Living Into Our Quaker Values in These Times

Workshop number: 
17
Keith
Harvey
Martha
Yager
Audience
Who may register: 
Open to All (adult & high school)
part time-attenders welcome
Time breakdown
Worship/worship-sharing: 
20%
Lecture: 
0%
Discussion: 
20%
Experiential Activities: 
60%
Description
Leader Experience: 

Both Martha and Keith are experienced Workshop leaders and facilitators. Both have over 25 years of experience working in communities and with communiity groups as part of AFSC's work and mission

Short Description: 

Reflecting on our testimonies and history, we will work together to answer : “What is asked of us in these times, both individually and as Quakers?” Each day will focus on a different social justice/peace concern, moving from silent worship into participatory education and discernment.

Long Description: 

Using Popular Education to actively engage, teaching and learning from each other around Friends issues and concerns
a. Your expectations and objectives for the week.
The world is in big trouble on many levels. It is good for Quakers to periodically pause to think about how we, individually and perhaps collectively, are called to respond to these concerns as well as to consider what the larger community may be asking of us. Since the workshops will involve popular education techniques (learning from each other), we expect people to be willing to engage with each other, to be open to taking risks (both in the workshops and in ways they may feel called to become engaged when returning home), and to be open to exploring how race, class and gender impact our responses.
b. A list of the specific areas or topics that you expect to cover.
Quaker Testimonies on peace, simplicity, integrity, equality and community.
Popular education, peacebuilding/nonviolence, human migration and mobility, healing justice and economic justice

c. A rough description of the format.
Our workshop will be have one consistent facilitator plus a different resource person each day. Each day will begin with the reading of a testimony and/or a short piece of writing on the theme, perhaps with a couple of queries and worship sharing. (20-30 minutes)
Day one will introduce popular education (collective learning and teaching, beginning with our own experiences and building on that through a variety of activities/exercises) and one of the themes listed above.
Day two through four will focus on different themes (listed above) using popular education techniques.
Each day will close with reflection and silence.
Day five will be designed by the group to create the space we need to think about how to carry what we have learned with us back to our Meetings and communities.

d. Specific recommendations for advanced reading, or reading assignments during the Gathering.
We will offer some suggested reading at the workshop.