	Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Wilmington a beacon of religious liberty promoting free inquiry, celebrating fellowship, and working for justice		Powered by Google™
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Children's Chapel

by Sue Graffius

A beautiful magic takes place in Dobkin Hall on Sunday Mornings. While the adults are enjoying their service in the sanctuary, and while the older youth are getting started in their classrooms, our children from age 3 through grade 4 celebrate Children’s Chapel with Chris Rice, Mary Beth Whitton and other volunteers.

Our Children’s Chapel parallels the main service in many ways. We start with a gathering and greeting, where the children greet each other and welcome newcomers. During our Chalice Lighting, one of the children lights our chalice, and leads the group in the Children’s Chalice Lighting words and motions. We light this Chalice to celebrate Unitarian Universalism. This is the church of the open mind. This is the church of the helping hands. And this is the church of the loving heart. These children participate fully and sincerely in the Chalice Lighting, and their litany is spoken seriously—and mostly in unison.

Now it is time for Joys and Concerns. This is the most rewarding and enriching part of the service for me. Each child is encouraged to share one joy or concern. Most choose to share, and some are just bubbling over, waiting for their turn. Yes, like our adult services, some of the joys and concerns seem mundane to others, but as in the sanctuary, all of them are meaningful and heart-felt.

The foci can run the gamut from celebrating their parent’s birthday to the heartbreak of deciding when to put down a very sick cat to fear of violence in school to losing a family member. The children share openly, and it appears that they think about what they want to say before coming in on Sunday morning.

At this point, we pass around a basket for the offering. There have been occasions when we have neglected to pass it around, or we have gone on to the story before passing it out, but these children won’t let us forget that it is time for them to donate. They are reminded that their donations will be divided into three portions; one-third will go to the UUFW, one-third will go to a local charity, and one-third will go to a global charity. The children will select which charities will benefit from their generosity.

Next, we read a story that has a message. Often this is interactive, and the children participate with enthusiasm. The message might be that we need to be kind to each other, that we need to take care of the earth, or simply that we learn about and accept other religions.

After the story and possibly some discussion, we all join hands and sing Shalom . The sound of these young voices lifted in song together is inspiring. They all know that they belong to something greater than themselves—to this community, to this circle of friends. They understand that what they have to say has value, and that others have joys and concerns to which they can relate. They are part of this Fellowship, and they feel comfortable in it. They are acknowledged and affirmed, and they carry with them this confidence as they file out to their classrooms. It is a beautiful and magical part of our Sunday morning!

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