Tapestry of Faith: Building the World We Dream About: An Anti-racism Multicultural Program

Resources

Print, online, and audio/video resources for further exploration of the themes, topics, and issues. The Multicultural Growth and Witness Staff Group at the UUA provides resources online for further exploration of issues raised in this program, including links to organizations and online resources and an annotated bibliography of print resources and films for study and discussion.

Sample: Letter to minister(s), to send well before the first workshop.

Dear [minister(s) name],

We are grateful for your support and advocacy for our congregation’s participation in Building the World We Dream About, a program to open a conversation about how race and oppression create systems of injustice and inequity in our congregation and community. We hope that what we learn as a result of these discussions will help our congregation develop the courage to live out our conviction to build a world where every person’s inherent worth is honored.

The program is composed of 24 workshops that will be offered [twice a month, every other Tuesday, etc.]. We expect the workshops will be quite a powerful experience for everyone involved. That’s why we need your help.

We believe the conversations about race and ethnicity should not be isolated to only those who sign up for the workshops. To that end, we ask you to consider devoting a Sunday sermon to the general topic of how issues of race and ethnicity affect the life of our congregation and local community. We envision such a sermon as a kickoff for the program.

Over the course of the workshops, we plan to share what we learn beyond the workshop group, including with members of the congregation’s lay and professional leadership. These sharing sessions will be in the context of worship and held during the workshop time. We hope you can attend these worship and reflection experiences, which will be held on [day, date, and time for Workshop 13] and [day, date, and time for Workshop 23].

We expect that some of the discussions may make some of the participants uncomfortable. With your permission, we will reach out to you for ministerial support of us as facilitators, and hope that we may also come to you for advice and counsel should a participant’s distress be deeper than we can effectively manage in a workshop setting.

We are excited about the possibilities of what might emerge from this undertaking. Please be in touch at any time.

In faith,

[names and contact information for facilitators]

Sample: Invitation letter to participants

Come build a faith where sisters and brothers,

Anointed by God may then create peace:

Where justice shall roll down like waters,

And peace like an ever flowing stream.

Dear [first participant name],

It is with a great deal of excitement that we welcome your participation in Building the World We Dream About, our congregation’s conversation to determine how we might be ever more multicultural with regard to race, ethnicity, and other forms of cultural difference. We recognize that your joining this group is a big commitment. As facilitators, we have taken great care to ensure that your experience will be positive and, of course, of great benefit to our congregation, local community, and the world.

The first workshop will take place on [day, date] at [time]. We ask that you bring a personal journal to jot down notes and insights as you proceed through the program. The journal can be formatted any way you wish; our only request is that you use a format that will allow you to revisit it as the workshops unfold.

Our minister, [minister(s) name], will give a sermon on [sermon date] to kick off and frame the Building the World We Dream About process in our congregation. We hope you will be able to attend that service.

Again, we look forward to our time together! Please contact us if you have questions or need additional information.

In faith,

[names and contact information for facilitators]