place, who is like the dog?
 What do we, in this church, do to stop the barking?

9. Getting to know you game:

PETS:
 Everyone sits in a circle and they go around saying their name and telling
about their favorite pet (either a real pet or a pet they would like to have).
 Group the pets so that there are a few participants in each pet group and
write the name of each pet group on a piece of paper. And spread the
papers face down around the room (as far apart as possible).
o
o The youngest person, who is willing, is the leader of the group. They
ask the each member of the group to give their name and describe
their pet. Then they go around, beginning to the left of the leader
and name everyone in their group and describe their pet. [second
chances…it’s not a contest, it’s learning how to listen and pay
attention.
 Then the groups return to the main circle and the leaders introduce their
groups and people who want to try to name all the people in the group and
identify their pets.
 If there are few attending, this can all be done in one circle.

10. Activities
 Featured activity
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 Other activities

Seventh Principle Lesson 10/28/18

2. Seventh Principle
We believe in caring for our planet Earth, the home we share with all living
things.

Eighth Principle Lesson 11/11/18

2. Eighth Principle
We believe in working to end racism and other oppressions everywhere.
[We affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse
multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other
oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”]

Thanksgiving Lesson 11/18/18

First Principle Lesson 11/25/18
Second Principle Lesson 12/02/18
Third Principle Lesson 12/09/18
Fourth Principle Lesson 12/16/18
Christmas Holiday 12/23/18
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New Year 12/30/18