Workshop 15: Hot Topics and Contemporary Issues within the Unitarian Universalist Community

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

In This Section

Introduction
From Building the World We Dream About

… for all the significant identities that constitute each of us, there is a personal essence that defines who we are, a singular soul that is hidden deep within, beyond the layers of identity that protect it. When we make initial contact with each other, we only see the outside of that soul at…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 10 Activity 1: Drinking from Our Own Wells 30 Activity 2: Cultural Misappropriation in Worship and Congregational Life 30 Activity 3: The Fort Worth Incident 30 Activity 4: Large Group Discussion 10 Closing 10 Alternate Activity 1: The Empowerment…
Spiritual Preparation
From Building the World We Dream About

Take some time to consider what you are learning in the process of facilitating this program. What pieces are falling into place for you? What are you still curious about? What challenges you still? Journal or share your thoughts with your co-facilitator(s) or a trusted conversation partner.
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, We May Have It Participant evaluations from previous workshop List of this workshop’s Goals Covenant established in Workshop 1 Preparat…
Activity 1: Drinking from Our Own Wells
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Video clip from https://s3.amazonaws.com/uuavideo/tapestry/11062005_btwwda_drinkwells_m… from Our Own Wells, computer and projector or monitor Workshop 14, Handout 3, Multicultural Competence Worksheet Preparation for Activity Copy Workshop 14,…
Activity 2: Cultural Misappropriation in Worship and Congregational Life
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, Perspective on Music and Cultural Appropriation Workshop 14, Handout 3, Multicultural Competence Worksheet (from Activity 1) Preparation for Activity Copy Handout 1 for all participants. Description of Activity Distribute handouts….
Activity 3: The Fort Worth Incident
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 2, The Fort Worth Incident Workshop 14, Handout 3, Multicultural Competence Worksheet (from Activity 1) Preparation for Activity Copy Handout 2 for all participants. Description of Activity Distribute the handouts….
Activity 4: Large Group Discussion
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 10 minutes Description of Activity Gather the large group for a general discussion, using these questions as a guide: What are we learning as a result of examining these controversies? What patterns are emerging? Are any of these issues surfacing or reflected in the life of your…
Closing
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Lined paper and pens/pencils Taking It Home Leader Resource 2, The Singing of Angels Preparation for Activity Write on newsprint, and post: What are you learning What are you curious about? Copy Taking It Home for all participants. Description of…
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?
Alternate Activity 1: The Empowerment Controversy
From Building the World We Dream About

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 3, The Empowerment Controversy Workshop 14, Handout 3, Multicultural Competence Worksheet Preparation for Activity Copy Handout 3 and Workshop 14, Handout 3 for all participants. Description of Activity Distribute the handouts. Invite…
Taking It Home: Hot Topics and Contemporary Issues within the Unitarian Universalist Community
From Building the World We Dream About

… for all the significant identities that constitute each of us, there is a personal essence that defines who we are, a singular soul that is hidden deep within beyond the layers of identity that protect it. When we make initial contact with each other, we only see the outside of that soul at…
Handout 1: Perspective on Music and Cultural Appropriation

Jason Shelton

From Building the World We Dream About

I. Background The question of cultural appropriation (sometimes called misappropriation) is a hot topic among ministers and other worship leaders in our time. I first remember hearing about it couched in a story of worship leaders who had adapted certain First Nations rituals for use in Unitarian…
Handout 2: The Fort Worth Incident
From Building the World We Dream About

“Report examines racism, youth at 2005 General Assembly,” by Tom Stites and Christopher L. Walton. Reprinted with permission from UU World online, February 6, 2006. Copyright 2006 Unitarian Universalist Association. After conducting more than 80 interviews to probe events distressing to Unitarian…
Handout 3: The Empowerment Controversy

Colin Bossen, Julia Hamilton

From Building the World We Dream About

From the forthcoming Tapestry of Faith program, A History of Unitarian Universalist Resistance and Transformation. The involvement of Unitarian Universalist clergy and laypeople in the series of civil rights marches in and between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965 is often regarded as a…
Leader Resource 1: We May Have It

Lewis A. McGee

From Building the World We Dream About

We may have it! Millions upon millions of people everywhere are drifting from the old formulations, no longer willing to view the ancient myths as religious truths. They are looking for a vital, modern religion with a personal and social imperative. We may have it! I think we do!…
Leader Resource 2: The Singing of Angels

Howard Thurman

From Building the World We Dream About

There must be always remaining in every life some place for the singing of angels, some place for that which in itself is breathlessly beautiful and—by an inherent prerogative, throwing all the rest of life into a new and creative relatedness—something that gathers up in itself all the freshets…
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…

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The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Workshop 15: Hot Topics and Contemporary Issues within the Unitarian Universalist Community

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