Celebrate!
Welcome to the New Year—for those of us who celebrate on January 1st, and also for those who celebrate the Muslim New Year (Jan. 31st). Hope you are off to a great start on the year, and that the months to come will be full of fun and learning. Speaking of fun and learning, click on the links below to find out about how you can celebrate holidays from around the world.
|
top^
|
We Honor… |
|
| Francis David (whose real name, in the Hungarian language which he spoke, was Dávid Ferenc). January is an important month in Unitarian history, because Francis David preached his first Unitarian sermon in the main church in Kolozsvár on January 20 th, 1566. His sermon convinced many people of the need for a religion which looked at the Bible logically, and which regarded Jesus as important, but not as God. The king of Transylvania was very impressed with David, and he became an advisor to the king. Because there was so much fighting about religion in his country, King John Sigismund decided to hold a great debate, encouraging the Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists and Unitarians to argue publicly about which version of religion was right. It would, the king felt, be much better to have people stand up and tell the reasons why they believed as they did, rather than fighting, and treating others in a prejudiced way, or even killing them because of their religious differences. So January 6-13th (there's January again!) 1568, they held this big debate, with Francis David arguing for the Unitarians. And, in fact, he won the debate, giving the most compelling arguments for the Unitarian point of view. But winning the debate didn't mean that King John Sigismund declared that everyone had to become Unitarians. Instead, he embraced the ideas of Unitarianism, and said that people were entitled to their own religious beliefs, and that no one was entitled to hurt another person or treat them badly because they practiced a different version of religion. So, in the month of January, more than 400 years ago, the first ever law of religious tolerance was born.
Want to know more about this story? See a really good version in language designed for kids. |
|
top^
|
Act!
Do you have an argument going on in your classroom or school or house or town? Organize a debate! A debate is a really good way for people to hear both sides of an argument, and then decide for themselves which side they think is right. So if there's a rule at your school that some kids think is unfair, maybe you could talk with the principal about hosting a debate where a kid or two could present their arguments as to why they think the rule is wrong, and a staff person could talk about why the rule exists. Or if you and your sibling keep fighting about who should have which bedroom or what TV show to watch at a particular time, hold a debate in front of your parents, and let them decide. Remember that the important part of a debate is thinking very carefully beforehand about what your reasons are. “Cause I don't like it!” or “Did not!” “Did too!” aren't reasoned arguments—they're just arguing!
|
|
top^
|
Nurturing Your Spirit
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Christian minister who practiced non-violent resistance—changing the world without hating or trying to hurt the people whose actions he opposed. King was inspired to this way of non-violence by Mohandas Ghandi, the great Indian leader who used the Hindu idea of ahimsa , non-violence toward all beings, as the foundation of his work for the freedom of the people of India . Most of what we see on TV shows people (especially cartoon characters) using violence—hitting, kicking and weapons, real and imaginary—to fight off forces of evil. But King and Ghandi showed us that good can triumph over evil, that justice can win against prejudice and racism, when gentle warriors choose to speak the truth without hatred. This idea of non-violence, of loving and wishing the best for all beings, shows up in religions around the world. King practiced it as a Christian, Ghandi as a Hindu, and here is a Buddhist meditation/prayer that expresses the same belief. You might want to memorize it as something to say at bedtime or in situations where you are tempted to use violence as a solution:
May all beings be well.
May all beings be happy.
May all be at peace.
May all beings be free from sickness, free from hatred, free from suffering.
May all beings be well.
May all beings be happy.
May all be at peace.
Or, better still, you can sing this meditation.
(Parents, find a longer version, which makes a nice guided meditation.) |
|
top^
|
Practicing the Principles
Both of our heroes for this month, Francis David and Martin Luther King, Jr. are great examples of our third UU Principle: “Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations.” David worked for a world in which people's religious differences would be accepted, and King worked for a world in which people's racial differences would be accepted. And certainly both men encouraged the people of their country strongly toward spiritual growth, reminding folks over and over again that they could choose lives of love and kindness and compassion.
So how can you practice this principle at home this month? How about creating your own household edict of tolerance? Think about the things that you fight about, or the ways that you keep expecting others in your family to be different than they are. (This is really a big one for parents, who are always wanting kids to be neater or quieter or more organized than they are.) Come up with a couple of things that you agree, as a family, you will just accept, even if you don't really care for it. You might, for instance, agree that your dad will be allowed to sing in public, even if it's embarrassing, while you will be allowed to leave your backpack by the door, even though it's in the way. You don't have to make the edict of tolerance for all time—just try it for a week and see how it goes. But remember, our principle also includes encouragement to spiritual growth, so you might just decide to stretch yourself to think about the feelings of others and choose to do what they'd like, even if they're willing to tolerate something different.
|
|
top^
|
| top^ |
|
