This workshop focuses on the relationships that are the center of our congregations, beginning with a deeper exploration of covenant. Participants examine their congregational culture to discover which voices and perspectives are at the center of congregational life, which are on the margins, and why that matters.
In This Section
Introduction to Workshop 2
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
This workshop focuses on the relationships that are the center of our congregations, beginning with a deeper exploration of covenant.
Opening
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
Gather the group in a circle. Invite each person in turn to say their name and pronouns, and, if they wish, to share anything that has come up for them as they thought more deeply about their own leadership story or their “What Is My Faith?” creation.
Activity 1: What Is Covenant?
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
Call participants’ attention to the newsprint sheet with the covenant they made with one another in Workshop 1. Ask: How is this covenant an expression of our intention to engage in this program, not just as individuals, but as a group responsible to and supported by one another?
Activity 2: Mattering and Marginality
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
This activity is adapted from an exercise developed by Dr. L. Lee Knefelkamp, described in “Integrating Jewish Issues into the Teaching of Psychology” by Evelyn Torton Beck, Julie L. Goldberg, and L. Lee Knefelkamp, Chapter 17 in Teaching Gender and Multicultural Awareness (edited by Phyllis Bronstein and Kathryn Quina
Activity 3: From “I” to “We”
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
Unitarian Universalist leaders are examining how individualism in our congregations mirrors some of the unhealthy practices of the dominant white U.S. culture. In her book Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership in a Multicultural Age, Juana Bordas explores leadership approaches in Latinx, Black, and Indigenous communities
Activity 4: The Margin, the Center
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
Invite participants to remember the experiences they shared, earlier in the workshop, of mattering and of being marginalized. Ask: “What do your experiences suggest about the importance of leaders attending to both the culture of their meetings and the culture of their congregation?”
Faith in Action: Seeking Voices from the Margins
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
Ask yourself what groups, constituencies, or individuals in your congregation might consider themselves to be “on the margins.” Compare your reflections with those of other congregational leaders. Together, consider the voices that may be missing or muted as your congregation makes decisions about direction.
Closing
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
Distribute copies of Taking It Home or tell the group when you will email it. Thank participants for their willingness to share from the heart in this workshop and to offer one another the gift of deep listening. Close with these words from Orlanda Brugnola:
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
Consider and discuss these questions with your co-facilitator: Looking at each activity in this workshop, what worked as well as or better than you had anticipated? What did not work as well as you had anticipated? What issues came up for you, personally, in trying any activity yourself? What came up in the process?
Taking It Home: From "I" to "We"
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
Take-home suggestions and resources for participants in Workshop 2 of Harvest the Power, 2nd edition.
Alternate Activity 1: News You Can UUse
From Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition
In this activity, small groups write brief pieces describing the doings of their 10-years-in-the-future congregation, one that actively cultivates a “we” culture and puts relationship at the center of its religious and spiritual practice.
Download all of Harvest the Power, 2nd Edition (Word) (PDF ) to edit or print.