Blessed are you who know that the work of the church is transformation of society, who have a vision of Beloved Community transcending the present. — Rev. John Buehrens Find a special location for your small object from the worship service. Write yourself a note to help you recall both the...

The purpose of monocultural community is two-fold: (1) to find identity and self-esteem as a group; and (2) to do homework together before encountering other cultural communities. — Eric H. F. Law, educator and author, in The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb At our next workshop, we will hold a...

Whatever any of us concludes about race relations, we should start by including all of us. — Frank Wu, author of Yellow Read (or reread) and reflect on the voices and perspectives in the handouts. Then, write questions, puzzlements, observations, and new insights you have. Find a conversation...

The struggle for racial justice in America calls those of us who are White to make this journey. Our presence is needed. We have been absent too long. — Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, from Soul Work: Anti-racist Theologies in Dialogue, Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley and Nancy Palmer Jones, editors (Boston:...

To consider "Whiteness" . . . is not an attack on people, whatever their skin color. Instead, (it) is an attempt to think critically about how white skin preference has operated systematically, structurally and sometimes unconsciously as a dominant force in American—and indeed in global society...

If churches want to realize Dr. King's dream, they must first embrace a dream of racial justice and equality . . ....

Although race has become such an obvious source of conflict, identity, and debate in almost every arena of our lives, few attempts are made to clarify what we mean by the term "race." Immeasurable confusion develops wherever peoples talk about racial issues because they are not speaking the same...

You can always figure out who is executing the system. It appears that almost everybody's executing it, even you are executing it until you are actively fighting it. — Bernice Johnson Reagon, founder, Sweet Honey in the Rock Deepen your skills and capacity to identify and respond to White...

I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. — Nelson Mandela As you go about your normal routines, take mental notes of how you see "White privilege" at work. You will most likely notice White privilege in places where the majority of...

I sometimes find myself "examining my identity" as other people examine their conscience ... I scour my memory to find as many ingredients of my identity as I can. I then assemble and arrange them. I don't deny any of them. — Amin Maalouf, contemporary Lebanese author, from In the Name of...

I believe that many Unitarian Universalists need to reconcile the moment in their lives when they first felt inferior to someone or something and how that moment has shaped and influenced their lives. — Rev. Monica Cummings, minister to Unitarian Universalist Youth and Young Adults of Color...

We need to approach racism as it exists in our lives today, and not as an exercise in studying history. We need to share our experiences and viewpoints, and listen with open hearts and minds to each other, especially when we disagree....

What is true is that for Unitarian Universalism to move into a vibrant future, we will need to mine our past for stories of resistance to oppression, stories of openness to new ways of being religious, stories of transformation that have built new understandings into our narrative of who we are....

But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Christian scripture, Romans 6:22-23 You were made by God and for God...

Affection Connection — Love Extend your exploration of love by trying this activity on your own. For Couples: Couple Covenant Take some time together to work on your couple covenant. You are encouraged to refer to your work from earlier workshops....

Affection Connection — Commitment Extend your exploration of commitment by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Couples: Managing Change With your partner, try applying the model explored in Alternate Activity 2, A Model for Managing Change, to one or more situations involving...

Affection Connection — Collaboration Extend your exploration of collaboration by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Couples: Conflict Engagement Styles Take home Handout 1, Styles of Conflict Engagement, which you worked on individually in the workshop. Discuss it together,...

Affection Connection — Play Extend the workshop by trying this activity on your own. For Couples: Continuing the Covenant At the beginning of Principled Commitment, you began to sketch out what a covenant between you and your partner might look like. Now that you have considered the concepts of...

Affection Connection — Connection Remaining physically and emotionally connected can be a challenge when a relationship includes conflicting demands on each partner's time and attention. It is not uncommon for couples to end a week feeling as though they've hardly seen each other, let alone...

Affection Connection — Generosity Extend your exploration of generosity by trying one or more of these activities on your own. For Individuals: The Question of Money Money is one of the most powerful and emotion-laden symbols in our culture. Gratitude, generosity, scarcity, abundance — all the...