Building the World We Dream About

Wrap-Up  2010 - 2012 

Participants: Ginger Abraham, Di Allen-Thompson, MaryHolly Allison, Martha Bireda, Myrna Charry, Cheryl Lee, Kit Longo, Gene Maresca, Gudrun Matthaus, Bob and Sue Taylor, Delight TePaske, Pat Thomas-Beard, Dodie Waters, Sonia Waters, Sharon Whitehill, Mary Wolff, and Ted Zawistowski.

This was the second and final year of participating in the Building the World We Dream About (BtWWDA) curriculum for this group of participants.  In year one we focused on the impact institutional racism has on all of us, understanding our white privilege, and the dynamics of race and power.  This second year we honed our personal skills at working cross culturally to ensure our success in building multicultural understanding in our congregation and the larger community.

We heard from a black high school student what challenges he faces as a person of color at Charlotte High School.  We visited the Seminole Indian Wars exhibit at Blanchard House African American Museum and continue to build our working relationship with Martha Bireda, Director, where we co-sponsor a community book club that discusses books about race and ethnicity.  Again many UUFCC members supported the MLK Breakfast, including placing a UUFCC ad in the program, and the MLK Day parade. The Worship committee, along with BtWWDA participants, presented many services during the year bringing attention to men and women of color who have served our denomination and our country.

At the conclusion of these workshops, we set action goals for what we want to accomplish during 2012 in our congregation and community. 

Highlights include:

• Explore fellowship interest in beginning a new series of BtWWDA workshops.
• Bring a multicultural, anti-racist lens to all aspects of fellowship life and the Long Range Plan for reaching UUFCC’s 2017 vision.  Encourage multicultural worship, music, art and potlucks.
• Sponsor films and discussions for our congregation that highlight multicultural themes.
• Sponsor conversations on race in the larger community.
• Further research with Kelly Kirschner of Unidos Now how to work effectively with the Spanish speaking community.
• Join efforts to alter Punta Gorda historical murals to include prominent black founders of the city. 

WORKSHOP 16--PUTTING INTO ACTION OUR CULTURAL COMPETENCY

 

IN THIS SESSION WE FOCUSED ON HOW TO LIVE MULTICULTURALLY, CREATING POLICIES WITHIN THE FELLOWSHIP, AND BEING OPEN TO CHANGE.  

PARTICIPANTS GAVE THE FOLLOWING INSIGHTFUL FEEDBACK:                  

• I have learned that there are various forms of integration, such as whether the group is more like a soup or a salad.

• There are many levels of cultural competency within our group that I think is most likely a result of our life experiences.  I am curious about almost everything and love learning.

• I am developing more awareness & sensitivity to other traits, customs, traditions that may surprise me.

• I am learning how to prepare for the unexpected such as a food that includes items not previously considered, personal qualities such as tattoos, clothing that seems extreme or “inappropriate.”

• The startle response is involuntary, or so it seems, so how do we behave after being startled?

• I’m learning that asking questions of newcomers can be off putting. Reading the “Multicultural Welcome: A Resource for Greeters in Unitarian Universalist Congregations” for ideas on how to be truly welcoming to all would be helpful.  I think this resource might be helpful to our membership teams.

• Ideas that I find creative: ways of engaging others to bring multiculturalism to the congregation.

• I’m curious about engaging multicultural communities.  How do you express interest or curiosity without stepping over the line to being nosy?

• How does one step into or stop a conversation that is socially insensitive?

• I am learning that we are earnest about taking action steps, but we are in different learning places that I find exciting.

• I want the facilitators to know that you are doing a really great job distilling this curriculum in usable ways.

• I am learning and developing a love of cultural diversity, it takes time and I need to take personal responsibility for this.

• How do we get more people involved in this quest?

• How do we get people to take personal responsibility towards healing from racism?

• I’m learning that developing multicultural competency is an ongoing, lifelong process.

• I’m curious about how well we can share this info with the congregation and how receptive they will be.                                                                                                                                                  

WORKSHOP 15--HISTORICAL AND CURRENT ISSUES AROUND RACIAL INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION

Workshop 15 is really about Unitarian Universalism in general and how the history of several encounters and disagreements was addressed.  We discussed the early history of the big split between white and non-white Unitarian Universalists in the 60s and 70s which resulted in large numbers of resignations on the part of people of color.  It was a tragic!  The second incident was at the 2005 Fort Worth General Assembly when young black people were mistaken for waiters and/or bell hops by other Unitarian Universalists.  One group discussed the historical lessons and another group discussed the more recent event. We asked participants to structure their discussion around three questions: 1) what’s your assessment of how these incidents were handled?  2) How would you have handled the incidents?  3) Could something like that happen at our Fellowship? The general consensus was that the Fort Worth incident should have been discussed immediately because it would have been a wonderful learning opportunity.  It was addressed shortly thereafter and precautions have been put in place to prevent such happenings again.  Further, in discussing if such things could happen at our Fellowship, many agreed that it has already happened; particularly in the way we greet newcomers who are non-white.  We hope to work with the Membership committee in order to facilitate training for Greeters and others interested in visitors to our Fellowship.

Summary of feedback to the session:

1.  One person thought that we should not be rehashing old stuff.

2.  Several people liked the idea that we were finally addressing these issues at our Fellowship.

3.  One person liked the fact that the time constraints were somewhat relaxed.

4.  One person thought the leadership was good but too unstructured.

WORKSHOP 14-YEAR TWO-MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE

Our first session since the summer break and Beginning Year two of Building the World We Dream About

After sharing what our first year of workshops has meant to each of us, we discussed thoughts that have come to us about this work over the summer break.  Focusing on Multicultural Competence we shared in small groups the differences and similarities among us using our own personal identity maps.  At the end of our two hours together members gave thoughtful feedback:

What did you find compelling from today's workshop?

• I liked the fact that the group makeup has continuity from last year.
• I liked the identity map sharing, it is a helpful communication tool for teaching listening and learning.  I felt that it might have worked at the beginning of our time together, too.
• I felt the definitions of cultural competency and the skills associated with it were important and the reading for today by Kat Liu was compelling and inciteful.
• What do we as Unitarian Universalists need to do to help ourselves and our congregation to embrace multicultural openness?
• It was compelling to observe the key questions asked today, such as "What do we do to address people on the margins?"

Do you have any concerns or puzzlements from today?

• How will we involve the folks from the Long Range Planning committee & the Growth Initiative group and the Board in the ideas that we are learning?
• How will we put ourselves in situations this week that push us outside our comfort zone?
• I am thinking about the various ways that Unitarian Universalists might be viewed by a variety of types of people, we may be "off-putting" to some.
• We may not appeal to diverse groups.  We need to develop competencies in different cultures and learn how they may veiw us before we can embrace them.
• Some religions may appeal more to young people than others, I find that fascinating.

Do you have any suggestions for our group and coming workshop sessions?

• No, this is well done just like last year, thank you!
• The more people in the congregation we can get "on board" the better we will do.
• I would like us to facilitate events for the wider congregation, such as maybe showing the Tim Wise video with discussion afterward and other events such as this.
• I would like us to learn more about the demographics of the local area, about Latinos and African Americans.

Workshop 11: The Experience of Whiteness from Others Point of View

March 26, 2011

This workshop introduced perspectives on "Whiteness" from people who belong to marginalized racial/ethnic identity groups.

***
We obviously have to talk about racism, White privilege and the topics we covered within the “greater congregation;” having it out in the open will give us the opportunity to become more compassionate in our dealings with each other.

***
The big question that came from our group today was, again, where do we go from here in communicating with the congregation what we have learned this year. Today we grappled with the idea that Whites still do not see the privilege they have.

***
Today was interesting but I wish there was more time for discussion about how to proceed in the congregation. Acknowledging with all humility that, we who are white, have within us some degree of racism—it is impossible to grow up in this society without absorbing some racist ideology. But, we fight against it, knowing how it hurts us as well as people of color, so I say to the congregation, JOIN THIS STRUGGLE.

***
Developing one’s own identity can be a challenge for anyone. Society impresses its concepts on individuals and groups.  It is the right of each person to create or develop his/her own self identity.  All of us need to learn to respect this right in others even as we desire and expect respect for ourselves.

***
This session was especially worthwhile and the study materials were excellent. The group discussion was also helpful.

***
The four articles have a common thread of personal and group struggle with identity and race. It was surprising to me how much I have had experiences in my life with people dealing with similar issues.  It was helpful that one group member reminded me that “one does what you can in your own sphere of influence—and hopefully see results.

***
This was a good session—I think folks are beginning to open up more.

***
In this session we allowed more time for discussion which may have led to a greater depth and resulting in more questions than answers. Comparing the concept of the melting pot with the concept of stone soup—that is relishing differences rather than fearing them and wanting to make those differences go away.

***
We had thoughtful discussions on the readings that challenged our usual assumptions. We are learning how important self-identity is in terms of race and culture, it is a key learning.

Workshop 9--Whiteness

Workshop 9 Feedback—March 12 

WHAT WE FOCUSSED ON TODAY: WHITENESS

Why do most White people not see themselves as having a race?  In part, race obliviousness is the natural consequence of being in the driver’s seat.  For most Whites, race—or more precisely, their own race—is simply part of the unseen, unproblematic background.

Here is the feedback from our workshop focused on Whiteness:

The concept of whiteness and its qualities and consequences is still more complicated and harder to grasp than might have been expected at this late stage.  It’s not so easy.

Excellent workshop—pace and different exercises generated deeper discussions, I felt.  I think we are grasping whiteness and its impact on everyone’s life in America.

Today stressed out.  I feel we do a lot of speaking for others when we should speak for ourselves—I speak for me.  We can focus on one aspect to come up with a desired discussion and comments of another aspect when we could be focused upon getting to a different aspect.  I wondered about having guests, the use of the sound system and the use of mikes.  I felt lacking. 

I think that we dug deeper into whiteness but people are still resistant to facing it.  The PowerPoint and film clip were effective except for the difficulty with the sound. 

I get some sort of insight from every one of these sessions, and this was no exception.

SESSION EIGHT--POWER AT WORK IN OUR CONGREGATION

In this workshop we worked to develop our skills in identifying visible and invisible ways congregational norms, culture, policies, and practices intentionally or unintentionally reinforce White privilege and dominant White culture while marginalizing People of Color and others marginalized by race or ethnicity.

Here is the feedback from our participants to this session:

Activity #1 : Effective in eliciting recognition of implicit racial attitudes & their deleterious impact on the in-group

Activity #2: I found it to be a bit “stacked” & constraining

Years of conscious addressing of race issues nevertheless did not dislodge stereotypes, fears, assumptions of privilege in some who spoke about their experiences. Suggests the hold prejudicial thoughts have on people.

It is always good to share personal stories and particularly useful to focus on experience we have had with “other” – those of color – experiences that help us recognize our early teachings and primal biases.

It is becoming clearer how being in a position of power cuts us off from relating in the here and now, relating to & understanding those who have grown up w/experiences vastly different from our own

Interesting. Confession good for the soul.

In our small group, we recognized the influence of parents, extended family, movies and TV on our early and often stereotypical impressions of people of color and how those messages affected our behavior as we grew up.

Enjoyed the casting game – a light way to recognize our ingrained stereotypes.

Thought provoking.

The e-mailed handout was really thought provoking. In class groups, we learned how some people had been insulated from other races growing up. The exercise about casting was illuminating.

The casting director exercise was quick and quite revealing.

It was pleasant to have plenty of time to have the discussion exercise. Naming the emotion associated with a painful racial experience provides another step towards healing.

Today’s session was helpful in bringing to light our unconscious prejudice.

Very enlightening to see ourselves in this light, hopefully to understand why we behave as we do.  Excellent !!

SESSION SEVEN--GOING DEEPER

COMMENTS FROM SESSION 7 BtWWDA

January 29, 2011- In this session, we chose to look at white privilege in our congregation and how institutional racism might exist, even if we aren't aware of it.   

FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS

My favorite part was to sing and move.  Should we consider beginning this way?  I do appreciate the use of the projection screen so visuals are presented… very helpful!  Looking at our own congregation is a challenge and quite interesting!  Thank you Sue and Bob!

An excellent session.  We’ve turned a corner to a place of more openness in our questions and sharing.  We’re feeling some important bonding.  It’s becoming the “training we dream about.”  Looking forward to more.

I am pleased to be a part of serious discussions that allow naming and reframing racism in a way that allow healing.

I felt we moved closer to the name it and deal with it.  Much closer to the core of the issues.

We defined issues and then dealt with it and then reframed it.  All four groups came up with “real” issues, issues that exist in real life and proposed very practical ways of dealing with them.  This session was truly pertinent to the circumstances of my life.

I felt handicapped and at a loss reading the assumptions because I missed a session and misunderstood where they came from.  Many are not assumptions I made.

These sessions may really help this congregation to do better re race relations.  However, I really believe that UUFCC does a pretty good job already.  At least in comparison to many groups.  I wasn’t originally convinced that all this would change much or be very valuable.  Fortunately, I think it is both.

All people are precious – white people lose their humanity when they act out racism.  Undoing racism is not easy but a most worthy goal.  Let’s begin the work with honesty and without rancor.  We are off to a great start.

Empathy!  Loved the song.  Ted spoke of connections and where we go from here.

Good session.  Seemed to go a little deeper.  More openness.

I feel that this session really helped us go deeper into the concept of white privilege and how it is manifested in our congregation.

We moved from behaving more purely intellectually engaged to being more emotionally involved.

I wonder if our black members get sick and tired of being the example continually used. How would I feel if I were 1 of 3 whites in a black dominated fellowship and whites were the focus all the time.

Navigating Unearned Privilege

SESSION SIX—UNEARNED PRIVILEGE

In preparation for this session and being Martin Luther King’s birth weekend, we decided to send by email, before this session, the Letter from the Birmingham Jail, which he wrote in 1963.  This brilliant and powerful letter is quite relevant to the current discussion of white privilege.  We began our session with a check-in following the song: You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught, from South Pacific.  Then we continued with our modified session six curriculum by showing a video compiled from YouTube videos discussing white privilege.  Using multi-media brought a vibrant energy to our experience together.  We designed the assignment for our activity and asked each group to come up with a short skit supporting the continuation of white privilege.   The reactions to this activity were powerful.  Here is the feedback from this session from the members of the class.

It is too easy to argue for patience.  [Those in power say] “things are changing, just wait, we’re making progress, don’t rock the boat.”  But why should anyone be patient when it is their humanness that is being denied.

A very stimulating and eye popping discussion and realization of the faults that exist, without being aware of the hurt that they cause.

Frustrating, but inspiring.  Makes me realize that we have come a long way.

COMPLICATED.  A useful exercise in introspection, trying to gain insight into the various perspectives to the problem.

I liked the exercise and thought it was thought provoking for the participants.  I wished we’d had some time to discuss the Letter from Birmingham Jail at greater length.  I also liked the video presentation.

This is all like peeling an onion.  We have to persist in peeling away the layers.  It is important that participants not feel any personal guilt or shame.  When we can just put it out there we can then move on.

The subtle unreasonableness of ostensibly reasonable arguments to justify the status quo and to deny forward movement in reducing racism, and prejudices and discrimination is striking once it is revealed for what it is.

I was reminded about how far we have come but also how far we have to go.  Pressure must be constant to ever get to equality.

Examples from our history of how white privilege was used to maintain the status quo.  I had forgotten how reasonable some of those arguments used to sound.  Somebody used the term “insidious.”  Good call.

Through our groups discussion I moved to a somewhat middle ground after learning previously in US history we have already done the very thing I was, fairly vehemently, opposed to.  I feel our current US situation is somewhat different from the past, but I left the session unsettled and thoughtful.

The exercises and presentations addressed important issues and showed the insidiousness of white privilege—again, I would have liked another 15-20 minutes of reflective talk in the whole group.  How do we effectively combat these ideas?

An inspiring and fruitful session.  I loved the small-group discussion.  All in all, thought, I am thrilled and delighted by this opportunity to come together with others to make conscious and to address racial issues in our lives.  A wonderful group of people.

The skits were challenging and the results were scary in some ways.  It seemed much easier to justify and condemn privilege than to figure out how to dismantle it.

Today’s discussion left me feeling frustrated.  It was hard to pretend to act out situations/scenarios for which I STILL have negative feelings.  Sometimes I suppose I have just chosen to ignore much. 

There’s a lot to continue to think about.  I found it awkward to voice things that I knew were definitely wrong.  I’m not black, but I know that I’ve been a part of it in the past out of ignorance.  I’ll take these thoughts home to ponder.

SESSION FIVE--LOOKING AT WHITE PRIVILEGE

In our fifth session, we explored the meaning and impact of white privilege on the lives of people of color and on whites themselves.  As Nelson Mandela said, "I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed."

The following are comments from some of our 21 participants after the session:

I find it intriguing that often our motivation for working toward racial inclusion is not, or may not be pure.  Sometimes it includes factors of self satisfaction.  But, even when this is true, the goal is worth the effort if the results more than compensate the fuzzy motivation.

It is interesting that centuries have passed and very little progress has been made to erase the racial issues in us.

I feel confident our efforts do and will make a difference and will correct social change regarding any privilege. 

Our group was trying to think about how to make connections with the people of color in our area that could have Unitarian Universalist leanings.

The idea I found most interesting is that white privilege is subtly insidious and how hard it is to b e aware of white privilege issues. 

One powerful idea for me is that “race” is an unnecessary construct that is often, if not predominantly, malevolent in its impact on both the oppressed and the oppressor. 

White privilege penetrates areas where we are unconscious or unaware of its existence. 

I find it interesting that diverse ways are not inherently better or worse but a way to become more self-aware and less inhibited.

If we acknowledge white privilege then action is required.  Some may not wish to give up privilege.  What would the benefit be?

What can I do about white privilege when I am almost never in a situation where it seems to appear?

The concept of white privilege, although existent, is not useful.  It makes white people feel guilty about their racism and stymies action.  It also does not identify the “oppressive society” (capitalism) that profits from and perpetuates racism.  I don’t believe white people were born racist—it is against their natural humanity.

How can whites fight against white privilege without being condescending?  How can we act so that we are perceived as authentic?

How to learn to recognize my unconscious prejudice is the greatest concern

I can’t see the privileges I have unless I really look at them.

Workshop Four--Identities

Workshop 4 Summary 

In this workshop we shared stories about a day in the life of someone whose racial/ethnic identity is "other," than our own.  We reflected on the experience of composing them. We tried to view the world through the lens of a person with a different identity.  We were then asked to list our individual concerns about expanding a multiracial/multicultural congregation?

GROUP 1  This group is concerned about:

1.  bending too far in redefining our core beliefs to accommodate.

2.  not wanting new people to feel that I'm prying when I ask them about

themselves.

3.  wondering what our motivation is for inviting other ethnic groups.  Will they feel singled out?

4.  finding balance in the music program so that it will include diversity without losing the current classical genre.

5.  If we aren't inviting people in our own circle to come, why are we reaching

beyond our circle to different ethnic groups?

6.  Are we really open to people of different backgrounds, or are we making them feel uncomfortable if they come from more theologically restrictive backgrounds?

GROUP 2  This group is concerned that:

1.  the "image" we may have of being intellectual, somewhat unemotional, and not spiritual.  Maybe we have little tolerance for people with a conservative bent. 

This "image" issue may be a North American UU issue, as Unitarian Universalists from other cultures around the world look quite different from us; there are other ways to "do" Unitarian Universalism.

2.  our structure, or the way we "do" church is what keeps us small.

3.  we are not reaching out to our neighborhood.

4.  the rest of the congregation may be challenged by what we are learning, how do we include the congregation in this journey?

5.  I hope we can be more self-aware, knowing what we believe and aware of our isteners and meet them where they are.

GROUP 3  This group expressed concern that:

1.  we might go overboard in welcoming visitors to the exclusion of attention to longer-time members and friends.

2.  some visitors may not come back because they do not see others who look

like them.

3.  we will forget that people come when they are ready.

4.  we will fail to distinguish between historical "fear of the other" and our own personal fear of the other.

5.  we will lose focus on our approach to religion.

6.  we will fail to acknowledge our religious plurality.

Session Three

Workshop three built on reflective storytelling, focusing on our inclusion and exclusion experiences.  We continued by exploring our personal identity, those parts of who we are that make us human.  

Feedback from participants:

"My Unitarian Universalist faith is my foundation for my work, my volunteering, and my approach to life.  It informs how I related to others.  I assume people of other faiths relate to others from their religious and philosophical foundation as well.  How do we hear each other and appreciate each other when we come from very different belief symptoms?  How do we find commonalities that help us appreciate one another?"

"I enjoyed sharing with others the exploration of identity and what in particular it means personally to be human.  Many ideas emerged and were compared for me.  In some respects, this workshop material suggests why we have ended up in this Unitarian Universalist congregation." 

"One of our small group members suggested that being human is the struggle to get back to our spiritual connections.  I am continuing to struggle with the idea of being human--all of the mean and violent acts perpetrated against others cannot surely be a reflection of a 'human' being."

"I found it interesting to narrow down to the core those things that are essential to being human--showing that skin color, ethnicity, gender, class--none of them even came close to the core of what it means to be human."

"The picture card exercise was effective in demonstrating that despite nearly equivalent objective descriptions of an event, interpretations of the event can be divergent.  No new ideas resulted from this session, however, preexisting ideas were stimulated which were reinforced by this very well-crafted format."

" I had no clue how differently the world is seen and felt by one who is of a differing racial background.  The challenge is to be aware of my own relationships and my own identity.  Are identity and characteristics synonymous?  I dont' know.  Curiously for myself, I did not list child of God, human being, body/soul/spirit/mind as part of my identity.  Maybe if I look at that, marginalization ceases to have power."

"I found it challenging to differentiate 'what makes us human' from characteristics and habits.  I feel there is a lot of overlap here."

"The most challenging and interesting part of our day was defining what it is to be human."

"It is most challenging to discern between personal identity and learned habits.  I think I have a lot of work to do in this area."

"This session really dealt with one question: 'Who am I and how did I get this way and who will I become?  This is a very challenging and possibly risky activity."

"Today was interesting, challenging and puzzling.  Distinguishing between traits that make me human or things I do that are just habit was the challenge.  I found it interesting that some found nature to be centering while others felt that action was centering."

"As I contemplated what it is that makes me human, I came to the idea that it is the spiritual component of my life that makes me human."

"The most interesting aspect of today was how I perceive my relationship with myself and others."

"I found it interesting to contemplate what it would be like to lose aspects of what makes me human such as the loss of cognitive ability--the long slide into Alzheimer's disease--the loss of self and the loss of myself to others.  I also found it interesting how differently each of us can see the same thing."

"The postcard exercise was revealing and interesting but the large group written instructions seemed to steer us away from looking at identity.  The final quotes were interesting, but too bad we didn't have time to discuss them.  Great session in general."

"What makes up my identity?  It was enlightening to come up with, after careful thought, what the parts of me are--I thought about what people have said about me and things I think about myself.  Some things are really important to me being me.  I have only recently been marginalized in a significant way, it was life threatening.  I cannot imagine a marginalizing experience lasting the majority of a life-time.  Recovering is hard."

"It was interesting to realize that neither my gender nor my race were near the top of the list of what makes me human.  I like the powerful idea that the core values I prize are sometimes affected by, but are not determined by, my race/gender and other identifying aspects."

Workshops 1 and 2

Saturday, October 2, 2010

UUFCC took its maiden voyage into the Building the World We Dream About curriculum! We had 22 participants, which is great for our small congregation of just under 100. We opted to start with a double session, doing Workshop 1 in the morning with a lunch break of an hour followed by Workshop 2.  It was a long day but everybody hung in there and kept their energy and enthusiasm up.

Workshop 1 facilitated by Ginger and Sue.  After greeting and making sure everyone had a nametag and journal, Ginger opened with the poem “Telling” by Laura Hershey, included in the curriculum resources.  Each person introduced him/herself by telling one thing  most people would not already know about them.  We made a list of important reasons for our congregation to talk about antiracism/multiculturalism. 

We then distributed guidelines for making a covenant.  After some clarification of terms and meanings, everyone agreed to adopt all of the items on the list with the reminder that this will be a “living” document that can grow and change as we work together.  Our first journaling exercise, Insider/Outsider, followed.  Each person wrote about an experience in which they felt like an outsider, holding the story in their heart as a point of reference for later discussions.

Theater of Voices was the next activity.  Eight UU voices were selected from the curriculum of UU people of color and whites who had the experiences in their congregations, with some being affirming and others marginalizing.   Small group discussions of these experiences were insightful.  Participants were asked to write in their journals during the lunch break about situations in which they felt they really mattered and when they felt marginalized.

Workshop 2 facilitated by Pam and Di.  They opened by giving us an opportunity to practice Serial Testimony protocol. Each person shared something and then the next person’s testimony begins without comment from others.  We divided into five groups used the serial testimony to share a time when we really mattered and a time when we felt marginalized.  Each group compared their own experiences with those expressed in the Theater of Voices.  This was followed by a large group discussion of what it means to welcome someone into the congregation and how People of Color and other marginalized groups might be discomforted by the welcoming process. 

The Taking It Home exercise asked everyone to speak to two people in the congregation or community to learn about why they joined their faith community and reflect on how their stories align with the notion of marginality and mattering.

The feedback from all participants was overwhelmingly positive with some saying that the workshops surpassed their expectations.  We look forward to continuing with the workshops.  


The next workshop is on Saturday, October 16.