Oliver Wendall Holmes, Sr.

WE ARE FAIR AND KIND TO EACH OTHERS.


UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST ALPHABET
Please read the Overview before using this Plan

H h  Letter H introduces Oliver Wendall Holmes, and the concept of the church as a spiritual home.

MATERIALS:  Construction paper with hole punched in top, yarn for necklace
Snacks—Honey, such as on crackers, ham, hamburgers

GETTING STARTED:
Welcome. After each person says his or her name, the group responds, “Welcome, (name).” For a child who is attending for the first time this year, add name to the letters that have been posted and to the attendance sheet, and make a nametag during or after the session.  Leave an empty chair for someone who is not present or for someone who has not joined the group yet.

The Letter of the Day:
Talk about the Letter.
Give the Letter necklace to a person with that initial.
Talk about the things that the children have brought for the Letter, and/or Letter grab bag. 

SPECIAL PERSON:  Oliver Wendall Holmes (March 8, 1809-1894)
The church was very crowded. Every seat was taken.  As the organist began to play the first hymn, a man up the aisle searching for an empty seat.  He looked and looked.  It was his first time at the church; he was a guest.  He saw no place to sit, so he leaned against a wall.

Suddenly a kind man with twinkling eyes motioned to him.  "Ah," thought the guest, "There must be room in that pew."  But as he approached the man, the man with the twinkling eyes got up and gave the guest his seat. 

At the end of the service, the guest, who was a minister from another church, thanked the kind man for giving up his seat.  "I didn't mean for you to stand through the whole service."

The kind man replied, "You are a visitor; this is my home."  The kind man was Oliver Wendell Holmes, a famous doctor and author.  The church was King's Chapel in Boston, the first Unitarian church in the United States.  

AFFIRMATION: We are fair and kind to others.
When we are in church, let us think about the visitors who may be there.  We can make them part of our church family by saying "Hello" and even giving up our places, if necessary.  

THE LETTER H IN THE CHURCH

Hands.  Look at the ways that we use our hands, such as handshake, putting up as a greeting for "hi!" and an open hand for welcome.

Following the concept of a welcoming community, develop a hand wreath or collage. This can be done by cutting out shapes of an open hand (or have children trace their own hands and put their names on them). A variation would be to have everyone in the congregation put their names on cut-out hands, and put these onto a collage. Either way, the collage will look more welcoming if there is diversity in the colors of the hands (using colored paper, with colors other than flesh) and having adult and children's sizes. 

A-B-C
Animals: hippopotamus, horse

Body (add to Body Picture): hair, hand, head, heart, heel, hip
(Note: See Letter H in the Church for Hands. Hands in the session on Howe show American Sign Language.)

Calendar: Holiday--Halloween; talk about holidays as special celebrations, which can be religious, traditional, political.
Note the date of the session and any special events for the day, including birthdays.
Note items beginning with that letter
Note events between today and the next session.

CLOSING:  Gather around the Special Place where the things related to the letter have been placed.  " We give thanks for the Letter H.  We have shared and learned about special people and animals and ourselves and our church. May we leave in love and peace.  Next week we will meet again.  Our letter will be ____ and our leader(s) will be ____________________."  Make sure that people take home things that need to

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VARIATIONS FOR OLDER CHILDREN

Making people welcome. Invite a representative of the membership committee of the church to talk with the group about things that are done in the church to make people welcome.  Ask the children for their ideas on how to make people welcome.

© Helen Zidowecki, 10/2007