Online, find "Southern Unitarian Universalists in the Civil Rights Era — A Story of Small Acts of Great Courage," a presentation by the Rev. Gordon D. Gibson under auspices of the Unitarian Universalist Historical Society at the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA),...

Take a few moments right after the workshop to ask each other: What went well? What did not? Why? What do you think was the best moment of the workshop? Why? Did anything surprise you? Review the next workshop. Are there any questions to research or logistics to arrange between workshops? Make a...

Activity time: 15 minutes Materials for Activity Worship or centering table and chalice Participant journals Writing materials, including paper, pens, pencils, color pencils, and markers Taking It Home handout Preparation for Activity Customize the Taking It Home section of this workshop and copy...

Materials for Activity Materials from your congregation’s archives Optional: Audio or video recording equipment Preparation for Activity Examine your congregation's archived documents and materials from the Civil Rights era. Description of Activity Most congregations have stories about their...

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Worship or centering table Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED battery-operated candle Timepiece (minutes) Chime or bell Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the UUA hymnbook, for all participants Optional: Cloth for worship/centering table...

Materials for Activity Sign-in sheet and pen or pencil Name tags for participants (durable or single-use), and bold markers Copies of Workshop 1, Handout 1, Schedule Optional: Refreshments Preparation for Activity Have copies of Workshop 1, Handout 1, Schedule on hand for those who need one....

Read Leader Resource1, Southern Unitarian Universalists in the Civil Rights Era. How much of this history were you aware of? Consider this statement of the Reverend Gordon D....

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 10 Activity 1: Integration Case Study — New Orleans 20 Activity 2: The Very Real Danger 20 Activity 3: The Cost 25 Faith in Action: Our Congregation's History in the Civil Rights Era Closing 15 Alternate Activity 1: Small Acts of Great Courage 25...

I am more sorry than I can say that your fellowship is again being caught in the grinders of the advance of history in the south. I hope desperately that the group will not suffer unduly as the result of the events in which our people are participating in Jackson and Mississippi....

The following letters were exchanged among a pair of members of Arlington Street Church (Boston), the board of the congregation (Prudential Committee), and the congregation's minister, the Rev. Jack Mendelsohn....

Currently the UUA has two main ways to address issues of social witness: Congregational Study/Action Issues (CSAI) Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW) These are presented each year at General Assembly and are voted up or down by the delegates present at the convention. Congregational Study/Action...

Resolutions adopted at the 1967 and 1968 UUA General Assemblies. Draft Reform and Conscientious Objection Resolution passed at the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly, May 5, 1967. Adopted by greater than a two-thirds majority vote....

A sermon by Rev. Jack Mendelsohn, delivered October 22, 1967 at Arlington Street Church, Boston, full text. Used with permission. A hue and cry has arisen over the sixty young men who burned their draft cards in the chancel of Arlington Street Church. No matter that 280 young men took the more...

Sermon delivered on October 22, 1967 at Arlington Street Church, Boston. Abridged version; used with permission. A hue and cry has arisen over the sixty young men who burned their draft cards in the chancel of Arlington Street Church. No matter that 280 young men took the more solemn and perilous...

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 5, Conscientious Objection and the Draft Newsprint, markers, and tape Preparation for Activity Write on newsprint, and post: If you are or were a young person subject to Selective Service laws, have you considered or would you consider fili...

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 1, The Church and the Draft Resisters - Full Text Preparation for Activity Provide Handout 1 in advance to a person who has agreed to read it aloud to the group. Arrange for the presenter to deliver the sermon from a lectern or pulpit,...

Activity time: 20 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 4, This Letter Is to Express our Personal Disapproval Preparation for Activity Read Handout 4 and copy it for all participants. Arrange for two volunteers to read the correspondence between Rev....

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Handout 2, UUA Resolutions on the Draft Handout 3, Social Witness and the UUA Newsprint, markers, and tape Preparation for Activity Read the current UUA guidelines for social witness. Find information, including graphs and outlines of the complete...

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Story, "The Church and the Draft Resisters" Handout 1, The Church and the Draft Resisters - Full Text Preparation for Activity Read the story and prepare to read it aloud to the group. Or, pre-arrange for a participant to do so and provide the...

Learn more about the Unitarian Universalist Association's Study Action Issues and Process and explore a searchable list of social justice resolutions and statements. Current information from the UUA about being a conscientious objector:...