Spring 2008

Session 2

“Heroes and Heroines”

Opening Words

“We are here to follow the promptings of our deepest heart. We are here with expectations, alive, spoken, and unspoken. We are here because we are human, creatures of solitude and communion. Wanting wholeness, knowing brokenness, we meet here once again to remind ourselves of what we already know. We open ourselves to whatever breaks in upon us or summons us to speak or act. Our time together affects our time apart. We want to participate, to be known, to be loved.” - - Mark Belletini

Chalice Lighting

As we light this flame, may we be open to the inspiration, learning, community, and deepening commitment to our most cherished ideals that we experience when we gather together.

Check-in/Sharing

Topic and Questions

1. Who were your heroes or heroines while you were growing up? Who did you admire? Who did you look up to? Who did you want to be like?

2. Ernest Hemingway said, “As you get older, it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.” Who do you admire or see as a role model now? What kind of people do you admire most? Is there anybody who you would call a hero?

3. Many times, we discover that people we really once admired turn out to be more human than otherwise. Has this ever happened to you? How did you feel about the person afterward? Do newly revealed flaws tarnish a person’s admirable reputation or make him or her more admirable because he or she was able to do good things despite being less than perfect?

4. Is it a good thing to have heroes in our society? What role do they play in our lives? Do they help us discover our own heroic potential or do they make it less likely that we will do so because they seem so different from the rest of us? Do heroes give us hope or set us up for inevitable disappointment?

Reflections on the Empty Chair

There are most likely people in the church or people you know outside the church who would be interested in participating in this Chalice Circle. Who do you know who you might invite to come to the next meeting?

Likes and Wishes

What did you really like about this meeting? What do you wish would be different next time?

Extinguishing the Chalice

As we extinguish this flame, may we hold each other in our hearts until we come together again.

Closing Words

“Always it is easier to pay homage to prophets than to heed the direction of their vision. It is easier to blindly venerate the saints than to learn the human quality of their sainthood. It is easier to glorify the heroes of the race than to give weight to their examples. To worship the wise is much easier than to profit by their wisdom. Great leaders are honored, not by adulation buy by sharing their insights and values.”

            - - Clinton Lee Scott