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ONA Pets
Small Group Resources
Spirit Conversations		 fifty anneversary

Introduction

This spirit conversation, designed to take about 15 minutes for 8 people, allows participants to use their pets to discover important characterisic about relationship with people.  In structure, it begins by allowing participants to recall pets they have had in their lives. It then poses a series of questions that allow participant to delve deeper into the nature of relationships.

Part 1 - Context

(Note to the leader: This section can be read to provide a context for the participants. Alternatively, the leader may introduce the topic in any other way that seems appropriate. Also, everything printed in italics is an instruction or hint to the leader and should not be read to the participants. Since this conversation heavily relies on most/all participants having a relationship with a pet, it would be good to verify this fact before proceeding.)

Many of us have had pets in our lives. Pets often become important friends and companions to us. One of the most interesting features of our relationship with our pets is the interspecies bond that can occur. The nature of that bond is both similar and very different that bonds we share with our fellow humans.

Part 2 - Objective Questions

What was the name of the first pet you remember?   (or)
With which of your pets did you form a friendship? (or)
What was your favorite pet?

The leader should now give every participant a chance to respond. Hopefully, everyone has had a pet but , if not, move gracefully to the next person.

Part 3 - Interpretive questions

Did your pet ever make you laugh? (or)
Do you remember any really outlandish thing your pet did? (or)
Did your pet ever do anything that made you wonder how it got so smart?

Part 4 - Reflective questions

Several questions are posed here but generally there is time for only one so pick the most appropriate question for the participants.

Did you ever admire the way your pet showed emotion in, for example, it happiness to see you?
Have you ever noticed deviousness in the way pet express emotion?  (or)
Have you ever been jealous of the ease pets have in showing emotion?

Part 5 - Decisional questions

Do we sometime respond to our pets with the same abandon as they respond to us? Should we (or can we) respond to people with this same sense of liberation? 

Part 6 - Closing

At the close of this conversation, try to summarize some of the insights that have been revealed by the group. Often it is good to offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the role pets play in our lives, and  the happiness they can bring to us. If you pray, you can also give thanks for our pets as role models. 

©2010 First Congregational Chruch of Flagstaff Email: Click here. Last modified 2010 April 20