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6. Supporting Women with Children

Activities to Help us Remember and Honor
Our Mothers and Grandmothers

Here are a few ideas for activities that you may want to offer in your women’s group:

Reliquary

Ask each woman to bring a shoebox containing several things that remind her of her mother or grandmother. The box might include such items as the following: a photograph, a special brush or hairpin or item of clothing, a passport or something that tells of the mother/grandmother’s life journey, a diary or other form of the woman’s writing, etc. Allow each woman five-ten minutes to share the contents of her box. If your group is larger than eight, you will probably want to form subgroups in which the sharing can occur.

Dialogue

Have your members take on the roles of fictional characters and let the older generation speak with the younger generation. The topic of conversation could be about a modern problem for which those in dialogue are together seeking solutions. Or, you may wish to simply use the dialogue presented in the UU Women’s Heritage Society’s publication entitled, “Singing, Shouting, Celebrating”. In the publication, a young woman from the present speaks with a woman from the past and learns that social action movements began long before the 1960’s.

Or, ask members to share a short made-up dialogue between themselves and their mothers/ grandmothers (try writing all parts in first person). Choose a subject that has influenced both generations such as food, building or making a home, having children, birth control (or lack of), the desire to see the world, etc.

Writing Exercises

(Allow participants 10–15 minutes to write.)

• Write about your mother’s/grandmother’s clothing; let your memories of the clothing draw you into a brief story that shows her character.
• Recall a favorite fruit from childhood and tell about how your mother served it, why you liked it, when you had it, etc.
• Bring a favorite photograph of your mother or grandmother. Use the photo as a point of focus and begin by describing your mother/grandmother. Allow yourself to follow and describe the related stories that come into your mind.
• Write a letter to your mother thanking her for all she gave you and forgiving her for the ways in which you feel that she failed you.

Also see Oral History as an Intergenerational Religious Education Program, published by the UU Women’s Heritage Society.