Hints and Resources for UU Parents
Being your child's primary religious educator is a wonderful, exciting job! There's a huge body of resources to support you, including your Unitarian Universalist community and Director of Religious Education. Here are a few resources to help you promote your children's spiritual journey and UU identity.
Sparrow's First Hints for UU Parents
- Have a chalice in your home which you light at special times. Light it in silence, or with simple words like, "May our flaming chalice inspire us to see clearly." It's easy to make a chalice from found materials (like an overturned flower pot), or to find beautiful ones for sale.
- Post the Seven Principles in your home. Choose your family's favorite. Make an effort to articulate when you do or see something which reinforces that principle. For example, "Well, we can't fit a crowd of friends into our new hybrid vehicle and take them to the movies with us - and I'm feeling proud that we're doing something difficult out of respect for the interconnected web."
- Attend church or at-home worship every week. Doing it at home can be very simple -
light the chalice
check in with how everyone is feeling
read a story book that touches the heart
discuss the feelings and values of the story, listening respectfully to everyone
sing your family's favorite uplifting song
extinguish your chalice and thank everyone for being present - Use religious words.
- Respond to Big Questions in a way that promotes discussion and wondering instead of giving a definitive answer.
- Familiarize yourself with the stages of Spiritual Development, and age-appropriate expectations for your kids.
- Use worship and reverent behavior any time during the week - there's a wonderful, marvelous world of which to be reverent! Reverent behavior varies with age and temperament, of course - you might choose to blow kisses to the full moon.
- Engage in your own Daily Spiritual Practice, modeling for your children that the spiritual journey is a lifelong joy.
- Encourage your children to choose a tune from our hymn book, Singing the Living Tradition, for their next instrumental piece. Sing your family's favorite hymns in the car.
- Sit down for meals together as often as you can and say Thanks for the meal. You can hold hands and observe silence, or say "Thanks," or find or create the right words for your family - even rotating being the one to speak the blessing.
Sparrow's favorite religious education resources: