Workshop 12: Growing and Healing Within Ethnic/Racial Groups

Beautiful orange sunset over a deep blue ocean. — Tapestry is Sunsetting

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Building the World We Dream About

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Introduction
From Building the World We Dream About

The purpose of monocultural community is two-fold: (1) to find identity and self-esteem as a group; and (2) to do homework together before encountering other cultural communities. — Eric H. F. Law, educator and author, in The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb This workshop introduces racial identity…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 10 Activity 1: Race-based Reflection Groups 100 Closing 10…
Spiritual Preparation
From Building the World We Dream About

Read and reflect on this passage from Derald Wing Sue, author of What Must People of Color Do to Overcome Racism and Overcoming Our Racism: The Journey to Liberation: In light of the historical and continuing experiences of oppression, even I marvel at our ability to continue our lives in such a…
Welcoming and Entering
From Building the World We Dream About

Materials for Activity Sign-in sheet and pen or pencil Name tags for participants (durable or single-use) and bold markers Optional: Music and player Optional: Snacks and beverages Preparation for Activity Arrange chairs in a circle and set out name tags and markers on a table….
Opening
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Worship table or designated space Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED/battery-operated candle Leader Resource 1, Chrysalis Participant evaluations from previous workshop List of this workshop’s Goals Covenant established in Workshop 1 Preparation f…
Activity 1: Race-based Reflection Groups
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 100 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Handout 1, Reflection Group for People who are White or of European Ancestry Handout 2, Reflection Group for People of Color and from Racially or Ethnically Marginalized Groups Handout 3, Reflection Group for…
Closing
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Lined paper and pens/pencils Taking It Home A copy of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook OR Leader Resource 3, God Beyond Borders Preparation for Activity Write on newsprint, and post: What ideas were most interesting…
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Building the World We Dream About

Take a few moments right after the workshop to ask each other: What went well? What didn’t? Why? What do you think was the best moment of the workshop? Why? Did anything surprise you? Do we need to make changes in the way we work together?
Taking It Home: Growing and Healing Within Ethnic/Racial Groups
From Building the World We Dream About

The purpose of monocultural community is two-fold: (1) to find identity and self-esteem as a group; and (2) to do homework together before encountering other cultural communities. — Eric H. F. Law, educator and author, in The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb At our next workshop, we will hold a…
Handout 1: Reflection Group for People who are White or of European Ancestry
From Building the World We Dream About

Select a facilitator from the group to read questions and monitor time. Use the Serial Testimony Protocol (Workshop 2, Leader Resource 2) to talk about as many of these questions as possible. Note that there are more questions below than your group will have time to fully explore. The facilitator…
Handout 2: Reflection Group for People of Color and from Racially or Ethnically Marginalized Groups
From Building the World We Dream About

The experience of racially or ethnically marginalized groups in the United States context is nothing short of tragic: the loss of identity, dignity, property and cultural communities, assignment to second-class citizenship… not to mention the violent crimes against the (brown) body over time….
Handout 3: Reflection Group for Biracial-Multiracial People
From Building the World We Dream About

Participants in the Biracial/Multiracial Reflection Group will work to explore, affirm, and heal their spirit by first naming the landscape of their experience. They will also consider how to create healthy relationships alongside White people and People of Color and from racially or ethnically…
Leader Resource 1: Chrysalis
From Building the World We Dream About

By Alla Bozarth, Julia Barkley, and Terri Hawthorne, from Stars in your Bones: Emerging Signposts on Our Spiritual Journeys (St. Cloud, Minnesota: North Star Press, 1990). Used with permission. I am pregnant with myself. Do you realize what this means?…
Leader Resource 2: About Race-Based Reflection Groups
From Building the World We Dream About

Race-based identity groups, or caucuses, provide a chance for people to talk in a structured format with others from their own ethnic/racial group, an opportunity that is rare, even for those who regularly participate in multicultural dialogues. This kind of within-group talk more often than not…
Leader Resource 3: God Beyond Borders
From Building the World We Dream About

By Kathy Galloway, in Maker’s Blessing (Wild Goose Publications/The Iona Community, 2000), www.ionabooks.com.
Find Out More
From Building the World We Dream About

The UUA Multicultural Growth & Witness staff group offers resources, curricula, trainings, and tools to help Unitarian Universalist congregations and leaders engage in the work of antiracism, antioppression, and multiculturalism. Visit…

Download all of Building the World We Dream About (Word) (PDF) to edit or print.

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Workshop 12: Growing and Healing Within Ethnic/Racial Groups

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