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Sometimes when you are sad it's nice to read a story about people who were sad too, but got over it. Here are a few stories and poems like that. The Broken Chalice, adapted from a lesson by Susan Freudenthal I had a chalice that was so beautiful, and I loved looking at it and holding it. One day I knocked it off its shelf, and it smashed against the floor, into lots of little pieces. That made me terribly sad. I was sure there was no way I could fix it. But, slowly I picked up the pieces, and we all started putting the pieces back together one by one. It took a long time, but finally we had done what we could. And here is the chalice now. It’s not the same as it was, but it’s still together. Our communities are like that sometimes too. Where My Fears Are Planted, a story by Rebecca Pournoor
(Director of Religious Education, Unity Church Unitarian, St. Paul, MN) This is a story of a girl named Sara who is about your age. She likes soccer, school, Saturday morning cartoons and vanilla ice cream with lots of hot fudge. Lately though Sara's life has not been going so great ...she is afraid. . . . read the rest of the story The Sanctuary, by Pat Ellenwood, told the day after 9/11
(DRE, Wellesley Hills, MA) Can anyone tell me the name of this room? Sometimes we call it the big church when we mean we aren't going to worship in the chapel. But most of the time we use the word "sanctuary." If you look it up in the dictionary, you will find a lot of meanings. But the one I want you to hold in your heart this evening is the one that says a refuge, a place where you can feel safe. . . read more Love Casts Out Fear
by Betsy Williams, (Westside UU Congregation, Seattle WA) Houses floating down streets,
Cars smashed by fallen trees, people crying.
“Can it happen here?” I ask.
“Not likely,” Mama says as she holds me tight.
“But no matter what, I’ll do all I can to keep us together.” Love casts out fear. Here are some other things I’m afraid of:
Tornados
Tsunamis (which I’d never even heard of until last year)
Getting lost
Not having any friends. Love casts out fear. When I’m afraid I crawl inside myself
I freeze right where I am.
I don’t talk; I might say something wrong.
I don’t move; I might make it worse.
That’s when I most need a hug, or a friend to say
“C’mon, let’s play ball.” Love casts out fear. Every Sunday we say “Love is the spirit of this church.”
That means, “Go away fear,
We have something bigger and stronger than you.”
And every Sunday we promise each other
That we’ll stay together, that we’ll help each other,
That we’ll let love rule. Love casts out fear. |
