Workshop 4: Cultivating a Virtuous Character

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Part of What We Choose: Ethics for Unitarian Universalists

In This Section

Introduction
From What We Choose

The moral virtues are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature. Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for their reception, but their complete formation is the product of habit. — Aristotle The philosophies of Kant and of Mill examined in Workshops 2 and 3 provide two different…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From What We Choose

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 2 Activity 1: Opening Scenario 15 Activity 2: Reflection and Conversation 20 Activity 3: A Question of Virtue 15 Activity 4: A Life of Virtue — Mahatma Gandhi 20 Activity 5: The Middle Path 15 Faith in Action: Civil Disobedience and Virtue Closing…
Spiritual Preparation
From What We Choose

Set aside time for journaling, reflection, prayer, and/or meditation, using these focus questions: What people—famous or not—do you think have lived a virtuous life? What actions and qualities can you point to that make their lives virtuous? What virtues are most important to you? What guides…
Welcoming and Entering
From What We Choose

Materials for Activity Sign-in sheet and pen or pencil Pocket folder, pen/pencil, and paper for each participant Name tags, single-use or durable Newsprint, markers, and tape Optional: Refreshments Preparation for Activity Using the Workshop-at-a-Glance as a guide, create and post the agenda on…
Opening
From What We Choose

Activity time: 2 minutes Materials for Activity Worship table or designated space Chalice, candle, and lighter, or LED/battery-operated candle Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook Preparation for Activity Arrange the worship table or designated space. Description of…
Activity 1: Opening Scenario
From What We Choose

Activity time: 15 minutes Preparation for Activity This activity offers a choice of two scenarios. Consider carefully whether the first scenario can be safely discussed in the group….
Activity 2: Reflection and Conversation
From What We Choose

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Journals or notebooks, one for each participant Variety of writing and drawing materials, such as pens, pencils, fine point color markers, and color pencils Handout 1, Virtues Preparation for Activity Write on newsprint, and post: Think of two or…
Activity 3: A Question of Virtue
From What We Choose

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Description of Activity Introduce the activity with these or similar words: What we view as virtuous is frequently driven by context. The virtuous action in one situation may be different from the virtuous action given…
Activity 4: A Life of Virtue - Mahatma Gandhi
From What We Choose

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity A copy of the story “Mahatma Gandhi” Preparation for Activity Print and review the story “Mahatma Gandhi,” and prepare to read it aloud or invite a participant to read it. If a participant will read, give them the story in advance….
Activity 5: The Middle Path
From What We Choose

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Preparation for Activity Write on newsprint, and post: Can civil disobedience be undertaken as a mean between extremes, a middle path? If so, how do you recognize the middle path? If not, why not? How is the practice of…
Closing
From What We Choose

Activity time: 3 minutes Materials for Activity Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook Taking It Home handout Preparation for Activity Customize Taking It Home and copy for all participants….
Leader Reflection and Planning
From What We Choose

Consider these questions as you review the workshop with your co-leader: Which parts of the workshop most engaged participants? Why? Were there parts that did not work as well? What could we have done differently? Where was it easy for you to work together? Where was it difficult?…
Faith In Action: Civil Disobedience and Virtue
From What We Choose

Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Optional: Handout 2, Twenty-nine UUs Arrested in Phoenix Protest Optional: Handout 3, It Takes a Village to Hold a Protest Preparation for Activity Talk with your minister, religious educator, congregational leadership, or social justice committ…
Alternate Activity 1: The Music of Justice Making
From What We Choose

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook, for all participants Optional: Copies of Singing the Journey, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook supplement, for all participants Optional: Recordings of peacemaking or…
Alternate Activity 2: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
From What We Choose

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity A copy of the story “Frances Ellen Watkins Harper” Preparation for Activity Prepare to read the story “Frances Ellen Watkins Harper” to the group, or ask a participant to read it and, if possible, give the participant the story ahead of time….
Taking It Home: Cultivating a Virtuous Character
From What We Choose

The moral virtues are produced in us neither by nature nor against nature. Nature, indeed, prepares in us the ground for their reception, but their complete formation is the product of habit….
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Polly Peterson

From What We Choose

Originally published in Stirring the Nation’s Heart: Eighteen Stories of Prophetic Unitarians and Universalists of the Nineteenth Century (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, 2010). In the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the year 1858, a young woman entered a…
Mahatma Gandhi
From What We Choose

Mahatma Gandhi is among the many great leaders who placed virtuous living at the center of their lives. Gandhi was a spiritual leader and nationalist in the struggle for Indian independence from Britain. While widely considered a deeply spiritual, self-sacrificing, visionary leader, Gandhi was…
Handout 1: Virtues
From What We Choose

acceptance assertiveness attention autonomy awareness balance caring caution charity citizenship cleanliness commitment compassion confidence conscientiousness consideration contentment cooperativeness courage creativity curiosity dependability determination diligence discernment empathy…
Handout 2: Twenty-nine UUs Arrested in Phoenix Protest
From What We Choose

Reported by Donald E. Skinner, and originally published in UU World, August 2, 2010. Twenty-nine Unitarian Universalists, including eight ministers, were arrested in Phoenix, Ariz., for acts of civil disobedience protesting Arizona’s strict anti-illegal immigration law. Among those arrested were…
Handout 3: It Takes a Village to Hold a Protest

Kat Liu

From What We Choose

Let me start by saying that I am not a “protest” kind of person. My experience with numerous protests is that a lot of people assemble, shout angry slogans, maybe sing a few songs, and then go home, leaving piles of garbage in their wake….
Find Out More
From What We Choose

Virtue Ethics Pojman, L. Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company,1999. (Chapter 8) “Virtue ethics,” Stanford University Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Mahatma Gandhi Easwaran, E. Gandhi The Man: The Story of His Transformation. Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press, 2007.

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Workshop 4: Cultivating a Virtuous Character

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