Lower Elementary (Grades Pre-K, K, 1, 2)
Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” — C.S. Lewis, British novelist
This session explores how every friendship is surrounded in love. To make a friend is to discover ways we are alike. To meet new people and look first for how we are alike, rather than different, can be a challenge.
Upper Elementary (Grades 3, 4, 5)
Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more. — Malvina Reynolds (from the song “Magic Penny”)
This session explores the essence of a beloved community as sharing the good times as well as the bad with each other; this is what creates a true spirit of love in a religious community. When people are tied together by the spirit of love, we share the ordinary moments of life as well as the momentous occasions. When love is the basis of a shared experience, we are motivated to overcome conflict and reach out to help one another. Therefore, when love is the spirit of the congregation, our religious community helps us, each and all, to grow and to support one another in both good times and bad.
Middles (Grades 6, 7, 8)
The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world. — Marianne Williamson
This session explores pathways to forgiveness along with the idea of covenant. Repairing a broken covenant takes sincere intent and deliberate practice. How can that be done, and how can we as justice makers help our community along that path?