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On Sunday January 26th at 2 pm, you are invited to participate in a leadership workshop on “Diversity” facilitated by Rev. Jane Sullivan (St. John's United Church, Creemore) in the Garden Room at Richmond Hill United Church.  Jane’s passion is building and strengthening “Community” in all its meanings, whether local, global, special interest or orientation. She seeks ways to “make all the boats rise”.

The Diversity workshop is one of the United Fresh Start modules.  This module examines differences related to cultural expectations, power, and privilege. This module was intentionally designed to be broad in scope and focus on the implications of diversity such as race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, finances, or ability, without focusing on any specific difference.

The members of the Board feel that this is a very important learning opportunity which they have committed to attending and they hope you will too. Please RSVP to Karen Dale.

DJ McCready (Board chair) 720djmcc@gmail.com

Karen Dale (minister) kjd.rhuc22@gmail.com

 

DIVERSITY WORKSHOP

Purpose

In this module, participants will reflect on their experience of being different, especially related to cultural expectations, power, and privilege. They will recognize the strength of diversity among differences. This module is neither focused on creating a competition for identities nor on determining who is more oppressed. A focus of this module is on being intentional about questions of power and privilege to help the community of faith become one that honours diversity and becoming an intercultural church.  

 

Theological Understanding

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.” 1 Corinthians 12: 12-14

Throughout the Bible, we hear stories of God embracing those who are different and inviting God’s people to do the same. These stories are foundational to the United Church’s vision of becoming an intercultural church. An intercultural church is one that is welcoming, relational, adaptive, justice-seeking, intentional, and missional. Becoming an intercultural church means living together with a respectful awareness of each other’s differences. We do this by examining ourselves, building relationships, and distributing power fairly.

 

General Outline of Workshop (90 – 120 mins)

  1. Introduction
  2. Scripture reading and discussion (suggested reading: Acts 2:1-21)
  3. Check-in – exploring the stories of their names.
  4. RESPECT – guidelines for discussion.
  5. Mattering and Marginality.
  6. Large group debrief
  7. Culture and cultural iceberg.
  8. Large group debrief, if applicable
  9. Intercultural Church.
  10. Power.
  11. Anti-oppression and Privilege.
  12. Large group debrief, if applicable
  13. Equality and Equity.
  14. Intercultural bible study.
  15. Beyond awareness to movement.
  16. Wrap up and closing intercultural prayer.