Tapestry of Faith: The Wi$dom Path: An Adult Program on Money, Spirit, and Life

Introduction

Part of The Wi$dom Path

What you are now is what you have been, what you will be is what you do now.
—The Buddha

Beginning in childhood and throughout our adult lives, we receive many messages about money from family members, friends, co-workers, popular culture, and our faith community. These messages are often conflicting. How money is managed and spent can be a source of confusion and conflict in our close relationships. Understanding our personal story and the values that are at the root of our relationship with money is an important step in creating a spiritually healthy relationship with money. For this reason, the central stories in this workshop will be participants' money autobiographies.

In this workshop, participants will also explore generational differences in how we understand money and finances, dynamics that might come into play in our personal, familial, and congregational interactions around money. After reflecting on their own stories and on the broader context for those stories, participants will have an opportunity to reflect on how their money habits align with their personal values and the shared values of their Unitarian Universalist faith.

The money autobiographies are a significant component of this workshop. A few days prior to the workshop, please send an email reminding participants to prepare their stories and attaching Workshop 1, Handout 3.

Before leading this workshop, review Accessibility Guidelines for Adult Workshop Presenters.

Goals

This workshop will:

  • Offer an opportunity for participants to share their money autobiographies
  • Invite participants to consider the impact of their childhood family values on present-day attitudes and behaviors
  • Introduce participants to generational differences in money attitudes and behaviors
  • Provide a process for participants to identify some of their life aspirations, reflecting on whether they are using their financial resources in a way that is consistent with their values and with Unitarian Universalist theology and values.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

  • Recognize connections between their current financial behavior, priorities, and values and the messages they received while growing up
  • Gain appreciation and understanding of the diverse attitudes and behaviors that exist within the group and within a multigenerational and multicultural congregation
  • Identify connections between money and the hopes and dreams they have for their lives.