A PLACE OF WHOLENESS
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Youth
WORKSHOP 1: BEGINNING TOGETHER
BY BETH DANA AND JESSE JAEGER
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 9/29/2014 7:04:29 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
To me, migration means movement. There was conflict and struggle. But out of the struggle came a kind of power and even beauty. 'And the migrants kept coming.' is a refrain of triumph over adversity. If it rings true for you today, then it must still strike a chord in our American experience. — Jacob Lawrence
This opening workshop introduces the program's key themes, such as journey and wholeness, and core activities such as the journaling and worship based on James Luther Adams' Five Smooth Stones of Religious Liberalism.
The central story comes from the artist Jacob Lawrence. Lawrence was born in 1917 in New Jersey to a family who had been part of the great migration of African Americans from the southern United States to the north. In 1940, Lawrence created a 60-panel painting called The Migration Series that told the story of his family and countless other African Americans who moved north looking for greater economic prosperity.
Lawrence's depiction of a physical migration has commonalities with a spiritual journey. Both are about movement and struggle and their end result may be an appreciation of the beauty of the soul and that which links us together as fellow travelers. A journey that embraces one's faith may provide the inner strength to deal with life's challenges.
Panel no. 3 is used because it evokes the migration's movement and change. It leads the viewer to ask, "Where are they coming from?", "Where are they going?", and "What are they taking with them on their journey?" Participants will ask themselves these important questions in this program.
The main activity in this workshop is journal-making. The journal will be used throughout as a reflection tool and a record of the participants' journeys long after the program ends. This activity requires many supplies. Please read the materials list carefully.
GOALS
This workshop will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
WORKSHOP-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming and Entering | 0 |
Opening | 15 |
Activity 1: Nametag Interview | 20 |
Activity 2: Story — Migration: A Spiritual Journey | 20 |
Activity 3: Making a Journal for the Journey | 20 |
Activity 4: I Believe, I Feel, I Act | 5 |
Faith in Action 1: Founding Story Mural | |
Closing | 10 |
Alternate Activity 1: Blue Boat Home | 15 |
Alternate Activity 2: Winged Migration | 45 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
This workshop uses migration as a metaphor for spiritual journey. The story is based on Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Series Panel no. 3. Spend some time looking at this painting. Both the Phillips Collections (at www.phillipscollection.org/migration_series/index.cfm) and the Whitney Museum of American Art (at www.whitney.org/Exhibitions/JacobLawrenceMigration) have websites based on The Migration Series and Jacob Lawrence's other work. Take some time to look at these websites to see more amazing artwork by this important American artist.
As you look at Panel no. 3 and other panels in the series, what do they tell you about the experience of the African Americans who migrated from the southern United States to northern cities? What do you think their reasons were, and do you think they found what they hoped to find in their new world? What connection does this image and the others have to your own spiritual journey? What have been the joys of that journey? Have you had spiritual hardships? Have you ended up where you thought you would end up?
WORKSHOP PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
As participants arrive, invite them to make a nametag. Direct them to the materials you have laid out and to the example you have drawn on newsprint. Once they have filled out their nametags ask them to tie the string on the cards and put it around their neck. Let them know that they will be using these nametags in an activity later on in the workshop.
Including All Participants
This activity could be challenging to those who have limited sight or who have motor skill difficulties that make it hard for them to write. In those cases, one of the leaders or other participants should help that participant fill out their nametag.
OPENING (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
1. Invite the group into worship. Tell participants that worship is an important way for us as Unitarian Universalist to be in faith community with one another. Worship allows us to step back and reflect on the deeper meaning of life.
2. Invite a participant to light the chalice while reciting Reading 683 from Singing the Living Tradition. Alternatively, if your congregation opens every worship traditionally with another reading, use it instead. Leave a couple of seconds of silence after the chalice lighting.
3. Sing "Gather the Spirit", Hymn 347 in Singing the Living Tradition.
4. Tell or read the story "David and Goliath."
5. When you have told the story, read or summarize the following:
James Luther Adams was a very important 20th century Unitarian theologian. Theologians specialize in the study of religious faith, practice, and experience. James Luther Adams saw that liberal religious traditions, like Unitarianism and Universalism, had their own five smooth stones like David in the Bible story. David's stones were weapons to fight off a much stronger oppressor. James Luther Adams' stones are protection of a more peaceful type. They are a core set of values and principles that help define liberal religious traditions like our own as different then the more conservative (or orthodox) religious traditions that exist around us.
6. Signal the first participant to read their part and place their stone. Repeat for all five stones. Then say:
Let all these stones be a symbol of the community we strive to build together and our wider liberal religious faith.
7. As the program progresses, invite participants to look for ways these five smooth stones show up in the discussions and activities.
8. Distribute Handout 1. Tell participants that this responsive reading is a modification of the prayer used in the opening chalice lighting. Ask participants to read the responsive reading quietly to themselves.
9. Close the worship with the follow blessing:
Blessed Spirit, hold us in community with each other as we grow together in faith. Amen and Blessed Be.
ACTIVITY 1: NAMETAG INTERVIEW (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In this activity, participants and leaders make nametags and then use the nametag information to tell each other about themselves, especially about their religious background.
1. If the group did not already make nametags in Welcoming and Entering, have them make them now. Once they have filled out their nametags, ask them to tie the string on the cards and put it around their neck.
2. Invite participants and leaders to form pairs. (Make sure one leader is paying attention to the time.) If there is an odd number, have a group of three. Have participants tell each other about what is written on their nametags. Be sure to tell them how much time they have and let them know that they will be sharing what their partner said with the rest of the group.
3. Go around the group and ask everyone to introduce their partner with the information that was on the nametag. If someone is stuck, it is okay for their partner to give them a little help.
4. Wrap up the activity by pointing out that most of the questions on the nametags had something to do with location. Explain that we will be using the metaphor of migration as a way to look at our spiritual journeys. Changing physical location has a lot to do with migration. Ask participants what they think changing spiritual locations would be like.
Including All Participants
This activity could be challenging to those who have limited sight or who have motor skill difficulties that make it hard for them to write. In those cases, one of the leaders or other participants should help that participant fill out their nametag.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY: THE MIGRATION SERIES, PANEL NO. 3 (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants explore the idea of spiritual journey through the metaphor of migration. Start by asking participants if they have ever been on a journey. Invite one participant to explain what that experience was like.
Then ask participants if they have ever been on a spiritual journey. If any have, ask them to describe what that was like. If they have not, ask them to share a few suggestions about what they think a spiritual journey would be like.
Explain that the group will explore the idea of spiritual journey by using migration as a metaphor. Point out the Jacob Lawrence painting you posted. Using the information from Leader Resource 4 and any other research you have done, take about five minutes to tell participants about Jacob Lawrence and the Great Migration. Explain that the image posted is part of a larger piece of work called The Migration Series, Lawrence's effort to tell the story of the millions of African Americans who left their homes in the southern United States and moved to northern cities. Emphasize the following:
Invite the group to reflect on the questions posted on newsprint:
Help the youth make connections with both the hopes and joys of a spiritual journey and the fears and pain that might be present.
Emphasize the point that spiritual journeys are really a quest for wholeness. Acknowledge that their experiences are different than those of the African Americans who were migrating to the North. Finally, ask participants if they see any connections between this migration story and the story of David and Goliath and the five smooth stones that was part of the opening worship.
Including All Participants
Someone with vision impairments might need to have another participant or the workshop leader describe the image to them.
ACTIVITY 3: MAKING A JOURNAL FOR THE JOURNEY (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Materials for Shorter Version
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants make journals.
Tell participants that they will be doing a journaling reflection at the end of each workshop, and that the journals they are making now will be used for that purpose. Using the instructions and the examples you have made, lead participants through the journal making process.
As they work, you can continue the discussion from the previous activity if the group needs more time. Make sure you leave at least ten minutes to talk about the rest of the program. Provide an overview and share what you are most excited about. Ask participants about their expectations and what they hope to get out of this experience.
Shorter Journal Making Option (10 Minutes):
Give each participant a spiral bound notebook and show them the materials for decorating the covers. Invite them to decorate the journals in a way that says something about their spiritual journey.
You still want to use this time to tell them about the program.
ACTIVITY 4: I BELIEVE, I FEEL, I ACT (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Explain that participants will now have the opportunity to reflect on what they have experienced in the workshop, then express their reflections in writing or drawing. The following is a framework for reflecting, but they are free to reflect in any way that is helpful for them.
Ask them to make three columns in their journals:
I BELIEVE I FEEL I ACT
(world view) (loyalty of my heart) (way of life)
Invite them to consider their faith in these terms.
An example might be:
I believe that my beliefs will change during my lifelong spiritual journey.
I feel excited about the potential of movement: to grow and learn more about my faith.
I am ready to take a spiritual journey.
Explain that they can make as many statements as they have time for and they can continue during the reflection time in future workshops. Invite them to draw or represent their reflections visually.
Offer the following reflection questions related to the theme of the day: What is your expectation for the rest of the program? How do you hope you will be changed by the time the program is complete? How do you think you will be the same?
CLOSING (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
To close the workshop, relight the chalice. Ask for a couple of participants to share brief reflections from the journaling exercise about their beliefs, feelings, and actions. Wrap up the sharing after five minutes.
Inform participants that each workshop will close with a song. Ask them to find Hymn 188 "Come, Come, Whoever You Are." The words come from the Sufi poet Rumi, who lived in the 12th century. Ask participants what the words mean to them. Invite participants to rise in body or spirit and sing the song together. Invite a participant to extinguish the chalice. Distribute copies of Taking It Home, explaining that it is a list of suggestions of additional ways to explore the topics of today's workshop. Invite them to share Taking It Home with family and friends.
Including All Participants
An invitation to "rise in body or spirit" accommodates participants of all physical abilities.
FAITH IN ACTION: FOUNDING STORY MURAL
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants learn congregational history and share it by painting a mural.
Tell the group that one of the important parts of going on a spiritual journey is knowing where you have been. Point out that many of the paintings in Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Series were about what life was like in the southern United States for African Americans. Tell the participants that in this activity, they will use the medium of painting, like Jacob Lawrence, to help the rest of the congregation know something about its history.
Introduce the member of the congregation you have invited to tell the story. The story can be about how the congregation was started or some other significant moment in its history. Look for stories involving movement, migration, journeys, or change.
After the story has been told, engage the group in a discussion of how you might be able to represent that story in a painting. Develop a plan for how it should look and then have the participants paint on the large piece of canvas. This might take more than one workshop.
While working, use the following discussion questions to process the activity:
When the painting is finished, arrange for time at a Sunday morning worship to have the participants show their work to the congregation and tell the story. Then, find a place to hang the painting with a written narrative of the story.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Talk with your co-leader about the workshop. What do you think went well? What might you have done differently? Did you learn anything about your working relationship or how you lead an activity that would be important to note for future workshops?
Thinking about the content of the workshop, what did you find most surprising about what you learned? What would you like to learn more about? Did participants have any interesting reactions to the content?
Go over the plan for the next workshop with your co-leader. Who will do which preparatory tasks? Is there any research you will need to do? In what ways will you adapt the workshop for your group and time frame?
TAKING IT HOME
To me, migration means movement. There was conflict and struggle. But out of the struggle came a kind of power and even beauty. 'And the migrants kept coming.' is a refrain of triumph over adversity. If it rings true for you today, then it must still strike a chord in our American experience. — Jacob Lawrence
In Today's Workshop...
We discussed the idea of migration as it relates to a spiritual journey. We did this by looking at a painting by the artist Jacob Lawrence that was part of his Migration Series. The series tells the story of the mass migration of millions of African Americans from the southern United States to northern cities.
Explore the topic further with family and friends...
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: BLUE BOAT HOME (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In this activity, participants explore spiritual journey by singing and reflecting on the song "Blue Boat Home," Hymn 1064 in Singing the Journey.
Invite participants to stand in body or spirit and sing the hymn.
Ask participants what they think the song is about.
After receiving ideas from two or three participants, point out that songs can have multiple meanings. There is the meaning that is intended by the writer and there is the meaning that the song has for the listener. The meaning for the writer and listener can change depending on new experiences or new frames of mind.
Invite one of the participants to read the words without singing them. Ask a volunteer what parts of the song might help us better understand the idea of spiritual journey? If they struggle thinking of specific lines, point to the line "Sun my sail and moon my rudder as I ply the starry sea." Then ask what that line might have to say about a spiritual journey. Continue to discuss various lines if it helps participants better understand the idea of spiritual journey.
If time permits, ask them if there are any other hymns that they sing that might be useful for this discussion. If they name some, find them in the hymnbook, sing them, and look for the passages that are useful. Alternatively, note these hymns and use them as closing hymns in future workshops.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: WINGED MIGRATION (45 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
If you are using this activity as a supplemental activity and have also done the activity based on Jacob Lawrence's art, start by saying something about how there are different types of migrations. Point out that the image they viewed by Lawrence told the story of human migration. However, animals migrate as well and their story can also be compelling as a way to think about spiritual journey.
If you are using this activity as a replacement for the Lawrence activity, start by asking the participants: what might we discover about our own spiritual journey from watching birds migrate? As they share ideas, write them on newsprint.
Then show the movie or the 15-minute section that you selected.
After showing the movie, direct participants' attention to the discussion questions you have posted on newsprint:
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 1:
STORY: DAVID AND GOLIATH
The Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright (C) 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us"...
38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them." So David removed them.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field." 45 But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand."
48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David's hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 1:
STORY: THE MIGRATION SERIES: PANEL NUMBER 3
Jacob Lawrence The Migration Series, Panel No. 3: From every southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north.1940-1941 The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. (C) 2009 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle/ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Reproduction, including downloading of Jacob Lawrence works is prohibited by copyright laws and international convention without the express written permission of Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
You have two options for using this image. Your first option is to print out the image so that everyone can see it. For best results, we recommend that you use a photo printer. Your other option is to purchase a print of the image from the Phillips Collection online museum store for $7.50 (at shop.phillipscollection.org/browse.cfm/migration-panel-3-11x14-print/4,141.html).
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 1:
HANDOUT 1: RESPONSIVE READING — FIVE SMOOTH STONES
This responsive reading is based on James Luther Adams' essay "Guiding Principles for a Free Faith" in On Becoming Human Religiously: Selected Essays in Religion and Society, Max Stackhouse, ed. Beacon Press, 1976, pp. 12-20.
Leaders read the regular text, and participants read the italicized text.
We gather as Unitarian Universalists to understand, articulate, and live our liberal religion. David brought down the giant Goliath with five smooth stones, but we use our five smooth stones to build a more just, loving, and free world.
Our first stone reminds us that we are part of a living tradition in which revelation is continuous.
Together we engage in a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
Our second stone reminds us that we freely choose to enter into relationship and community with one another.
Together as people of conscience, we build relationships of justice, equity, and compassion that further the wholeness of the interdependent web of all existence.
Our third stone reminds us that we have a moral obligation to work toward establishing a just and loving community.
Together we speak and act prophetically with the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
Our fourth stone reminds us that good things happen as a result of human effort.
Together, as beings with inherent worth and dignity, we creat goodness and virtue.
Our fifth stone reminds us that the divine and human capacities for achieving meaningful change are reason for optimism.
Together we may be hopeful that change will occur toward a more just, loving, and free world.
The roots of our living tradition have been developed over centuries, but new ideas and understandings are still being revealed.
Some stones are smooth and polished, while others are newly found and rough.
We are part of this living tradition. Through it, we become whole, and through us, our tradition becomes whole.
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: NAMETAG
Download a high-resolution PDF (at www.uua.org/documents/tapestry/wholeness/nametag.pdf) for printing.
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: JAMES LUTHER ADAMS' FIVE SMOOTH STONES OF RELIGIOUS LIBERALISM
Leaders should read this resource before leading the Opening.
Who was James Luther Adams?
James Luther Adams was a Unitarian parish minister, social activist, journal editor, distinguished scholar, translator and editor of major German theologians, prolific author, and divinity school professor for more than forty years. Adams was the most influential theologian among American Unitarian Universalists of the 20th century.
What are the five smooth stones?
According to Adams, the five smooth stones of religious liberalism are:
Adams' five smooth stones are explained in the essay "Guiding Principles for a Free Faith" in On Being Human Religiously: Selected Essays in Religion and Society, Max Stackhouse, ed. Beacon Press, 1976, pp. 12—20. While this book is out of print, some congregations may own it and there are also copies available from the Internet.
Scriptural origins
The idea of "five smooth stones" originates in the Hebrew Scriptures with the story of David and Goliath, as told in 1 Samuel 17. See the story in this workshop for the full text.
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 3: FIVE SMOOTH STONES PRAYER
This prayer is based upon James Luther Adams' essay "Guiding Principles for a Free Faith" in On Becoming Human Religiously: Selected Essays in Religion and Society, Max Stackhouse, ed. Beacon Press, 1976, pp. 12-20.
Cut into five parts and give to volunteers to read in the Opening.
Part 1:
This stone embodies our living tradition,
We always learning new truths,
we are always growing in knowledge,
and revelation is never sealed.
Part 2:
This stone embodies that we are a free people,
gathering in free will to join in a spiritual journey.
Part 3:
This stone embodies our call to create a just and loving world,
to work to abolish oppression in all its forms.
Part 4:
This stone embodies this acknowledgement;
that good things do not just happen,
but instead that we work to make those things happen.
Part 5:
This stone embodies our knowledge that there are spiritual and human resources "for the achievement of meaningful change, [which] justify an attitude of ultimate optimism.
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 4: JACOB LAWRENCE AND THE GREAT MIGRATION
The Life of Jacob Lawrence
Jacob Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1917. His parents had recently moved to the North as part of what is known as the Great Migration. After moving often for the first few years of his life, Lawrence and his mother ended up in Harlem, New York. His mother enrolled him in the Utopian Children's Center run by artist and educator Charles Alston. This was where Lawrence was first exposed to art and painting. As a teenager, he attended artist workshops after school and frequently visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Lawrence became a key participant in the Harlem Renaissance, developing a modernist style of painting. His paintings, often narratives, explored topics over a series of panels. Early in his career, he would paint narrative panels about prominent African Americans such as Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Toussaint L'Ouverture.
In 1940, he received a grant to paint The Migration Series. The Migration Series is a collection of 60 panels that tells the story of the millions of African Americans who moved from the southern United States to northern cities. It is considered by many critics to be his greatest artistic achievement. The image used in this workshop comes from this series and is called Panel no. 3. The caption for this panel is "From every southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north."
The Great Migration
The Great Migration is a complicated story. The art historian Christopher Capozzola, writing about Jacob Lawrence's depiction of the Great Migration, states "it presents a complex account of social history that accounts for the individual agency of African-American migrants as well as the forbidding social, economic and ideological structures that shaped the world in which they acted."
The facts are that between 1910 and 1970 about six and a half million African Americans migrated from the states that made up the Old Confederacy to northern urban centers like Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and New York. They were fleeing Jim Crow laws that conspired to treat African Americans as second-class citizens and contributed to brutal oppression. (Between 1880 and 1951 over 3,000 African Americans died by lynching.) They were heading toward the opportunity of more jobs and a better way of life that they read about in northern-based African American newspapers like the Chicago Defender.
However, at its core, the story of the Great Migration is a story of a people taking charge of their own future. In many ways, it is a 20th century version of the biblical Exodus story. A people facing brutal oppression rise up and resist that oppression by taking a journey to a new reality for themselves and their descendents.
The Migration Series Panel no. 3 as metaphor
So why use Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Series Panel no. 3 in a Unitarian Universalist workshop that is focused on spiritual journey? The first reason is the painting itself puts forward the ideas of journeying and change. In the foreground is a group of people, loaded with luggage, obviously heading somewhere. The notion of migration is reinforced by the flock of birds in the background also migrating. Migration is both an individual journey of transforming one's own reality, and a communal act of resistance changing the reality of a whole people.
A spiritual journey is a type of migration. We start at one spiritual reality. We are shaken out of that reality and start a journey to a new reality. Along the path, there is joy and pain, celebration and fear. Like the migrant, a person on a spiritual journey is often in community while they journey to a new reality, a new way of being. In both cases, there is the open question of whether the trip is really over, or if there is another journey ahead.
The second reason for using Lawrence's work and the story of the Great Migration is to introduce Unitarian Universalists to an important American artist and an important piece of America is multicultural history that is not often told.
A PLACE OF WHOLENESS: WORKSHOP 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 5: JOURNAL MAKING INSTRUCTIONS
These instructions are used with permission from Jaymi Elford. Copyright 2008 Jaymi Elford. Essay originally published at D*I*Y Planner.
Please use the following book making instructions for Activity 3, Making a Journal for the Journey.
Supplies:
Instructions:
Step 1: Fold a sheet of white unlined paper in half. If you want a smaller sized book, trim the paper down to the size you want and then fold it in half. You now have made one folio.
Step 2: Fold the rest of the sheets of paper in half to make 12 folios. You can fold the heavy cover-stock at this point as well.
Step 3: Open a folio slightly and then slide the remaining 11 folios into that one. Doing so should give you a stack of folios. This becomes the book's signature.
Step 4: Put your heavy cover stock over this folio, and now you have a book. Some of the guts of the paper will poke through your cover, so you can either trim the overhang so it matches the cover or leave it. It's all up to you and your style.
Step 5: Open the completed book. Using a pencil, mark a dot in the center of the fold.
Step 6: Now make two more dots, 2.25 inches up and down from the center dot on the fold. These will be where you punch the holes with an awl and string the thread through.
Step 7: Punch the awl through all 13 pieces of paper. If you twist the awl after it has gone all the way through, it widens the hole and smoothes it out. It's now time to sew the signature.
NOTE: If you have trouble punching holes through all 13 sheets at the same time, you may want to divide the sheets up into two piles and punch the holes in sets. Then re-stack the sheets together and push the awl through the three holes to smooth them out as a single signature.
Step 8: Measure out roughly 2.5 feet of waxed thread. Load up one of your book binding needles with the thread.
Step 9: You now have to make a choice of whether you want the leftover thread to hang on the outside or the inside of the book. If you are making a book for mostly decorative purposes, most artists choose to leave it on the outside. This decision effects whether or not you start sewing from the center of the book on the inside or on the outside. The following instructions are for a decorative book, so the leftovers will be on the outside.
Step 10: Take the needle and thread and push it through the center hole from the outside to the inside of the signature.
Step 11: Pull the needle and string through the hole, leaving a few inches behind. This becomes what you will knot the string with to make your book.
Step 12: Put the needle into the left inner hole and pull the thread tight.
Step 13: Pass the needle and thread through the opposite right hole on the outside of the cover.
Step 14: Put the needle through the center hole from the inside to the outside one more time and remove the needle. You are all done sewing.
Step 15: Pull both strings tight to help keep your book together.
Step 16: Now tie a knot (or 2 or 3 knots together for security) where the two strings meet. Depending on how long you want the excess thread to be, you may need a pair of scissors to trim it down.
You have now finished making a very simple book. If you liked this simple journal but want to spice it up a bit more, here are a few ideas for things you can add to your first book.
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Further reading on James Luther Adams' theology
Further information on Jacob Lawrence and the Great Migration
Further information on book making and other paper related projects