In the days before you present this session, explore your own ideas about what it takes to be a good person in the world. Where did your ideas about good and bad behaviors and choices come from? What character traits help or hinder your striving to be a good person?

Think about times when you acted in good faith, as your best self. How were your actions received? Have your good intentions ever had a negative impact? For example, has your friendliness ever caused someone discomfort? Has your truth-telling ever been poorly received? What does it mean if your actions affected others negatively? Who needs to develop new, wholesome traits, you or them? Which traits?

Are there new character traits you might need for meeting the public challenges of today, such as race and class disparities, environmental injustice, and encroachment of generalized violence? How can you help young people apply their emerging good character traits to the world’s needs?

In the moments before you present this session, with all preparations made, make a peaceful moment for yourself and for your connections with all. Breathe deeply. Know that your efforts to learn from and guide youth are good for the world. Breathe deeply. Connect with what is good and true. Breathe deeply. Relax. Feel the energy of sharing fill you. Take a moment to connect with your leadership team, and be ready to greet your youth.

For Deeper Spiritual Preparation

If you are leading this session and you are a person of color, or someone who holds another marginalized identity, what character traits give you strength in an unjust world?

If you are a facilitator who is white, or someone who holds another privileged identity, what character traits might you strengthen to further engage in racial and other justice work? How does your character empower you to confront racism and other oppressions?

What traits of yours help you recognize race and class disparities in privilege, access, and safety in the systems you know (neighborhood, congregation, town; health care, education, business)? Think about the Amazing Grace participants. Do you know the youth’s familiarity with recognizing race and class disparities? What examples might you bring to the session to turn participants’ attention to disparities in ways that the group will be able to relate to and understand?