Have you ever wondered what is shared on Sunday with “our kids”?
Our foundational message, paraphrased from Unity’s All Together Now curriculum, is that God is everywhere present, the source of all there is, the awareness behind all experience, God is life. We express that life through living. God is love. We give expression to it by being love. God is Divine mind and its Divine Ideas. We teach that God is total oneness, the very life behind each breath we breathe and thought we think, rather than an entity separate from us.
Since God is not a being, entity or person, God cannot judge, punish, withhold our good or teach us lessons. God is simply the name we give to the unnameable essence of Absolute Good, Infinite Wisdom, Divine Love. Words and images describing God are merely metaphors to describe the indescribable, pointing to the mystery beyond our human understanding.
Sometimes language infers God is outside of us or God is doing “to us” instead of existing “as us”. Concrete thinkers may construct a mental picture of God as a separate being, made in our image – a cosmic Santa Claus. This concept can be difficult to “un-think” later in life. While we don’t want to teach about God being a separate entity, at the same time, we want our young people to commune with the God of their Being and experience the comforting, loving, guiding presence of Spirit in a personal way.
To understand and have a personal experience of God, we shift to simple, clear language to feel the comfort and unconditional love of God, listen for and hear God’s wisdom and guidance, look for and find God reflected in every pair of eyes looking back at us. We write prayers, affirmations and story questions in ways that affirm the inner divinity of Spirit and reflect the spiritual principle of One Presence, One Power, as well as incorporate practices that connect us with our hearts in order to feel God’s presence.
Whatever words are used for God, such as Divine Essence, Divine Presence, etc. or the powerful words, “I Am”, we invite connecting with Spirit within by adding the word “within” to our prayers, putting our hands over our hearts and feeling gratitude and compassion, as the words of prayer or affirmation are spoken.
Do you wonder what else is shared? Ask. There is more.
Save these Important Dates!
NW YOU Rally April 20 – 22 for 9th – 12th grade
NW Unity Uniteen Unitreat June 18 – 23 for 6th -7th 8th grade graduates
NW Unity Kids Camp June 24 – 27 for age 7 – 11
NW YOU Rendezvous July 21 – 24 for 9th – 12th grade
NW YOU Retreat October 12 – 14 for 9th – 12th grade
NW Unity Uniteen Unitreat November 10 – 12 for 6th -7th 8th grade
For information about our local youth ministry program and opportunities to serve plus our regional youth ministry events and eligibility to participate connect with, me, Jackie on Sunday or email [email protected].
