CHRISTIAN FORMATION FOR ADULTS
Forum Series in January
Adult Forums Sundays at 9am
Racial Justice Forums Continued. Join us this January 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st as we jump back into our conversation around the UCC curriculum, White Privilege: Let's Talk.* We’ll revisit the Spiritual Autobiographies we began in November and continue using the curriculum to explore how White Privilege intersects with our lives and faith.
If you haven't downloaded the Zoom desktop client for meetings, do that ahead of time.
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Classes start 1/14
Registration:
Click either image below to open the registration form for that class. Purchase the book for either class at whatever bookseller you prefer. 
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*White Privilege: Let's Talk Information
This month we return to our discussion on white privilege. The videos that we used earlier in the fall can be watched in their entirety at http://privilege.uccpages.org/
White Privilege: Let's Talk—A Resource for Transformational Dialogue is an adult curriculum from the United Church of Christ that's designed to invite church members to engage in safe, meaningful, substantive, and bold conversations on race.
privilege.uccpages.org
The website "implicit.harvard.edu" offers a racial bias test that gives you feedback on biases you hold, of which you may or may not be aware. The site offers many implicit bias tests, for purposes of the White Privilege Curriculum search for the one specific to race.
From the curriculum: Reflection Questions and Discussion Topics:
White Privilege: Let's Talk—A Resource for Transformational Dialogue is an adult curriculum from the United Church of Christ that's designed to invite church members to engage in safe, meaningful, substantive, and bold conversations on race.
privilege.uccpages.org
The website "implicit.harvard.edu" offers a racial bias test that gives you feedback on biases you hold, of which you may or may not be aware. The site offers many implicit bias tests, for purposes of the White Privilege Curriculum search for the one specific to race.
From the curriculum: Reflection Questions and Discussion Topics:
- I invite you to write your own spiritual autobiography through this lens of race. Where and when have you been aware of your race? Think about where you were raised, your neighborhood and schooling, friends and acquaintances, church and work, family stories and traditions. Ponder how you think about yourself. Meditate on the ways that white privilege, power, and racism have touched and influenced your story?
- When were you first aware of "race"?
- When were you first aware of the body feeling, not just the concept, prejudice because of skin color, or class/financial status/ or gender? Did you experience it as a young child?
- What was your first experience of a person of a different race?
- When did you first know a person of a different race as a friend?
- What are your image associations with dark and light? Are any of them biblical?
- When were you aware of your financial privilege as a white-body person? Or your lack of privilege as a person of color?
- To write from the heart/gut and not just the head, use sense imagery...describe your early experience in visual, auditory, smell, taste, touch, muscle memory images. Then....what were the feelings you felt.
August 23 Forum Photos
Forum: On August 23, our forum was "Pandemic Reflections," interviews with Plymouth community members as they reflected on how the pandemic has impacted milestones, challenged their spirituality, and the consequences it has had on their individual lives.
Ongoing Weekday Opportunities
Celtic SpiritualityWednesday Mornings: The Celtic Spirituality 1 group meets at 8am on Zoom continuing in the summer. All welcome. Mary Freese for more info.
Tuesday Mornings: The Celtic Spirituality II group meets on Zoom from 9:30-10:30 am during the academic year. All are welcome. Questions/link? Pat Slentz.
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Wholeness Prayer
The Wholeness Prayer Group meets the 2nd and 4th Mondays, during the academic year at 10-11:30am in the Adult Ed room. You are welcome to join us as we share our concerns, pray for each other, the church, our country and the world. Contact: (put Wholeness Prayer in subject line) Jean Preslan |
What is Christian Formation for Adults?
We offer adult study groups (details above) every week you can choose between two ongoing classes. These classes generally run six to eight weeks, which provides an opportunity to deeply explore a topic with a group of fellow-inquirers. Generally, one of the classes is broadly "spiritual" in nature –dealing with theology, Bible, prayer, or the spiritual life. The other class is broadly "social" –looking at issues of society, economics, environment, or politics in the light of faith.
The weekly Forum during the academic year (details above) provides an opportunity to hear a speaker address current issues. Often these speakers are from outside the church and let us know about community organizations people might want to work with, bring us a particular point of view on a current issue, or are part of a candidate forum ahead of an election. Speakers from within the congregation share their professional expertise, with an eye towards how their faith and church setting shapes the discussion. There is time for questions and answers, and we encourage people to follow up on topics that engage them.
Additionally, we bring in an outside Visiting Scholar on an annual basis. During this weekend, usually in the fall, we bring in a major scholar for a weekend of lectures and workshops. Previous years' visiting scholars include Marcus Borg, Dom Crosson, Andrea White, and John Bell from Iona.
The weekly Forum during the academic year (details above) provides an opportunity to hear a speaker address current issues. Often these speakers are from outside the church and let us know about community organizations people might want to work with, bring us a particular point of view on a current issue, or are part of a candidate forum ahead of an election. Speakers from within the congregation share their professional expertise, with an eye towards how their faith and church setting shapes the discussion. There is time for questions and answers, and we encourage people to follow up on topics that engage them.
Additionally, we bring in an outside Visiting Scholar on an annual basis. During this weekend, usually in the fall, we bring in a major scholar for a weekend of lectures and workshops. Previous years' visiting scholars include Marcus Borg, Dom Crosson, Andrea White, and John Bell from Iona.
