Activity 3: Practicing Reconciliation - A Reflection

Materials for Activity

• Story, Practicing Reconciliation - A Reflection
• Newsprint, markers and tape

Preparation for Activity

• Recruit a volunteer to read the story aloud.
• Write the URL for the complete UU World article on newsprint, and post: www.uuworld.org/life/articles/14270.shtml

Description of Activity

This first person story by Paula Cole Jones is abridged from her article, "Reconciliation as a Spiritual Practice," in the March/April 2004 issue of UU World. Invite listeners to pay special attention to the author's experiences of mattering and of marginality, and to the roles formal and informal leaders played in her experiences.

Read or tell the story. When you are done, give the original title of Jones' piece and indicate the URL and the edition of UU World where they can read the entire article.

Invite comments on the author's experiences of mattering and marginality. Lead the group to identify the actions of formal and informal leaders as Jones expressed her concerns about the experience of people of color in Unitarian Universalism and brought her creative ideas forward.

Ask the group to extract from this story elements of a model for engaging many voices in the process of discerning direction for a congregation. You may wish to record suggested elements on newsprint.