...if you are here because your liberation is bound up in mine, then let us walk together. — Lilla Watson, Australian activist

IN TODAY'S WORKSHOP... we learned about doing interfaith work as a Unitarian Universalist and we prepared for our service event. To further prepare:

• Research stories of Unitarian Universalists working with other people of faith on justice issues. Try these sources: UU World Online News, past editions of the UU World (if your family does not receive the magazine at home, find it at your congregation), UUA on Social Justice, and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee website.
• Practice combining your interfaith story with your Unitarian Universalist interfaith service story until you feel comfortable saying it to others. Practice with friends and family.
• Find out more about street theater from the websites of the Street Theater Brigade, the Electric Cabaret, or Amnesty International. Look for examples on YouTube. Research online for opportunities to do street retreats in your geographic area.
• Advertise your interfaith service event by chalking—that is, writing short messages about the event using colorful chalk on sidewalks. Be sure to check school or other grounds' rules before chalking. Never chalk on vertical or covered surfaces.
• Find text or video of a speech by a gifted orator such as President Obama. See if you can find references to communal narratives. What do you know about the speaker by the end of their speech that you might not have known at the beginning? What identities do they hold? Can you name communities to which they belong? What real life examples and what faith stories did they use to illustrate the values they are promoting? How do they connect their personal experience and beliefs to the stories of identities and communities to make their point?
• Watch Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison and Senator Al Franken (Part One and Part Two), members of Congress, speak during the General Assembly of the Unitarian University Association and musician Annie Lennox speaking about AIDS activism at a conference of the nonprofit organization Technology, Entertainment, Design. Listen for references to communal narratives in their speeches. What do you know about the speakers by the end of their speeches that you did not know at the beginning? What identities do they hold? Can you name communities to which they belong? What real life examples and what faith stories did they use to illustrate the values they speak to? How do they connect their personal experience and beliefs to the stories of identities and communities to make their point?
• Research online to find out about opportunities to participate in street retreats in your geographic area.
• Watch the movie The Saint of Fort Washington (1993) about the life of a schizophrenic homeless man on the streets of New York.