Workshop 2: You Are How You've Lived: Exploring Individual and Group Identity

Beautiful orange sunset over a deep blue ocean. — Tapestry is Sunsetting

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Building the World We Dream About: For Young Adults, 18-35

In This Section

Introduction
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

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…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

Activity Minutes Opening 10 Activity 1: The Postcard Exercise 25 Activity 2: Naming your Identity 20 Activity 3: Identity Map and Identity Formation 45 Activity 4: Circles of Influence 15 Closing 5…
Spiritual Preparation
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

Read aloud or silently the poem by Rev. Alicia Roxanne Forde which is included as the opening reading for the workshop. What words and images are most powerful for you? How do these words reflect your own reasons for working to bridge “the great divide”? You may wish to write or draw in your…
Opening
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Worship table or designated space Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED/battery-operated candle List of this workshop’s goals Covenant established in Workshop 1 Description of Activity Light the chalice or invite a participant to light it while you r…
Activity 1: The Postcard Exercise
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Postcards or photos cut from magazines with images of people or human activity, one for each pair of participants Paper and pens/pencils Preparation for Activity Obtain postcards for this exercise from an art museum or other local source that has a…
Activity 2: Naming Your Identity
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint, markers, and tape Participant journals or paper, and pens/pencils Preparation for Activity Set out paper and pens/pencils….
Activity 3: Identity Map and Identity Formation
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

Activity time: 45 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, Cummings’ Identity Map and Worksheet Pens/pencils Preparation for Activity Copy Handout 1 for participants. Description of Activity Introduce this activity with these or similar words: Part of being a culturally competent person is…
Activity 4: Circles of Influence
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Participant journals or paper, and pens/pencils Description of Activity Distribute paper and writing implements. Invite participants to consider the influences family, friends, and community have on their own identities. Invite participants to draw…
Closing
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Taking It Home Leader Resource 1, Mattering Preparation for Activity Copy Taking It Home for all participants. Practice reading Leader Resource 1 aloud. Description of Activity Distribute Taking It Home and invite participants to do the suggested…
Taking It Home: You Are How You've Lived: Exploring Individual and Group Identity
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

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…
Handout 1: Cummings Identity Map and Worksheet
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

The Identity Map was created by Rev. Dr. Monica L. Cummings, influenced by the work of Pamela A. Hays. Some of our values, beliefs, and behaviors are conscious. We hold others without awareness. The Identity Map is a tool for developing self-awareness related to the cultural influences that have…
Leader Resource 1: Mattering
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

Originally written anonymously by a gay high school student and adapted for this exercise. Mattering My father asked if I am gay I asked, Does it matter? He said, No not really I said, Yes. He said get out of my life. I guess it mattered. My friend asked why I talk about race so much?…
Find Out More
From Building the World We Dream About for Young Adults

The UUA Multicultural Growth & Witness staff group offers resources, curricula, trainings, and tools to help Unitarian Universalist congregations and leaders engage in the work of antiracism, antioppression, and multiculturalism. Visit…

Download all of Building the World We Dream About: For Young Adults (Word) (PDF) to edit or print.

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Workshop 2: You Are How You've Lived: Exploring Individual and Group Identity

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