Today we are focusing on our sixth principle
Indigo build a fair and peaceful world or Insist on a Peaceful, Fair, and Free World.
The goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all.

After the police come, a family is forced to flee their Caribbean island and set sail for America in a small fishing boat. Mom and Dad and the boy and girl are coming with many other families. They run out of food, there are thieves in other boats, the motor on their boat doesn’t work and they make a sail. They find land but are turned away although the soldiers give them food to help with their journey. It was a very hard trip. Finally they reach a new place and celebrate Thanksgiving with the people in the new country.

• I wonder how it feels to give up all that you have so that you can be free?
• I wonder what the family is going to do now that they are in America?
• I wonder how we might help them?
• I wonder if you have ever taken a long journey?
• I wonder if you have ever been lost?
• I wonder if you have ever been really hungry?
• I wonder if you have ever felt really scared?
• I wonder if this story reminds you of any of our other Unitarian Universalist Promises?

In November and December, most Americans think a lot about holidays, and this Sunday we are going to do that together. For our Mystery Quest we will talk about special ways we act on holidays like Thanksgiving. In our Energy Burner we will share some holiday traditions with each other. And in our Action Quest we will consider ways we might make the holidays better for other people.
What holiday rituals does your family observe?

I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense. — Harold Kushner

Talk about the quote. Do you think life makes sense? Or are you still trying to figure it out?

WHAT WE DID TODAY
Today's Big Question is “Why do bad things happen?” We responded to some answers offered by various belief systems and heard the story of Job We ranked some bad events that could happen, and said which ones UUs might do something about. We finished in WIT Time by celebrating life the way it is, good and bad.

ANSWERING TODAY'S BIG QUESTION
What do family members have to say about why bad things happen? Why to they think good things happen?

TRYING SOME SUPERSTITIONS
Try out some good-luck superstitions to see if they work. If you say a hopeful thought aloud, knock on a piece of wood with your knuckles so speaking your hopes aloud will not doom your chances; then say “Knock on wood.” Cross your fingers when you hope for something (some people think this gesture is a way to make the sign of the Christian cross to keep the Devil away). Pick a four-leaf clover for good luck, if you can find one. Bring a frog into your house for good luck! What other superstitions have you heard? (Search on the Internet for more, if you wish.) After a few days, talk about whether your luck has improved.
Talk about what superstitions are, what they mean to you. Did you ever believe in the power of superstitions? What do you think makes superstitions survive?

REFLECT ON YOUR BELIEFS
People say, “Misery loves company.” Is that true? Get together with some other people and talk about bad things that have happened to you. Does it feel good to do that? Do you still feel better a few hours later? Together talk about good things that have happened or are happening to you. Does that feel different? Better?

SHARED SEARCH
Does your family have stories about very good things or very bad things that have happened to individuals? Which stories are told most often? Have you appreciated the good things and overcome the bad ones? If not, what more can you do? Was there a time when somebody had what seemed like bad luck but it turned into good luck?

PHOTO CHALLENGE
Photograph the results of somebody's good action. Share the photograph with others and ask why they think the good thing happened.

FAMILY FAITH IN ACTION
Find out about cooperative games to play at your next family gathering. Cooperative games are non-competitive. Nobody wins, so nobody loses. The Learning For Life (at www.learning-for-life.org/exploring/resources/99-720/x08.pdf) website describes some cooperative games. Other sites include Creative Kids at Home (at www.creativekidsathome.com/games/cooperative_games/) and Peace Games (at www.peacegames.org/Resources_what_are_coop_games.shtml).

FIND OUT MORE
Reconciling Faith and Evil
Rabbi Harold Kushner's classic book When Bad Things Happen to Good People attempts to reconcile a belief in God with evidence of evil in the world, based on some of the author's own experiences.
That's Good! That's Bad! by Margery Cuyler (Henry Holt, 1993) is a fun picture book for younger children that humorously presents a series of alternating good and bad events. Riddle and Mystery youth might like to read it with younger children in the religious education program, or with a younger sibling.
The archetypal, deist “Why do bad things happen?” story is the biblical story of Job, which appears both in Hebrew scripture (Book of Job) and the Koran and forms the basis for Archibald MacLeish's 1959 play J.B. The protagonist responds to a series of afflictions with an ever-stronger belief in God and faith in God's omniscience and power.

Do you have rules for living? A personal code of ethics is a powerful tool for making positive choices. Knowing what you stand for can help guide you in difficult situations. What rules for living are you familiar with? Have you heard of the Ten Commandments or read Desiderata?
We’re watching clips from The Ten Commandments with Charleston Heston and History of the World, Part 1 today. We’ll listen to Desiderata and take a stab at writing our own Rules for Living.