Workshop 9: Commitment

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

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Principled Commitment: A Program for Unitarian Universalist Couples

In This Section

Introduction
From Principled Commitment

Loving involves commitment. We are not automatic lovers of self, others, world, or God. Love does not just happen… . Love is a choice — not simply, or necessarily, a rational choice, but rather a willingness to be present to others without pretense or guile. — Rev. Carter Heyward,…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Principled Commitment

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering Opening 10 Activity 1: Check-in 10 Activity 2: Signs of Commitment 30 Activity 3: Growing Together 60 Closing 10 Alternate Activity 1: Faith in Action — Commitment to the Congregation 15 Alternative Activity 2: A Model for Managing Change 20 Alternate…
Spiritual Preparation
From Principled Commitment

Carter Heyward, in the passage included as Leader Resource 2 for this workshop, writes that “love is the choice to experience life as a member of the human family, a partner in the dance of life.” Set aside some time for personal reflection and meditation on the subject of commitment….
Welcoming and Entering
From Principled Commitment

Materials for Activity Name tags Markers Sign-in sheet Pen or pencil An agenda of this workshop’s activities on newsprint or a digital slide (see Preparation) Optional: Computer, digital projector, and screen Optional: Copies of workshop series schedule Preparation for Activity Using the…
Opening
From Principled Commitment

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Altar or centering table Cloth for covering altar or centering table Chalice and candle Matches or lighter Singing the Living Tradition hymnbook (at least one copy) Leader Resource 1: Order of Service — Commitment Preparation for Activity Prepare t…
Activity 1: Check-in
From Principled Commitment

Activity time: 10 minutes Description of Activity Invite participants to take turns briefly sharing insights they have had since the previous workshop on collaboration. Ask whether couples have tried some new ways of collaborating. If desired, you can move this activity along briskly by asking…
Activity 2: Signs Of Commitment
From Principled Commitment

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint Easel Markers Low-stick masking tape Leader Resource 2: Loving Involves Commitment Newsprint sheet with list of skills (see Preparation) Preparation for Activity List the following skills on a sheet of newsprint, leaving space to add more…
Activity 3: Growing Together
From Principled Commitment

Activity time: 60 minutes Materials for Activity Roll of narrow poster paper or large sheets of newsprint 2 to 3 feet of paper per couple) Pens, pencils, or fine-point markers Tables Optional: Yardsticks, rulers, or other straightedge tools Preparation for Activity If you are using a roll of pape…
Closing
From Principled Commitment

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Copies of customized Taking It Home handout (see Preparation) Preparation for Activity Review the Taking It Home section of this workshop and decide which “Affection Connection” options you will encourage participants to do. Download the Taking It…
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Principled Commitment

With your co-leader, take some time after the workshop to evaluate the session and plan for future sessions. Consider these questions: What parts of the workshop seemed to engage the most people? Why? When did we seem particularly effective as co-leaders? Why?…
Alternate Activity 1: Faith In Action - Commitment To The Congregation
From Principled Commitment

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity The newsprint list of skills from Activity 2: Signs of Commitment Easel Description of Activity This activity can follow directly from Activity 2, Signs of Commitment. Introduce the discussion with these or similar words: Being a member of a…
Alternate Activity 2: A Model For Managing Change
From Principled Commitment

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Leader Resource 3: A Model for Managing Change Newsprint sheet with list of steps (see Preparation) Preparation for Activity On a sheet of newsprint, list these four steps: Understand what has happened Accept what can’t be changed Put the past behi…
Alternate Activity 3: Filling Your Bucket
From Principled Commitment

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Copies of Handout 1: Filling Your Bucket (one per participant) Pens or pencils Tables or hard surfaces for writing Optional: Self-adhesive colored dots (at least 50 per participant) Preparation for Activity Set up tables, or find books or other har…
Taking It Home: Commitment
From Principled Commitment

Affection Connection — Commitment Extend your exploration of commitment by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Couples: Managing Change With your partner, try applying the model explored in Alternate Activity 2, A Model for Managing Change, to one or more situations involving…
Handout 1: Filling Your Bucket Page 1
From Principled Commitment

My Personal Bucket…
Handout 1: Page 2
From Principled Commitment

My Partner Bucket…
Handout 1: Page 3
From Principled Commitment

My Child Bucket…
Handout 1: Page 4
From Principled Commitment

My Greater World Bucket…
Leader Resource 1: Order Of Service - Commitment
From Principled Commitment

Follow this Order of Service as you lead the opening of Workshop 9, Commitment. Welcome Chalice Lighting Principle Guided Meditation Reading Welcome Welcome participants. Explain that this workshop is devoted to the concept of commitment….
Leader Resource 2: Loving Involves Commitment
From Principled Commitment

Offer these words on love from the Reverend Carter Heyward, a feminist and lesbian woman who was among the first women ordained as an Episcopal priest. Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…
Leader Resource 3: A Model for Managing Change
From Principled Commitment

One of the most challenging aspects of a committed relationship is the need to manage change, whether that change is perceived as positive, negative, or neutral. In a simple sense, change means that things are no longer and may never again be the same….