Activity 2: Reflection Group Discussion
Activity time: 55 minutes
Materials for Activity
- Participants' completed Marginality and Mattering reflections (Workshop 1, Taking It Home)
- Workshop 1, Leader Resource 2, Affirming Experiences and Marginalizing Experiences
Preparation for Activity
- Pre-assign participants to reflection groups based on the guidelines in the Introduction to this program.
- Arrange for appropriate spaces for reflection groups to meet. If possible, groups should meet in different rooms to avoid the natural tendency to eavesdrop on other conversations.
- Customize Workshop 1, Leader Resource 2 to include the selections you chose to use in Workshop 1, and print copies to hand out.
Description of Activity
Review the terms "marginality" and "mattering" introduced in Workshop 1.
Invite participants to move into reflection groups you have determined in advance, and assign each group a space to meet. Invite participants to take their completed "Marginality and Mattering" worksheet and any personal notes with them. Explain directions for the reflection groups, using these or similar words:
Choose a facilitator and a timekeeper. You have 30 minutes for this part of the discussion. Divide the time evenly by the number of people in your group. Begin with a quick round of introductions (sharing first names), and then ask each person in turn to share their personal story of "mattering" and of "marginality," using the serial testimony protocol. To foster a sense of inclusion, be sure that each participant has the opportunity to speak and that every person keeps to the time allotted for their "testimony."
After the first round of sharing, go to each reflection group and distribute your customized version of Workshop 1, Leader Resource 2. Invite participants to refresh their memories by reading over the resource and then to respond to this question, using serial testimony protocol: What connections/disconnections did you make between your own story of marginality and mattering and the voices of the Unitarian Universalists from culturally marginalized groups?
Allow 20 minutes for sharing, and then invite all to return to the large group.
Including All Participants
When setting up spaces for small groups to meet, be mindful of the needs of participants with limited mobility. Ask participants to organize themselves around the location of those with limited mobility.