Tapestry of Faith: Building the World We Dream About: An Anti-racism Multicultural Program

Opening

Activity time: 20 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Practice reading Leader Resource 1 aloud.
  • Review participant evaluations from the previous workshop. Discuss with your co-facilitators any patterns or concerns that have emerged. Prepare to briefly share feedback with the group, while keeping confidentiality.
  • Review Workshop 4, Handout 1.

Description of Activity

Light the chalice or invite a participant to light it while you read Leader Resource 1 aloud.

Share feedback from the previous workshop evaluations. Acknowledge shared patterns and observations to give participants a sense of how people in the group are thinking and feeling about the program. Be conscientious about maintaining confidentiality. One technique is to say, "Some people felt... ," rather than saying, "One of you felt... ." If time allows, invite participants to share one-minute observations or new insights they may have gained since the last workshop.

Invite any responses or questions that arise from reading Workshop 4, Handout 1.

Remind participants of the spirit of their covenant.

Share the goals of this workshop and introduce white privilege using these or similar words:

This workshop and the next introduce the concept of "White privilege," a system of racial preferences that are automatically awarded to people who identify as White or of European ancestry, while, at the same time, a set of systematic disadvantages are imparted to People of Color and other people marginalized by race or ethnicity. Some of you may feel resistance or discomfort as we examine White privilege. However, it is impossible to transform exclusion, inequities, or oppression based on race or other identities without addressing privilege.