During the Coming of Age year the youth take on the role of sharing readings at the beginning and end of each session.   They can be words of inspiration, of comfort, a showing of gratitude or a call to action.  On the day you signed up for (we’ll post the schedule soon) please come with one opening reading and one closing reading.  Please make sure to include the name of the person who wrote or spoke the words.

Opening reading: What might set a neat tone for the group’s time together?  If the facilitators have shared ahead of time what the topic of the session will be, it is great to try to tie into the topic.

Closing words: These words are like a gift you give each person, something for them to ponder and hold as they leave the group and re-enter the wider world.

Be creative.  You are not limited to one specific source where you must go to find your readings.  This is a chance to explore poems, stories, prayers, meditations, song lyrics, philosophers, you name it!

Some ideas from the UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association) are listed below.  Feel free to add other ideas in the comments section below for others to reference.

• Opening Words — These words invite folks FROM their separate lives and TO a common place and time for the worship hour.  Feel free to adapt the reading as needed.    Example:  if the text says, “as we join in worship together” for Coming of Age purposes you can change it to, “as we join in this time together.”
• Closing Words — These bring your time together to an end and get everyone ready to return home.  Think of them as “a final nugget for people to reflect on throughout the week.”