SE District 4-H

Reinventing Ceremonies
Sample Vespers
Vespers using a Poem: Nine Gold Medals
Music: Olympic theme song, Buglers Dream
The athletes had come from all over the country
To run for the gold, for the silver and bronze
Many weeks and months of training
All coming down to these games.
The spectators gathered around the old field
To cheer on all the young men and women
The final event of the day was approaching
Exci ng grew high to begin.
The blocks were all lined up for those who
would use them
The hundred yard dash was the race to be run
There were nine resolved athletes in back of the star ng line
Poised for the sound of the gun.
The signal was given, the pistol exploded
And so did the runners, all charging ahead
But the smallest among them, he stumbled and staggered
And fell to the asphalt instead.
He gave out a cry in frustra on and anguish
His dreams and his eorts all dashed in the dirt
But as sure as Im standing here telling this story
The same goes for what next occurred.
The eight other runners pulled up on their heels
The ones who had trained for so long to compete
One by one they all turned around and went back to help him
And brought the young boy to his feet.

Then all the nine runners joined hands and con nued
The hundred yard dash now reduced to a walk
And a banner above that said Special Olympics
Could not have been more on the mark.
Thats how the race ended, with nine gold medals
They came to the finish line holding hands s ll
And a standing ova on and nine beaming faces
Said more than these words ever will.

Vespers using an Excerpt From A Book: If Life Is A

Game, These Are The Rules (Author: Cherie Carter
Sco )
Life has o en been compared to a game. We are never told
the rules, unfortunately, nor given any instruc ons about how
to play. We simply begin at Go and make our way around
the board, hoping we play it right. We dont exactly know the
objec ve of playing, nor what it means to actually win.
That is what 10 rules for being human is all about. These are
the guidelines to playing the game we call life, but they are
also much more than that. These rules will provide you with
the basics for what it means to be human. They are universal
truths that everyone inherently knows but has forgo en
somewhere along the way. Each rule presents its own chal
lenge, which in turn provides certain lessons we all need to
learn. The ten rules for being human are not magic, nor do
they promise ten easy steps to serenity. Their only purpose is
to give you a road map to follow as you travel your path of
growth. These rules are simply guidelines as to how to play
the game of life and make your journey on this earth a li le bit
easier.

Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local governments coopera ng. Oklahoma State University, in compliance
with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Execu ve Order 11246 as amended, Title IX of the Educa on Amendments of 1972, Americans
with Disabili es Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regula ons, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, na onal origin,
gender, age religion, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, prac ces, or procedures.

Reinventing Ceremonies, Sample Vespers

Rule #1: You will receive a body. The real you is stored inside
this body all the hopes, dreams, fears, thoughts, expecta ons,
and beliefs are what make you unique. The purpose of your body
is to act as the buer between you and the outside world and to
transport you through this game we call life.
Rule #2: You will be presented with lessons. The meaning of life
is dierent for every individual. The lessons you are presented
with are specific to you; learning these lessons is the key to
discovering and fulfilling the meaning and relevance of your own
life.
Rule #3: There are no mistakes, only lessons. Human growth is
a process of experimenta on, trial, and error, ul mately leading
to wisdom. Each me you choose to trust yourself and take
ac on, you can never quite be certain how the situa on will turn
out. The failed experiments, however, are no less valuable than
the experiments that ul mately prove successful; in fact, you
usually learn more from your perceived failures than you do
from your perceived successes.
Rule #4: A lesson is repeated unl learned. You will con nually
a ract the same lesson into your life. You will draw to teachers
to teach you that lesson un l you get it right. The only way you
can free yourself of dicult pa erns and issues you tend to
repeat is by shi ing your perspec ve so that you can recognize
the pa erns and learn the lessons that they oer.
Rule #5: Learning does not end. You never actually finish all
your lessons, for as long as you are alive, there are lessons to
learn. Regardless of your age, you will never be exempt from
the lessons you need to learn in order to con nue growing.
Rule #6: There is no beer than here. Many people believe
that they will be happy once they arrive at some specific goal
they set for themselves. For some the goal may be amassing a
million dollars, for others losing those annoying 10 pounds. By
always chasing a er another there you are never really
apprecia ng what you already have right here.
Rule #7: Others are only mirrors of you. Your reac ons to other
people are really just barometers for how you perceive yourself.
Your reac ons to theirs say more about you than they do about
others. You cannot really love or hate something about another
person unless it reflects something you love or hate about your
self.

Rule #8: What you make of your life is up to you. Every

person creates his or her own reality. Authorship of your
life is one of your absolute rights; the so o en people deny
that they have the ability to script the life they desire. You
can either engage in the blame game , making frequent use
of the statement, I couldnt because. . . or you can take
control of your life and shape it as you would like.
Rule #9: Your answers lie inside of you. All you need to do
is look inside, listen and trust yourself. There is no outside
source of wisdom that can give you the answers to any of
your innermost ques ons. You alone are your wisest
teacher. Deep inside, you already know all you need to
know.
Rule #10: You will forget all of this at birth. You came into
this world already knowing all of the informa on of these
10 rules. Each lesson is like another stone along your life
path, and as you travel and learn your lessons, some my
look and feel familiar. Remembering is the moment when
you awaken to your truth. The challenge of rule 10 is to
remember your truth again and again, and to create ways to
find your what back when you forget.
Our me here on earth is brief. You have op ons and
choices in which to make your wishes, dreams and goals
become reality. Instead of asking ques ons like why am I
here? or Why is this happening to me?, try to go a li le
deeper and ask, What is there for me to learn from this
experience? Remember this well known phrase:
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a
gi , that is why we call it the present. Learn to trust
yourself, believe in yourself, love yourself, and everything is
possible.

Reinventing Ceremonies, Sample Vespers

Vesper from unknown source: The Penny
How many mes have we heard the familiar saying I wish I
could stop me right now and stay this age forever. . .? At this
me in our lives, we are all experiencing more things than we
can keep up with. Life is fun and we are not ed down with too
much responsibility. We would probably love to stay young and
have no worries at all. However, life does go on and we have to
accept that and make the most of the life we are given.
There is, however, one way in which we can stop me. Have you
ever pulled the coins out of your pocket and really studied
them? As we look at our coins, we observe a number of dier
ent years on them. Each coin has a li le dierent look to it even
though they were fashioned in the same way at the Mint. Some
are s ll shiny while others are dull; some have scratches while
others may have even been painted on. Each coin develops its
own personality just as each of us are unique crea ons.
The dierent values of coins each have the face of a dierent
President. Each of these men have made significant contribu
ons to America and our heritage.
They represent independence, free
dom, jus ce and honor. When we
carry coins with us, we carry a piece
of history with us. We should be
proud of our ancestors and what they have done to provide us
with this privilege called freedom.
Another feature on all coins is the year in which they were mint
ed. This is one instance when me does stand s ll. The year on
each coin never changes. You can probably remember several
significant mes in history when we associate dates to an event.
Some events have even happened before most of us were born!
For example:

1963 President Kennedy was assassinated

1969 Man walks on the moon
1974 The Watergate Scandal
1989 The Berlin Wall comes down
1991 Desert Storm
1995 Oklahoma City Bombing
2001 9/11 Terrorist A ack

Have you every reached in your pocket and wondered where the
coins have been before you received them? If the coins we hold
right now could speak, they could probably tell us many inter

es ng stories about their travels, the experiences they have

had, what they have seen, and the unique people they have
come in contact with. Each of us will experience many
things in our lives. We must pass on the knowledge and
wisdom we gain to those who will follow in our footsteps so
that they can avoid any obstacles.
A coins worth never changes even though its appearance is
some mes altered. As our lives unfold, we grow older and
build on our experiences which make us wiser and be er
able to handle the situa ons we face. Our appearances
change on the outside over me, but we are s ll the same
human being on the inside and deserve to be valued as an
individual, no ma er what we have gone through.
The money we use cannot be innerchanged for example,
we cannot use a one dollar bill in place of a 10 dollar bill.
However, if we have 10 one dollar bills, we can use them in
place of the larger bill. As humans, we forfeit three/fourths
of ourselves to be like other people. It is important for us to
retain our own iden ty as individuals. Dont let others ma
nipulate your individuality. Stand strong in your beliefs and
be proud of who you are.
For as long as we can remember, the penny has carried with
it this familiar symbolism, Find a penny with heads up, all
day long youll have good luck. Children and adults alike
can be seen par cipa ng in this ritual. If heads are down,
we leave the coin alone and eventually it will be turned over
and someone else will benefit from the good luck. However,
we need to remember: Be grateful for luck, but dont de
pend on it.
We want to give each of you a penny that is painted red on
one side as a remembrance of tonight. Some of you may
choose to keep this penny for your scrapbook or carry it in
your pocket as a reminder of the friends and memories you
made here. Others will spend their penny and maybe one
day these pennies will cross our paths again. Then we can
think back on this evening and wonder where in the world
our pennies have traveled since they le our hand.
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have
and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful
lest you let other people spend it for you. Carl Sandburg

Reinventing Ceremonies, Sample Vespers

Vespers wrien by Cheryl Newberry: Man in the
Mirror
Music: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson
Mirror, Mirror...On the wall, whos the fairest of them all?
In the story of Snow White, the wicked stepmother looked into
her magic mirror ever day to hear once again that she was a
babe. Then one day, the mirror gave her a dierent answer.
When the wicked stepmother heard that Snow White was the
fairest of them all, this was a bit too much for her. She became
filled with jealousy and rage.
You may be wondering what this has to do with you. Actually, it
has a lot to do with us. Ask yourself: Whats your mirror saying
to you? Where do you find your value? Which voices do you
listen to? Is your value based upon what others think and say to
you or upon what you think and say to yourself?
When we were young, at first we didnt even realize the image
we saw in the mirror was our own reflec on. Then as we grow
up, we begin to realize we are looking at our own image and we
smile. . . we have uncondi onal acceptance for our own image.
We didnt judge ourselves based on the color of our skin, how
we spoke, what our parents drove, or any other criteria. We
even learned to blow kisses at our reflec on in the mirror! We
took that image we saw at face value and didnt try to change
anything but just enjoyed being ourselves.
As we grow older, we begin to use that mirror to compare our
selves to others around us. We see our friends and want to look
like them so we change the image in the mirror...a new hair
style, a new dress, dierent jewelry. Other changes may occur
when we compare our ac ons to others. Instead of just being
our own unique selves, we try to change our image to match the
image of others.
What happened to the li le kid that loved and accepted his or
her own image in the mirror? Our image doesnt change, but
our judgement and acceptance of that image does. If you look
at yourself and think, Im not as good as that person, but at

least I am be er than that person you will come up short

because there will always be people whom you will
compare yourself to.
The mirror is the most honest and accurate reflec on of our
own selves, not just for our outward appearance. If we look
a li le deeper, the reflec on in the mirror will show us our
character and the quali es we possess that determine our
a tudes, our ac ons, and our personality. What does the
mirror reveal about your innerself?
The song, Man In The Mirror by Michael Jackson talks
about looking inside yourself and making a change so that
we can make the world a be er place. Instead of using that
mirror to judge ourselves and make comparisons to others,
why dont we use that mir
ror to figure out how we
can use our talents, interest
and skills to do something
good for someone else.
What can we do to make a
change for the posi ve?
Each and every one of us is
born into this world totally unique. We are not our mom,
our dad, or anyone else. Each one of us is one of a kind.
We have to learn to look deeper to our inner quali es in
stead of just at the surface and determine how we can
make a change that give a posi ve reflec on for others to
see.
Next me you look in the mirror, instead of asking the same
ques on that the wicked stepmother did, ask the mirror
what you can change to become a be er person, a be er
friend, a be er member of society. Start with the man in
the mirror and make a change for once in your life so that
you can make a dierence in your own life and the world.
(play the song, Man in the Mirror, a er reading the ceremo
ny)

Reinventing Ceremonies, Sample Vespers

Vespers wrien by Cheryl Newberry: The
Winning Hand

Take yourself back in me to your earliest memory from your

childhood. Think of your first memories of birthday par es, pets,
and more. Your accomplishment of ge ng a drivers license is
another big milestone in your lifea very important one that
gives you a sense of independence.
And then, think into the future and what it holds for you. Is
college in your sites or maybe a wedding? What about children?
What is your career going to be?
Now imagine yourself in a wheelchair that will carry you, para
lyzed from the neck down, the rest of your life. Looking. .
.wondering. . .hoping for some way out. Never again will you run
with your son or dance with your wife. These are the events
that will always just remain as memories.
These are the thoughts Superman, Christopher Reeves had
every day. He too, just like you, started out with wonderful
experiences and created memories from his childhood, young
adulthood, and in his marriage. He was a successful actor who
portrayed the most Perfect man on earth that could protect us
from everything in this universe. Every child wanted to grow up
and be like Superman.
Just like all of us, Christopher Reeves had dreams of what the
rest of his life would be like. Never in his wildest dreams did he
ever imagine an accident would happen when he was enjoying a
favorite past me of horse riding. In the blink of an eye, Mr.
Reeves life changed forever.
Christopher Reeves life is a miracle in itself. . .to be dealt such a
bad hand, and make so much good come out of it is remarkable.
Even a er his death in 2004, his legacy lives on. Mr. Reeves
remarked, life is just like a deck of cards; you dont know what
you are going to be dealt next. Mr. Reeves took the bad hand
he was dealt and uses it to spread hope, encouragement and
faith through his mo va onal speaking and other charitable
events.
It is be er to look where youre going than to see where you
have been. Instead of building a wall with his problem, he took
advantage of his problem as a stepping stone.

Each of us are dealt a hand

in life. Each card we
receive represents a choice
we can make. It is up to us
to decide whether to play
the card or fold it. Some
cards make a good hand,
while others are not so
valuable or wise. It is each
persons decision as to how they will play their hand in this
game of life.
Some mes the dealer throws jokers in that confuse the
game. These jokers might represent a death in the family,
accidents, illness, or other major stresses in your life. When
life deals you a joker, figure out how to best u lize the
other cards in your hand to meet that obstacle head on and
overcome it.
Whether your hand is full of aces or deuces, it is up to you
to play the hand your dealt. With the knowledge you have,
your determina on to reach your goals, and by listening to
advice from those who have been successful with the game
of life, your life will become a winning hand.
Tonight we want to give each of you a keepsake from your
experience here. Each of you will receive a card with the
quote by Christopher Reeves to help you remember that
life is just like a deck of cards; you dont know what you
are going to be dealt next. Remember to play your hand
wisely and make the most of your winning hand.

Reinventing Ceremonies, Sample Vespers

Vespers wrien by Judy Paxton and included in the
book, Chicken Soup for the Kids Soul:
Things Are Not Always Black and White

When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument

with a boy in my class. I have forgo en what the argument was
about, but I have never forgo en the lesson I learned that day.
I was convinced that I was right and he was wrongand he was
just as convinced that I was wrong and he was right. The teacher
decided to teach us a very important lesson. She brought us up
to the front of the class and placed him on one side of the desk
and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large,
round object. I could clearly see
that it was black. She asked the
boy what color the object was.
White, He answered.
I couldnt believe he said the object
was white, when it was obviously
black! Another argument started
between my classmate and me, this
me about the color of the object.
The teacher told me to go and

stand where the boy was standing and told him to come
and stand where I had been. We changed places, and now
she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to
answer white. It was an object with two dierently col
ored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from
my side was it black.
My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day: you
must stand in the other persons shoes and look at the
situa on through their eyes in order to truly understand
their perspec ve.
There is so much beauty in the world and so much for us to
be thankful for. We have many freedoms in America that
many other countries only dream of. O en we dont take
me to look at things the way others
do and that can hurt us if we are
closed minded to their opinions.
There is so much more to see in the
world besides the black and white.
If we will be open to what surrounds
us...our family, friends, the environ
ment. . .and really look at all vibrant
colors that fill our lives, we will be
enriched by what we see and
experience.