What is true is that for Unitarian Universalism to move into a vibrant future, we will need to mine our past for stories of resistance to oppression, stories of openness to new ways of being religious, stories of transformation that have built new understandings into our narrative of who we are. — Rev. William G. Sinkford, past president of the Unitarian Universalist Association

This workshop introduces key program elements including stories, dialogue, personal reflection, and sharing with others in small and large groups.

Participants consider questions of confidentiality and emotional and spiritual safety as the group begins its journey together. The workshop invites them to engage with their own experiences and those of others as they explore affirming and marginalizing experiences.

Before leading this workshop, review the accessibility guidelines in the program Introduction under Integrating All Participants.

Goals

This workshop will:

• Set the tone for the program and introduce underlying group processes
• Demonstrate that experiences can create positive feelings of inclusion (insider or mattering experiences) or feelings of exclusion (outsider or marginalizing experiences)
• Explore mattering and marginalizing experiences of participants and others.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Meet one another and create a covenant
• Recognize that some experiences can create positive feelings of inclusion (mattering) and others can create feelings of exclusion (marginality)
• Hear stories of mattering and marginality from Unitarian Universalists with a variety of ethnic and racial identities
• Reflect on personal experiences of inclusion and marginalization.