With a special gift for learning
and with a heart that deeply cares,
You add a lot of love
to everything you share,
And even though
you mean a lot,
you'll never know how much,
For you helped
to change the world
through every life you touched.
You sparked the creativity
in the students whom you taught,
And helped them strive for goals,
that could not be bought,
You all are special teachers,
that no words can truly tell
However much you're valued
for the work you do so well.
--Author Unknown
Opening Words:
Ours is a life-long journey walked by many generations, shaped by many things. Through the years
our insights, questions and understandings deepen.
We need the company of one another
to teach,
to question,
to encourage us along that journey.
We are shaped by many things:
wisdom that deepens us,
by experiences that stretch us,
by people -mentors- who share their insights and their questions,
by communities that center us, that affirm us, that hold us in their care.
Our children will live in the world we leave them.
They will live with the problems we have not yet handled.
We can not tell them how to live in that future.
But they are learning from us right now.
What values, what passwords do we as a community need to transmit to them that will give them
the tools they will need?
Would those who are teaching our children please come forward.
The time you spend teaching, caring for, and being with the children of this community is a special
ministry. We ask you to keep in mind that what you are doing is ministry. Our children are delicate
growing souls. Tend them with care and love.
Lighting the Chalice:
Out of the infinite our children come to us, a miracle of incarnation. From time immemorial, men and women have instructed children. Once again, we acknowledge the source of life from which all things come, and to rejoice in the hope and promise of these young lives before us.
Tend them with care and love. May this congregation be for them be a firm root, a circle of love, and a source of vision. Amen
Prayer: The Chinese Philosopher Mencius wrote: The great person is one who does not lose the child's heart they were born with.
This morning I offer this prayer that we may all be given the heart and spirit of children.
Give us the child who lives within:
The child who Trusts,
The child who Imagines,
The child who Sings.
The child who receives without reservation,
The child who gives without judgement.
Give us a the child's eyes, that we may receive the beauty and freshness of this day like a sunrise;
Give us a child's ears, that we may hear the music of mythical times;
Give us a child's heart, that we may be filled with wonder and delight;
Give us the child's faith, that we may be cured of our cynicism;
Give us the spirit of a child, who is not afraid to need; who is not afraid to love.
Reading:
Our philosophy of Religious Education is based on our Principles and Purposes, as well as on the following words:
“The great end in Religious Education is
not to stamp our minds upon the young,
but to stir up their own:
Not to make them see with our eyes,
but to look inquiringly with their own.
Not to form an outward regularity,
but to touch inward springs.
Not to bind them by prejudices
to our particular sect or peculiar notions;
But to prepare them for impartial, conscientious judging
of whatever subjects may be offered to their decision.
Not to burden the memory, but to quicken
and strengthen the power of thought;
Not to impose religion upon them in the form of arbitrary rules,
But to awaken the conscience, the moral discernment.
In a word, the great end is to awaken the soul,
to excite and cherish spiritual life.”
Director of Religious Education: Now, before us stand those who are willing to
answer the call to the ministry of teaching. This morning we wish to thank you for your commitment to this church,
to our values, and especially to our children. You have accepted the responsibility of helping our children grow and develop
within our community. The enthusiasm you show toward them, this church, and our Unitarian Universalist movement will help
them as they develop their own spiritual identities. We wish you to know that we acknowledge the responsibility you have
accepted and respect the commitment you have made. You will receive the questioning minds of our young people, guiding
them on their spiritual paths.
Congregation: For the company of this community and other who have taught
and guided us, we are grateful and offer thanks. You who have taken up the ministry of teaching, we give you our trust
and pledge our support as you share your own walk of faith and understanding and teach our children the ways of love.
Parents:
We thank you for your willingness to be with our children, to teach them, to guide them, and to be with them. We remind you
that you are role models for our children. How you treat them and how you interact with each other teaches them more about
who we are and what we believe than any lesson.
Congregation: We all have cause to be grateful to those who have taught us on our journeys.
Children:We are grateful to you for being our guides. Thank you for being our leaders. We look forward to spending
time with you, having fun with you, and learning from you. We ask that you remember that we are people, too, and that you
respect us. We will do our best to be open to you and to take part in all that you bring.
Teachers: We accept the responsibilities of being in the classrooms with our children. We promise to bring our enthusiasm, talents, and energies to helping them grow into the individuals that they will become. We ask that you support us in this endeavor. Be there when we need help. Listen to us when we need your ear. Mindful of your trust and of the responsibility for spiritual care, we take up this ministry of teaching with humility and accept your support with gratitude.
Presentation of the Flowers: The gardens of the world are full of many flowers, each different, each beautiful, each unique. May this flower remind us all that our children are like those flowers. Each is different, each is beautiful, each is unique. They are all worth of our time and our love.
Congregation:
We acknowledge and honor the role that you have within our community. We know that this is not something you can do alone. We are all teachers and we will strive to remember that. We are all here to support and help you, each in our own way.
All:
This is the beginning of a new year. We are all part of this one community, children and adults alike. May we all grow and be
enriched by our time together. We thank you for committing to this ministry . We give you our trust and pledge our support.
With you we also covenant, each of us, in our life together, all to be learners and teachers.
Let There Be Peace on Earth
