V v Letter V introduces William Vaughan, a member of the congre

V v Letter V introduces William Vaughan, a member of the congregation in Augusta, Maine, who was a special friend to the children.

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.

There was excitement at church on Sunday morning. The preschool class was going on a trip to the farm. Mr. Vaughan, the owner, would meet them there to show them the animals. He and his family had been members of the church for many years, and his children had gone to Sunday School at the church.

Mr. Vaughan helped the children not be afraid of the animals, even though some of the children had not been to a farm. He would take the children into the barn with the cows and the calves. Sometimes the calves would cry or the cows would "moo" so loud that the children put their hands over their ears! A "moo" can be very loud when you are standing near a cow that is bigger than you are!

Then Mr. Vaughan would take them into the chicken coop and help them move gently and not be afraid of the hens. He would show them the nests of some of the special kinds of hens that he raised.

The children knew Mr. Vaughan because he spent time with them. What they did not know was that his family, like his father and grandfather and several generations back to the late 1700's, had been active in the Unitarian churches in the area. They also did not know that Mr. Vaughan had been active in the legislature in Maine (which makes laws) and in community organizations.

For all the wonderful things that he had done in his lifetime, the children knew Mr. Vaughan because he spent some time with them. He really enjoyed showing the children the farm. The time that he spent with the children was what made him a special friend.

Visit. Possibly plan a special field trip for the children to a place that is special to the church community. This will take planning, including additional adults and possibly transportation arrangements.

Have a Visitor's Day. While people are welcome to join the group throughout the year, children specifically invite a friend or relative of any age to visit the group on Visitors' Day. This will need to be planned and announced ahead of time. Have the group talk about what needs to be done to make people welcome, such as having enough snacks, and having space and chairs for visitors as well as the usual group. Children will introduce their visitors. Children who do not have visitors that day can bring a picture of a family member or friend or a stuffed animal as their visitor. Every child needs to have a part in this venture.

Volunteers: Volunteers do things are needed to keep an organization going. How do people volunteer in the church? (Suggestions: greeting for the Service, Fellowship Hour, the teachers in Religious Education, cleaning up own area and helping clean up the large church facility, etc.)

CLOSING: Gather around the Special Place where the things related to the letter have been placed. "We give thanks for the Letter V. 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 go.

Video or similar technology: When are videos used in the church? Show a video on a specific UU topic or history. Plan a time for discussion.