I was humbled, I was confounded, I saw clearly, that I had been all my life expecting good fruit from corrupt trees, grapes on thorns, and figs on thistles, I suspected myself, I had lost my standing, I was unsettled, perturbed and wretched. — John Murray (founder of American Universalism) on first listening to a sermon about universal salvation

Workshop 1: Beginning Together looked in general terms at journeys and their beginnings. This workshop focuses on faith. Participants explore faith journeys in three ways: they explore the concept of faith development; hear the faith journey story of one of our Universalist ancestors; and reflect on their own faith journeys. By moving from the abstract to the specific to the personal, youth will see their own faith journeys in the context of human and Unitarian Universalist history.

Goals

This workshop will:

• Introduce the concept of faith and models of faith development
• Show participants that there are multiple pathways for faith development
• Help participants reflect on their personal faith journeys.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Know that they have a faith and that they are on a faith journey
• Understand where they have been, where they are now, and where they might go on that faith journey
• Articulate what their faith journey has been so far in their lives.