We have a hit - Bright Lights

It is so incredibly satisfying when you try something new and it works on the very first time out of the box. When Edison was trying to find a material that would be suitable as a filament in his invention of the light bulb, it is reported that he tried at least 900 different substances before hitting on one that worked!  

My congregation has been incredibly fortunate to have our new Bright Lights programme work the first time right out of the box!  Yesterday, we held the second in this monthly series of these gatherings for families and children. We started last month and had seven kids (plus their parents). Today, it was thirteen kids and lots of parents. It felt great!

What a very nice rate of increase! If we just keep growing at this rate, attendance will exceed 6,000 by the end of this year. Another year and we can expect just over 10 million... See the graph.  [Sorry - pathetic geek humour...]

Somehow, we've managed to hit on a formula that works. We begin with a quick craft project that the kids can start as soon as they arrive. Then, we all say together:

This is the home of the open mind,
The loving heart,
And the helping hands.
Together we care for our earth
And work for friendship and peace in our world

...and there are movements that go with each line that the kids just love to do!

Then there's a chalice lighting where one child each month gets to light the chalice - a truly awesome experience for the lighter and everyone else as they become silent seeing one of their own number allowed to do the hitherto forbidden magic of fire!
For the chalice lighting, we all say together:

We light this chalice for the light of truth.
We light this chalice for the warmth of love.
We light this chalice for the energy of action.

At about this time, they're ready to make some noise and the basket full of maracas and tambourines goes out in preparation for a rousing three verses of This Little Light of Mine accompanied by sometimes exuberant and often slightly confused child-hood maraca and tambourine artistry.

The centre-point of the event is a story with lots of participation, and an important message. Last month was 'we're happier when we help other people to be happy.' This month, we hit 'everyone is special' with a story about a very nice fellow whose appearance scared everyone until they finally got to know him.

Another song - from the canon of children's favourites - yesterday's was When You're Happy and You Know it.



And finally, we end with these shared closing words:

Walk softly.
Speak truthfully.
Love gently.
Breathe deeply.
Live wisely.
Go in peace.

And then the crucial time I like to think of as snacks and chaos - well, barely controlled chaos, as the parents chat, the kids scarf down food and run around together having a great time in our large space...  

Of course, it's not just the formula that makes it work. The team is essential! Without Amy, Deborah, Jenny, and Darren, this would not have worked at all. How we ended up with the perfect team is beyond me... It could easily have been a flop without any of these wonderful people and, at best, it would not have nearly the richness it has or be as lively and natural. Amy magically shows up with inspired concepts and brilliant materials. Deborah has the knack of creating craft projects that work for every age. Jenny smoothly and effortlessly creates a refreshment scene that welcomes and manages to be right for all ages. Darren is the lively and lovely musician... and I must say that yesterday, Darren was the most amazing piano-playing Mr. Big - the misunderstood gorilla! Awesome...

Finally, I think it's crucial that we're clear about what we're trying to achieve. Bright Lights is about a fun, engaging experience, but it's also about helping families to raise kids who are kind, compassionate, justice-seeking people - ready to play their part in a pluralistic world moving toward more peace, equality, and harmony. The values we aim to share in every session:

Each person is important
Be kind in all you do
We're free to learn together
We search for what is true
All people need a voice
Build a fair and peaceful world
We care for our Earth

Teach your children well

Those of us old enough might remember the song 'Teach your children' written by Graham Nash and recorded by Crosby, Stills and Nash. "Feed them on your dreams" they sang, and wistfully, I wonder what happened to our dreams of a peaceful, loving, and just world.

How do we teach our children and feed them on these dreams?  These days, it seems our children are presented with more and more to learn. Not only are they expected to develop in all the academic ways, but there is also the extra 'enrichment': an instrument or two, a few sports, perhaps dance and art? Maybe an extra language?

Amid this very thick academic soup, I have been pondering what a liberal religious community should teach its children. What is it that they might not learn anywhere else that they'll need to know in order to be a good and whole person? How can we help them become part of the movement toward peace, understanding, justice, and love?

I believe that a liberal religious community's purpose is to aid us in our growth toward wholeness, to create and sustain caring healing community, and to inspire us to do our part in making a better world.

We don't need our teaching to duplicate what kids are getting in school, of course. In fact, what we need to be is the antidote to all the negative messages that kids (and all of us) receive every day from the media and from our popular culture. There is a lot of evil around us and, not surprisingly, I don't mean evil in the sense that the right-wingers do. In fact, when I look at the people who are out there decrying what they see as evil, they are usually the ones perpetrating the true evils. You know them: the crazy 'God hates fags' people, the right wing anythings, the anti birth control orthodoxy, the book-burning crazies in America...  you know...

But the evils that really drag us down are more insidious. They are the evils that create tremendous wealth inequalities. They are the evils that make us think that happiness comes from having more stuff. They are the evils that give us the idea that our bodies are not good enough. They are the evils that make us selfish and fiercely independent, despite the fact that true happiness comes from interdependence. They are the evils that make us think that suffering and injustice are someone else's problem - not ours. And they are the evils that make us fear and mistrust anyone who is different.

Liberal religious community needs to be the antidote. It needs to be the voice that counters all that materialistic, atomistic, shallow nonsense. As I am a completely non-traditional guy I thought it would be good to put this into very traditional form. Thusly and herewith are the '10 commandments' I'd like to teach our kids:

1. Accept, respect, and love yourself
2. Strive to understand and have compassion for everyone else. There is always more than meets the eye.
3. Recognize that you are interconnected with all living things
4. Accept that different is not the same as bad
5. Share and give of what you have
6. Try new things, even if you're afraid
7. Accept that you have a responsibility to our planet
8. Strive to be awestruck by beauty
9. Work for justice, understanding, and peace
10. Be as grateful as you can for everything that comes your way

They didn't come down from a mountain on a stone tablet, but things written in stone have a tendency to sit around unchanged for too long in any case.  As always, I'm eager to hear what you think.