"Not to stamp our minds upon the young, but to stir up their own … not to see with our eyes, but to look inquiringly and steadily with their own." William Ellery Channing said this in 1835 during his address to the Unitarian Sunday School Society. We still believe in his vision today within our Unitarian Universalist Association and here at Throop Church. Read on and gain more insight and then come visit us.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a Creator who had a hobby of making planets. The Creator took pride in making each one different. One day she looked at a gap in the solar system and said, “I think I’ll make a planet to go over there. Let me think... how will I make this one?” She had a very large closet in which she had rows and rows of shelves, with little jars and envelopes of things.

To begin, she took a large glass jar down from the shelf and started adding ingredients to her planet - a pinch of this, a pinch of that. In went daffodils and puppies and pizza. She added ladybugs and butterflies... and fire ants, just to make her planet interesting. She poured in lots of liquid from the jars marked “Oceans and Seas” and “Clear Lakes” and slowly poured in more liquid from a jar labeled “Waterfalls.” She smiled and added just a dash from the jar labeled “Mud Puddles.”

She decided to shake in a sample from all her boxes labeled “Human Beings.” She combined people of all sizes and shapes and ages, many colors of skin and hair, many different kinds of noses, and many different interests and skills. Over all the people she sprinkled some powder called “Change,” so that the people would change in size and age, interests and skills. “That will make this new planet interesting,” she mused to herself.

She looked in the section of her closet called “Moods and Emotions,” and she wondered whether she should add a little or a lot. She started with Love, adding more than two cups, and then, just to make the planet more interesting, she closed her eyes and reached in and took a handful from the “Miscellaneous” jar, where there were bits and pieces of Sadness and Courage, Loneliness and Happiness, Memory and Hope. She shook out some Schools and Universities where people come together to learn. She shook out some Churches and Temples where people could come together to remember what is important in life.

She added comfortable shoes and blue jeans, and warm coats and bathing suits. From her section called “Smells,” she shook in a pinch of Hyacinths, a pinch of Just Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies, a pinch of Freshly Mowed Grass, and - just to make it interesting - a pinch of Skunk. Finally she was almost done. Almost.

There was one more ingredient she wanted to add. She moved jars around looking for one special jar she remembered that she had but that she had never used before. Finally she found it behind a jar called “Kalimavda” (which she didn’t add, so I have no idea what that would have contributed to her new planet!) She carefully lifted down a little jar labeled “Freedom.” This time she had to read the label because she didn’t remember exactly what was in the jar. The label said, “This compound contains the ability to make choices, to choose one thing instead of another thing. Use cautiously, because the choices made will have consequences.” The Creator smiled as she measured out twice the maximum recommended dosage into her glass jar. She said to herself, “This will make it especially interesting.”

She held the open jar in her hands, slowly turning it as she looked down into it. A soft chuckle rumbled out of her mouth and into the jar. A tear trickled down her cheek and into the jar also. She leaned over and blew in her warm breath. And then she screwed on the cover and flung the jar away into the star-speckled darkness. It landed just where she intended - about 93 million miles from her favorite Sun. The Creator watched her planet settle into its new home. She thought to herself, “What a nice piece of work! I hope they’ll appreciate all the special things I did to make their planet interesting.” Then she sat down with a good book, a bowl of popcorn, and some Kalimavda (whatever that is!).

(This is a story by Cynthia B. Johnson from a book, What If Nobody Forgave” )

Why did you find a story when you opened this Children & Youth brochure? Well, I started off listing all of the many of fun things we do in our program, what you can expect at each age level, and what Unitarian Universalist values we model for our children. I reread the list and thought “This is just a list. Did it really tell you who we are?” Then it struck me I wanted to tell a story. I went over to my shelves and thumbed through my books. I found a “The Mustard Seed” story and “The Three Questions” story. And then I found this story. It seemed to say it all.

What will you find at our church for your children? You will find a community where your children can experience life in a safe, kind, and compassionate environment. Where we all take care of our community and our world because we are all connected to the earth and each other. Where we celebrate our differences and similarities because each of us is important just the way we are. Where we think about which values and beliefs that we use in our everyday living and why. Where we all have the opportunity to make the decisions that affect our lives within our church community. And through our combined efforts we work to create a better world. Of course, we do all of this while keeping in mind age-appropriate activities and developmental readiness. We model more than we tell. And we think that “Freedom” is worth twice the recommended dosage.

See you soon,
Mary Jane Holden
Director of Lifespan Religious Education

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