By mark hicks gail forsyth-vail, developmental editor

This workshop invites participants to put what they have learned into action and to apply knowledge, skills, and critical thinking about multicultural issues to congregational scenarios. There are two activity options presented, either of which will help participants acquire and expand skills and competencies for building and participating in multicultural community. The first is a simulation, in which participants play roles of committee members, leaders, and congregants at a pivotal moment in the life of a hypothetical congregation. The second option engages participants in creating and acting out case studies that reflect actual congregational situations. Either activity requires two full workshops to complete. You will want to consider such factors as group size and style and the learning strengths, challenges, and preferences of individuals as you choose between the two options.

The simulation option invites participants to choose a particular role and stay in character through this and the following workshop. It invites participants to improvise actions and reactions, responding both to other participants and to "wild cards" introduced by the facilitators to increase complexity and learning.

The case study option invites participants to work from a bare "what happened" outline to flesh out participant and situation background, motivations, actions, and reactions. Participants in this activity prepare and present a brief skit to highlight the dilemma and propose actions and responses consonant with antiracist/multicultural community.

Before leading this workshop, review the accessibility guidelines in the program Introduction under Integrating All Participants.

Goals

This workshop will:

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  Engage participants in applying knowledge about multicultural issues to a congregational scenario.
  

Participants will:

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  Apply knowledge, skills, and critical thinking about multicultural issues
  
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  Develop, practice, and strengthen multicultural competencies through role-playing, either by participating in a simulation about a pivotal moment in the life of a particular congregation or engaging with case studies that reflect actual congregational situations.
  

This workshop will challenge not only the participants, but also the facilitators. There are likely to be moments when the group will feel stressed by the challenge of the activity. Remind yourself that the stress and the challenge are necessary in order for learning to take place. Prepare yourself to embrace uncertainty and to trust both what will unfold in the workshop and your ability to respond appropriately.

Using music, meditation, prayer, walking outdoors, or another familiar spiritual practice, take some time to center yourself and prepare to be fully present to the challenges, ambiguities, wisdom, and spiritual deepening as they unfold in this workshop.

Welcoming and Entering

Materials for Activity

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  Sign-in sheet and pen or pencil
  
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  Name tags for participants (durable or single-use) and bold markers
  
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  Optional: Music and player
  
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  Optional: Snacks and beverages
  

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  Arrange chairs in a circle and set out name tags and markers on a table.
  
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  Optional: Play music softly in the background.
  
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  Optional: Set out snacks and beverages.
  

Greet participants as they arrive.

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  Worship table or designated space
  
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  Chalice, candle, and lighter or LED battery-operated candle
  
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  List of this workshop's Goals and Learning Objectives
  
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  Covenant established in Workshop 1
  
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  Newsprint, markers, and tape
  
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  Optional: Meditative music and player Piano or keyboard
  

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  Write workshop Goals and Learning Objectives on newsprint, and post.
  

Welcome participants and remind them of the spirit of their covenant. Share the Goals and Learning Objectives for this workshop.

Light the chalice and share these words from writer and educator Paul Kivel:

Cultural competence is not something we have or don't have. It is a process of learning about and becoming allies with people from other cultures, thereby broadening our own understanding and ability to participate in a multicultural process. The key element to becoming more culturally competent is respect for the ways that others live in and organize the world and an openness to learn from them.

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  Newsprint, markers, and tape
  
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  Handout 1, Simulation Scenario and Process (included in this document)
  
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  Handout 2, Simulation Descriptions — Minister and Board (included in this document)
  
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  Handout 3, Simulation Descriptions — Social Justice Working Group (included in this document)
  
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  Handout 4, Simulation Descriptions — White Allies (included in this document)
  
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  Handout 5, Simulation Descriptions — Caucus for People of Color and People from Marginalized Racial or Ethnic Groups (included in this document)
  
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  Handout 6, Simulation Descriptions — Random Congregants (included in this document)
  
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  Congregational documents, including mission statement, recent board minutes, and current budget
  
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  Leader Resource 1, Job Candidates (included in this document)
  
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  Leader Resource 2, Wild Cards (included in this document)
  
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  Leader Resource 3, Getting Unstuck (included in this document)
  
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  Seven document folders (two for facilitators, five for the committees and groups)
  

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  Copy Handout 1, Simulation Scenario and Process, for all participants. Make six copies of Handout 2, Simulation Descriptions — Minister and Board. Make eight copies of Handout 3, Simulation Descriptions — Social Justice Working Group. Make five copies of Handout 4, Simulation Descriptions — White Allies and six copies of Handout 5, Simulation Descriptions — Caucus for People of Color and People from Marginalized Racial or Ethnic Groups.
  
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  There are 17 specified roles in the simulation. If the group has more than 17 participants, some will craft their own role using Handout 6, Simulation Descriptions — Random Congregants. Make enough copies of Handout 6 for everyone who may need a role plus one for each facilitator.
  
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  Make two copies of Leader Resource 1, Job Candidates; Leader Resource 2, Wild Cards; and Leader Resource 3, Getting Unstuck.
  
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  Make seven copies of each congregational document.
  
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  Create a folder for each facilitator. Include a copy of each handout and congregational document as well as Leader Resource 1, Job Candidates; Leader Resource 2, Wild Cards; and Leader Resource 3, Getting Unstuck. Carefully read all the information and instructions to be sure you can explain the simulation and answer questions.
  
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  Create a folder for each committee or group in your simulation (Minister and Board, Social Justice Working Group, White Allies, Caucus for People of Color and People from Marginalized Racial or Ethnic Groups, Random Congregants). Folders should include:
  
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    Enough copies of Handout 1, Simulation Scenario and Process, for each member of the group to have one
    
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    Enough copies of the appropriate Simulation Descriptions handout for each member to have one
    
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    A single copy of each congregational document
    
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  Arrange for each group or committee to have a private meeting space or room. Make a sign for each one and post it outside the space or room.
  

Read Handout 1, Simulation Scenario and Process to the group and answer general questions. Explain that the more energy participants put into their roles, the greater the learning. Encourage participants to really get into the characters and have fun with the process. Emphasize that this simulation is a learning experience where people can make "mistakes" in a relatively safe context.

Invite participants to choose roles, or assign roles so each group has the proper number of participants:

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  Minister and Board (1 senior minister, 3 board members)
  
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  Social Justice Working Group (6 people)
  
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  White Allies (3 people)
  
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  Caucus for People of Color and People from Marginalized Racial or Ethnic Groups (4 people)
  
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  Random Congregants (remaining persons)
  

Invite participants to move to their assigned group or committee spaces and begin the simulation.

Your role during the simulation is to monitor all areas of activity and keep a running record of interesting observations for processing at the end of the simulation. Note:

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  How are participants acting in antiracist ways?
  
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  How are participants demonstrating multicultural competencies?
  
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  Are they being accountable to each other and to oppressed persons?
  
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  How are participants avoiding conflict or responding poorly to incidents or new information?
  

Continue the simulation until just before the workshop's ending time.

Invite other members of the group to read character descriptions to a blind or visually impaired participant. Encourage those who are reluctant or shy to make a character their own and to inhabit that person in a way that feels comfortable for them, while still paying attention to the lens that particular character would bring to the situation.

Instead of a formal closing, simply bring participants together and extinguish the chalice. After the chalice is extinguished, invite participants to step outside their character before leaving the workshop. Ask them NOT to work on or talk about their plans or strategies between workshops; that is why they have no Taking It Home for this workshop.

Take a few moments right after the workshop to ask each other:

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  What went well?
  
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  What didn't? Why?
  
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  What do you think was the best moment of the workshop? Why?
  
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  Did anything surprise you?
  
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  Do we need to make any changes in the way we work together?
  

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  Handout 7, Creating a Case Study (included in this document)
  
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  Handout 8, Case Study Suggestions (included in this document)
  

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  Copy Handout 7, Creating a Case Study and Handout 8, Case Study Suggestions. Read the handouts and prepare to explain them and answer questions.
  

If you perceive that the group may be uncomfortable with the simulation or has too few people for an effective simulation, use this case study exercise instead to engage participants in a congregational problem and its potential antiracist/multicultural solutions.

Form four groups of nearly equal size. Distribute Handout 7, Creating a Case Study and Handout 8, Case Study Suggestions. Invite each group to follow the instructions and develop a case study. Tell them they may choose one of the suggested case studies in Handout 8 or create one from their own experience in the congregation.

Handout 1: Simulation Scenario and Process

THE SCENARIO

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Anytown has been growing by leaps and bounds for several years. This growth has resulted from new ministerial leadership as well as the congregation's well-publicized stances on behalf of equal marriage and in support of immigrant families. Because the congregation has taken a risky public stance, it has the esteem of social justice progressives in the community. To build on its momentum, the minister has recommended to the board that the congregation create a new, full-time, staff position: director of social justice. The Board has welcomed and accepted the minister's request to consider the new position.

Each of you is a member of the congregation, assigned to a specific role. Your task is to play out the scenario in real time through the lens of the role to which you are assigned. The Board is required to post the job description and process for interviewing and hiring no later than 90 minutes into the simulation. The Board may choose any criteria and process they believe are appropriate. Next time we meet, in Workshop 21, we will continue the simulation. Then, the Board will be required to hold a congregational meeting to discuss the position 15 minutes into the opening of the workshop.

Although the characters in each committee or group have been assigned genders, gender assignments may be changed for the simulation. The descriptions are meant to be a starting place, adjust your role so you feel comfortable "being" that person and using that lens for a time. You are asked to "inhabit" your character from the moment the simulation begins. Under no circumstances should you step out of character until after the simulation. All actions and decisions are to be made using the lens of the character. Think: "How would this person respond to this situation?" Refer back to the voices, issues, insights, and problems raised over the course of the program to guide your actions and responses.

Do not share character descriptions outside of your simulation group. Part of the learning is figuring out the assumptions and values of other people. Treat all participants with respect, even if you disagree with them.


WORKING AS A GROUP

Develop a plan of action:

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  What does the group need to know about the situation?
  
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  How might you get that information?
  
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  How can the interests and needs of your group be met?
  
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  How can and should this group influence the outcome of the search and hiring process?
  

Facilitators will, at their discretion, insert a "Wild Card" scenario into the mix to add layers of complexity to the simulation. You must respond—or choose not to respond—to this new information. Facilitators may "coach" any group that appears to be stuck. Facilitators will also play the roles of two job candidates at relevant points in the simulation.

Have fun!!

Handout 2: Simulation Descriptions — Minister and Board

The Minister

Rev. Christopher Emerson is a 43-year-old, single White male who is a third-generation Unitarian Universalist minister. He is known for his enthusiasm, charisma, and considerable oratorical skills. He spends an extraordinary amount of time doing the work of the congregation and has little personal time; the congregation has, in effect, become his family. He is a powerful presence within the congregation and community and takes up a lot of psychic space! He graduated from an Ivy League school and has many connections to the power elite in your town. He believes in creating systems of social equity, but frames injustice as a political and class issue, as opposed to internalized systems of oppression. At the end of the day, he is invested in "making results happen."

NOTE: All members of the Board have participated in antioppression/antiracism and multicultural diversity seminars. This may or may not be known to members of the congregation.