UU Ice Breaker Bingo

This UU Ice Breaker Bingo activity was created by me, Peter Bowden, and the Rev. Amy Freedman. It was designed specifically for a religious education parent community building event.

Download UU Ice Breaker Bingo:
Icebreaker Bingo (updated 10/20/17) DOC
 Icebreaker Bingo (updated 10/20/17) PDF

Example Board

UUIcebreakerbingo

For best results CUSTOMIZE the boards to better fit the group you are using it with.  We used multiple boards just for fun.  Note that you can only customize the word docs, not the PDF.

How it was used        
The bingo sheets were passed out as people arrived.  This helped the 50+ parents attending connect before dinner.  Note this evening program was specifically designed to help parents connect, with the children having a separate program. Want to get your families to interact as families? Want to promote intergenerational / multigenerational community?  Make sure to do some intentional community building with your parents!

The three boards included in this document have different squares.  Boards 1 and 2 include questions referencing children.  Board 3 does not.  This has been included for those who don’t want to take the time to customize.

Tips on customizing:
As the facilitator of this icebreaker I  included “Find someone who has been on the Curious George Show” because I HAVE  and that helped me connect with all participants. We also knew that there was some interest in meditation.  That helped people connect who shared that interest.

We had prizes for the first five winners to shout out BINGO.  Either make sure to have prizes or take out the text saying you have prizes.

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Have fun! And let us know how it goes.

Solar Eclipse from Cambridge, MA

Cloudy skies in Cambridge, MA made for a dramatic eclipse.  Cue the Halloween music!  Filmed Aug 21, 2017.  Amazing, but not quite the over the top crazy spiritual experience some of the people experiencing the full eclipse had. See full eclipse videos below.

 

Here are a some amazing videos of the full eclipse…

Why I hate special church visitor mugs and you probably should too

A question I am often asked in the context of my trainings with congregations is “Do special church visitor mugs work?”

My answer? NO!!!

In fact, in most cases I find special visitor mugs do harm. I rarely use the word HATE, but I do hate special visitor mugs.

Why? Because they take visitors with high expectations for how they are going to be welcomed, raise their expectations, and then? Holding the special mug you made them take, they are usually ignored. Their hopes and dreams are crushed! They are disappointed. They get angry.

Want to guarantee a visitor never comes back? Make them take a special mug to flag themselves to be warmly greeted and then ignore them. Works every time.

Does your congregation have a great system for greeting people?  Have a challenge, success story, or other learning to share? 

I’d love to hear from you.  Leave a comment on this post here, or on Facebook or Twitter.  You may also contact me here.

This video is an excerpt from my online course “Church Social Media and Membership Growth”.  In addition to talking social media strategy, I also cover some of the basics of welcoming online visitors when they finally arrive onsite. What’s the point of doing great work with social media and outreach if we crush our vistors’ hopes and dreams when they show up, right?

Why I hate special church visitor mugs and you probably should too

 

A question I am often asked in the context of my trainings with congregations is “Do special church visitor mugs work?”

My answer? NO!!!

In fact, in most cases I find special visitor mugs do harm. I rarely use the word HATE, but I do hate special visitor mugs.

Why? Because they take visitors with high expectations for how they are going to be welcomed, raise their expectations, and then? Holding the special mug you made them take, they are usually ignored. Their hopes and dreams are crushed! They are disappointed. They get angry.

Want to guarantee a visitor never comes back? Make them take a special mug to flag themselves to be warmly greeted and then ignore them. Works every time.

Does your congregation have a great system for greeting people?  Have a challenge, success story, or other learning to share?  I’d love to hear from you.

Comment below,  or if you’d like to speak with me about your congregation’s membership development efforts, you may contact me here. 

This video is an excerpt from my online course “Church Social Media and Membership Growth” which also covers some of the basics of welcoming people when they arrive onsite. What’s the point of doing great work with social media and outreach if we crush our vistors’ hopes and dreams when they show up, right?

Emerson’s Transparent Eyeball Coloring Page

Recently my wife, the Rev. Amy Freedman, asked me to make an easel pad sized version of the classic Ralph Waldo Emerson “Transparent Eyeball” illustration by Christopher Pearse Cranch (ca. 1836-1838).  She wanted the large version to use in a message for all ages at First Parish in Concord, MA.  Read Amy’s post about the message.

After making my large Sharpie version of this illustration, I scanned it using my iPhone’s Evernote App and later turned it into the following black and white coloring page.

Download:

Ralph Waldo Emerson – Transparent Eyeball Coloring Page (PDF)

Download Coloring Page

Here’s the Cranch “Transparent Eyeball” illustration via Wikipedia:

Here’s the illustration as it appeared in the worship service:

Here are some other versions.

Emerson’s Transparent Eyeball – Social Media Profile Header

Emerson Transparent Eyeball Facebook Header

Emerson’s Transparent Eyeball – Square

Emerson Transparent Eyeball Square

Emerson’s Transparent Eyeball – Full Page

If you use these and enjoy them, drop me a note or comment on this post.  I love hearing how people use my art.  ~ Peter

 

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UU Chalice with Hands Image for Word Art

An image Amy Freedman and I made years ago for a t-shirt has resurfaced as the basis for Unitarian Universalist Word Art! This post shares the original image and website for making your own.

Rev. Amy Freedman's avatarAlice the Chalice

The following image was originally designed for a New England Leadership School t-shirt.  Featuring the hands of the Rev. Amy Freedman and Peter Bowden, this image has become a favorite graphic and basis for making UU word art.

Joy Berry, Director of Lifespan Religious Education, was the first to create amazing word art from this image. Thanks to Joy for so generously sharing her idea and process!

You can generate your own for free at http://wordart.com.  Purchase credits to download high resolution files to print larger posters.  Use the color and background controls to try different styles.  The hands are negative space controlled by the background color you select. Examples:

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