Workshop 9: Justice Practices

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

The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Part of Spirit in Practice: Ten Workshops for Unitarian Universalist Adults

In This Section

Introduction
From Spirit in Practice

What we would like to do is change the world—make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended for them to do. And, by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, of the poor, of the destitute… we can, to a…
Workshop-at-a-Glance
From Spirit in Practice

Activity Minutes Welcoming and Entering 0 Opening 5 Activity 1: Sharing Names 5 Activity 2: The Story of Siddhartha’s Awakening 10 Activity 3: Twenty-one Thoughts 10 Activity 4: Justice Work as Spiritual Practice 25 Closing 5 Alternate Activity 1: The Congregation’s Justice Work 45 Alternate…
Spiritual Preparation
From Spirit in Practice

Leaders are encouraged to prepare for the workshop not only by gathering supplies and reviewing the workshop’s activities, but also by engaging in a justice practice—something that puts your hopes for a better world into action. This could involve advocating, demonstrating, or serving the…
Welcoming and Entering
From Spirit in Practice

Materials for Activity Sign-in sheet (see Preparation) Pen or pencil Name tags Bold markers Copies of Spirit in Practice Series Schedule (see Preparation) Group guidelines listed on newsprint or a digital slide (see Preparation) Workshop agenda listed on newsprint or a digital slide (see…
Opening
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Altar or centering table Cloth for covering altar or centering table Chalice and candle Matches or lighter Copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the UUA hymnbook (one per person) Optional: A piano, guitar, or other form of accompaniment Optional:…
Activity 1: Sharing Names
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Optional: Microphone (preferably cordless) Preparation for Activity Be sure that participants have made name tags. If they have not, you may pass around name tag materials while participants introduce themselves. Description of Activity Introduce…
Activity 2: The Story Of Siddhartha's Awakening
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Review the story in advance so that you can present it effectively. Description of Activity Read the story “Siddhartha’s Awakening” aloud. Provide copies of the story to people who prefer to read along….
Activity 3: Twenty-one Thoughts
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 10 minutes Materials for Activity Cut Handout 1 into strips-one quote per strip-and place them in the basket. If desired, make extra copies of Handout 1 for people who want to take home all the quotes. Description of Activity Invite participants to sit in a circle. Explain that you…
Activity 4: Justice Work As Spiritual Practice
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 25 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint Markers Easel Optional: Microphone (preferably cordless) Description of Activity Introduce the activity by telling the group that Felix Adler, a humanist who founded the Ethical Culture Movement, said that “spirituality is consciousness o…
Closing
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 5 minutes Materials for Activity Altar or centering table Cloth for covering altar or centering table Chalice and candle Chalice extinguisher Copies of the customized Taking It Home handout (see Preparation) Optional: Microphone Preparation for Activity Review the Taking It Home…
Leader Reflection and Planning
From Spirit in Practice

After the workshop, co-leaders should make a time to get together to evaluate this workshop and plan future workshops. Use these questions to guide your shared reflection and planning: What were some of our favorite moments of the workshop? What were some of our most challenging moments?…
Alternate Activity 1: The Congregation's Justice Work
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 45 minutes Materials for Activity Optional: Pulpit or lectern Optional: Microphone (preferably cordless) Preparation for Activity Familiarize yourself with the social justice activities of your congregation or of nearby UU congregations, your district, or the national Unitarian…
Alternate Activity 2: Social Justice Project
From Spirit in Practice

Activity time: 30 minutes Materials for Activity Newsprint Markers Easel Optional: Microphone (preferably cordless) Preparation for Activity Familiarize yourself with the social justice projects of your congregation or of nearby UU congregations….
Taking It Home: Justice Practices
From Spirit in Practice

In the days and weeks to come, try these tips for using social justice work as part of your spiritual regimen. Don’t try to do it all. Remember the definition of ministry offered by the Protestant minister and novelist Frederick Buechner: “the place where your deep passion and the world’s deep…
Siddhartha's Awakening
From Spirit in Practice

Young prince Siddhartha had been raised in complete luxury. His life had been so arranged that he knew no suffering, no lack, no want. So when he first encountered suffering—in the form of a sick person, an old person, and a dying person—he was determined to find its cause and its solution. For…
Handout 1: Twenty-one Thoughts on Peace and Justice
From Spirit in Practice

Cut each statement into strips. 1. Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world. — Jane Addams 2….
Find Out More
From Spirit in Practice

Bowens-Wheatley, Marjorie, and Nancy Palmer Jones, eds. Soul Work: Anti-racist Theologies in Dialogue. Skinner House, 2002. Kivel, Paul. Uprooting Racism: How White People Can Work for Racial Justice. New Society, 2002. Leonard, Richard D. Call to Selma: Eighteen Days of Witness. Skinner House,…

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The UUA is no longer updating Tapestry of Faith programs.

Workshop 9: Justice Practices

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