United Church of Christ
United in Spirit and inspired by God’s grace, we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all.
The Minnesota Conference United Church of Christ (UCC) equips a courageous Church alive with Christ’s transforming love.
Scripture Text | Psalm 136
Three Wonderings
1
What good messages have you received about who you are?
2
What things and people help you enjoy your life?
3
What is it like to live with forgiveness?
Children’s Picture Books
Spiritual Practice
Join Rev. Emily Meyer, Director of The Ministry Lab, as she invites you to wonder and reflect in an audio recording.
Creative Project
Zine Exchange
Community building, creative, contemplative 4+
Materials: Paper, drawing materials OR chalk for outdoor sidewalk drawings
How To:
- If you’re looking for a way to keep people connected, this is a great collaborative pen-pal project. Connect a family to an elder and share these questions from StoryCorp to guide a story sharing conversation. Ask permission to retell the story using drawings, writing, or collage, and encourage use of the one-page zine format.
- Pop it in an envelope and send it along via snail mail for a special surprise for the elder.
- You can even make photocopies to keep and share.
Time it takes: 25 min+
Game
Time Capsule
adapted from Greater Good Science Center
How To: Compile the following items in a blank notebook, scrapbook, or folder on your computer. Skip any that don’t apply.
- A description of the last social event you attended.
- A description of a recent conversation with a friend.
- A description of how you met a new friend or acquaintance.
- The names of three songs you recently listened to.
- An inside joke.
- A recent photo.
- A drawing or photo of a current favorite food
Store the Time Capsule in a place where you won’t see it. Set a reminder on your calendar to revisit it three months later. Once three months has passed, spend several minutes looking over your Time Capsule. Are you surprised by anything? Does anything strike you as particularly interesting or meaningful, looking back on it now?
Time it Takes: 25-30 minutes
Caring for the Common Good Project
What is a memory?
Watch or read Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox together with your children. Then ask: How would you answer Wilfrid’s question about what a memory is? What did Wilfrid learn from his friends? What can older people teach us? Have everyone share their thoughts. Explain to your children that many seniors, like those in the story, are especially isolated and lonely right now as a result of the pandemic. Suggest that your family help spread cheer by sharing uplifting messages through videos and social media — or by sending cards and letters or colorful drawings. It’s a simple way to let those who are most vulnerable know that we honor and care for them.
Podcasts
The Spiritual Practice of Remembering, with Margaret Bendroth; BYU Maxwell Institute podcast.
Memory and Forgetting, Radiolab from NYU. This hour of Radiolab, a look behind the curtain of how memories are made … and forgotten.