Expect the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Prepare for the Worst

A Small Group Ministry Session
prepared by Sonja Lamicela, 2010

Chalice Lighting:

We light our chalice as a reminder that,

In the face of improbable odds,

Life's ember burns and glows,

A corner of warmth and awareness

amidst the coldness of space

And the indifference of time.

Check In
Topic: What do we as UUs do to prepare ourselves, each other and our children for crises?  Howard Welsh, a UU Vietnam veteran, describes his lack of preparation for the horrors of war in the book Full Circle: Fifteen Ways to Grow Lifelong UUs  by Kate Tweedie Erslev: 
"Our children suffer terribly because of their idealism when they find out what really goes on in the world.  Just as I felt when I was drafted into the U.S. military during the Viet Nam War, they feel unprepared and in a sense betrayed.  They see the UU faith as being irrelevant to their struggles in a cruel society."
On July 27, 2008 a lone shooter entered a UU church in Knoxville, TN, and opened fire during a children's play.  Two people died, several were wounded.  We as adults and our children, also experience disruption to our lives due to death, divorce, moving, bullying, and any of a thousand crises every day. Let's think about these questions: 

• 
  
  How old were you when you lost your innocence about cruelty in the world?
• 
  
  What do you as an adult do when crisis strikes? How was it different when you were a child?
• 
  
  How does your UU faith inform your response to crisis and cruelty?
• 
  
  What are the benefits of sheltering children? What are the risks?
• What are the consequences of being unprepared to face harsh realities?
• What  should we as UUs do to prepare children and ourselves to deal with the worst on a spiritual level? 

Closing Words: Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain!
~author unknown