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

Activity 1: What Would You Do?

Part of The Wi$dom Path

Activity time: 40 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Print the leader resources (optional: use two different colors of paper). Cut each leader resource on the lines to make Profile Cards and Situation Cards.
  • Write the following questions on newsprint and set it aside:
    • Did the game increase your awareness of hidden realities of class differences (for example, availability of credit, access to education, health-care options)?
    • Did you consider how impacts might be affected by whether people belong to a marginalized group, such BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), LGBTQ folx, immigrants, women, or differently abled?
    • How do members’ different economic realities play out in our congregation? Can we talk openly about class differences or is it taboo?
    • How does financial privilege fit in with our Principles of “justice, equity, and compassion in human relations” and “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part”?
  • Post a blank sheet of newsprint to record important ideas that emerge from group discussion.

Description of Activity

Hand each participant a Profile Card, explaining that the cards summarize the circumstances and resources of different people in our society. Allow participants a minute or two to read their profiles. Form groups of three, with each group including a 1, 2, and 3 Profile Card. If you must have a group of two, make sure each partner has a different profile number.

Give participants three minutes to introduce their profiles to one another in their small groups. Then give each small group a Situation Card. Explain that they have three minutes to decide together the impact of the described situation on the person in each of the profiles. Use a timer and alert participants as time elapses to keep the activity moving quickly. Repeat the activity twice, keeping the small groups intact and giving each small group a new Situation Card each time.

After three rounds with Situation Cards, invite each group to share with the larger group one or two insights from the exercise. Allow five minutes for this part of the activity.

Post the newsprint and lead a discussion using the questions you wrote. Begin by acknowledging that some participants may feel uncomfortable with some aspects of the discussion. Remind participants to speak respectfully from their own experience and to practice active and receptive listening. If the group includes members of a culturally, ethnically, racially, or economically marginalized group among the participants, ensure that they are heard as individuals and are not asked to speak representatively for a particular population.

Guide the discussion to ensure that participants touch on and consider all four questions. Record on the posted newsprint important ideas or questions that emerge.