Activity time: 10 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Chalice, candle, and lighter or an LED/battery-operated candle
- A chime or a small bell
- Newsprint, markers, and tape
- Copies of Singing the Journey, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook supplement
- Leader Resource 1, The Soul of Money
- Leader Resource 2, Money Proverbs
- A small basket or bowl
- Optional: Talking stick (or another item to pass to each speaker)
- Optional: Refreshments
Preparation for Activity
- Place chairs in a circle. Set copies of Singing the Journey on chairs.
- Set a small center table with chalice and lighter.
- Read Leader Resource 1, The Soul of Money. Optional: Plan to share all or some of this reading with the group.
- Print Leader Resource 2. Cut apart the money proverbs as indicated and place the strips in a small basket or bowl.
- Write agenda for this workshop on newsprint, and post.
- Optional: Recruit a song leader to teach and lead Hymn 1003, "Where Do We Come From?" in Singing the Journey.
- Optional: Set out refreshments.
Description of Activity
Sound the chime and invite participants into quiet reflection as you prepare to enter into a time of centering and sharing.
Invite a volunteer to light the chalice as you share these words, adapted from chalice lighting words by Andrew Pakula, used by permission:
Come into this circle of community. Come into this sacred space.
Bring your whole self!
Bring the joy that makes your heart sing.
Bring your kindness and compassion.
Bring also your sadness and your disappointments.
Spirit of love and mystery, help us to recognize the spark of the divine that lives inside each of us.
May we know the joy of being together.
Teach/lead Hymn 1003, "Where Do We Come From?" from Singing the Journey.
Powerful money messages are handed down in our families of origin. Today's workshop will focus on our individual money stories and the impact those stories have on our money behaviors.
Pass the basket of money proverb strips and ask each person to select one. Invite participants to state their first name and then read aloud the proverb they have selected. After all proverbs have been read, invite participants to briefly comment on money proverbs which resonate with them, if any, or to suggest other proverbs.
May our time together be made holy by the sharing of stories, the gift of good listening, and the joy of being held in community.
Sound the chime to signal the end of the centering time.
Including All Participants
If you wish to invite the group to rise and sing, ensure that the option to remain seated is communicated. You may say, "Rise in body or spirit."
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