HEEDING THE CALL
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Youth
WORKSHOP 11: THE CALL FOR FORGIVENESS
2010
BY NICOLE BOWMER AND JODI THARAN
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 9/29/2014 7:36:16 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it? — Eleanor Roosevelt
In this workshop, youth examine forgiveness, in both large and small scale. Forgiveness plays out in different ways in relation to social justice. This workshop acknowledges the topic of oppressors seeking forgiveness for oppression, but focuses more on an individual's responsibility to seek forgiveness. If every person accepted this responsibility, perhaps institutionalized oppression would have difficulty taking root in our society.
GOALS
This workshop will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
WORKSHOP-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Forgiveness in History | 15 |
Activity 2: Story — A Circle of Forgiveness | 15 |
Activity 3: Mirror and Window | 10 |
Activity 4: Steps to Forgiveness | 10 |
Faith in Action: Promoting Dignity Behind Bars | |
Faith in Action: Allies, Phase 7 | |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1: Forgiveness Recipe | 15 |
Alternate Activity 2: Justice Art | 30 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Forgiveness rituals are prominent in many faith traditions. How have you engaged in forgiveness within a Unitarian Universalist context? Think back to recent sermons you may have heard in your congregation. Do you hear words of forgiveness in these sermons? Embodied forgiveness can be transformative. If you were to design a forgiveness ritual what would you include? Writing some of these ideas down may be helpful for you as a religious educator. Do you have any favorite readings on forgiveness? Are there times when it is important not to forgive someone? Think of an example of a time when forgiveness had an impact on your life. What happened? Asking these questions offers you a chance to reflect on your own approach to forgiveness.
WORKSHOP PLAN
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather youth in a circle. Welcome first-time participants. Invite everyone to reflect on the word "forgiveness." If there are new people present, ask youth to go around the circle and say their names. Ask if anyone would like to share anything noted in their Justicemakers Guide since the last meeting. Light the chalice, or invite a participant to do so, and recruit a volunteer to read the chalice lighting words:
We are here to bring forgiveness to ourselves and to the world. — William Martin
Ask the group to be silent for a moment as they reflect on the words. End the silence with "So be it," or other appropriate words.
Tell the group that today's theme is forgiveness. Ask for volunteers to share what they think forgiveness has to do with justice.
ACTIVITY 1: FORGIVENESS IN HISTORY (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth look at forgiveness on a large scale: nations or organizations seeking forgiveness for oppression of a group of people.
Ask for a volunteer to look up the word "forgive" in the dictionary and read the definition to the group.
Say, in your own words:
We generally offer an apology to someone when we are seeking forgiveness or a pardon. This can be done by individuals. However, sometimes groups, even nations, issue apologies for wrongs committed against an entire group of people. Sometimes the apology is a long time coming. Sometimes, it includes reparations, which are payments for an injury or a wrong.
Show the group the basket with the names from Leader Resource 1, Truth and Reconciliation Match Ups. Tell them that they are going to play a matching game. Everyone should take a slip of paper that has the name of one party of an apology. They need to find their counterpart. They will do this by asking other youth "yes and no questions" until they believe they have found their match.
Assist youth as needed. After everyone has correctly found a match, ask for volunteers to read the case histories from Leader Resource 2, Histories.
Lead a group discussion with questions such as:
Including All Participants
Be aware that youth who identify as a member of an oppressed group covered in the histories might be in the room. If you think this youth might find the activity difficult, delete that case history. However, do not assume that will be the case. Use your judgment, based on the experiences you have shared with the youth so far. You might also ask the youth beforehand.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY — A CIRCLE OF FORGIVENESS (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth hear a story that introduces the Unitarian Universalist idea that forgiveness is connected to the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Gather participants in a circle and tell or read the story. Discussion questions following the story include:
ACTIVITY 3: MIRROR AND WINDOW (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth explore the idea of forgiveness on a personal level.
Ask each participant to sit quietly, with some space around them for a time of inner reflection. Read Leader Resource 3, Mirror and Window Meditation.
Following the meditation, ask participants to take a few minutes to reflect on how they are feeling. Invite volunteers to share their thoughts or feelings about the meditation. Ask them these questions for further reflection:
ACTIVITY 4: STEPS TO FORGIVENESS (10 MINUTES)
Description of Activity
Participants discuss possible steps to take toward forgiveness.
State that forgiveness does not mean you condone actions. It does not have to mean you want to be in relationship with the trespasser again. True forgiveness can help both parties move forward with their lives. It can also help us understand how to be in better relationship with each other.
Acknowledge again that sometimes it is difficult or impossible to forgive. However, in those times when we desire forgiveness—both to be forgiven and to give forgiveness—what are some steps we can take to reach forgiveness?
This activity is not a brainstorm. As youth share, note their ideas on newsprint and explore them fully. Ask, "Can you think of a time that you or someone else took this step toward forgiveness? Was it successful?" Encourage youth to share actual experiences of forgiving or seeking forgiveness, reminding them not to use actual names of other people who other participants might know. Be prepared to share your stories.
Try to create actual steps participants can commit to taking to seek or give forgiveness. These steps should include: identify the offense; ask "Who have I hurt?" (realizing that one answer might be "you"); empathizing; apologizing, possibly more than once; making restitutions or committing to repair the situation in another way; and, finally, letting go of resentment or hurt feelings.
Other steps could be discussed. These might include: a change in future behavior; examining what part you played in the wrong doing; and public apologies.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
Distribute Taking It Home. Invite youth to stand in a circle and share a few moments of silence. Thank first-time guests for their contributions to the group. End the workshop with these words:
May we leave here ready to forgive ourselves and each other so that we might move forward together.
FAITH IN ACTION: PROMOTING DIGNITY BEHIND BARS
Description of Activity
The Church of the Larger Fellowship (at clf.uua.org/) is an online community of Unitarian Universalists that offers many important programs, including one in prison ministry (at clf.uua.org/penpals.html) in which individuals and families can exchange confidential (only first names are used) letters with people currently in prison in the United States. Some of the feedback from prisoners involved in the program includes: "I can't believe I found a church that will let me believe what I already believe, and still help me explore and deepen my personal spirituality." "Oh, how I wish I'd found y'all sooner! When I think about how my life might be so different today... "
The statistics of the current United States prison population are staggering. More than 2 million people are in prison, which is more than any country has ever had in prison at one time in the history of recorded civilization. The fact that most inmates are people of color and/or people living in poverty only legitimizes the claim that our "justice system" is tragically flawed by the injustices of racism and classism. Discuss with your parents the possibilities of participating in the prison ministry program as a family.
Another possibility is partnering with Books to Prisoners, an organization that collects books and fulfills orders from letters they receive from inmates. Many people incarcerated in our prison system are working to obtain their GED or improve their English skills. Others simply enjoy literature and appreciate good books. Consider donating books to this organization or volunteering to fulfill orders if you live near a local branch.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Reflect on the workshop by completing this sentence with your co-leader: "Today I was able to... " Briefly discuss how you completed the sentence. Did this workshop help you re-examine your own thoughts on forgiveness? How would you develop this workshop in the future? Did you think that the discussion was approached in a non-judgmental way? What did you learn from the youth? Discuss the next workshop and any preparation required.
TAKING IT HOME
When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it? — Eleanor Roosevelt
In Today's Workshop...
We examined forgiveness in different situations: from the viewpoint of an individual in the criminal justice system, to nations seeking forgiveness for past wrongs, to forgiving ourselves. We talked about steps to take to seek forgiveness and to grant it.
Forgiveness
Get the video, The Power of Forgiveness, from your library, Netflix, or video rental store. The movie has several stories of people in great conflict who have chosen to forgive. The website for the film (at www.thepowerofforgiveness.com/) has a study guide, additional resources, and a quiz to see how forgiving you are.
Criminal Justice
Efforts are being made to reform the criminal justice system. One such endeavor is the Innocence Project (at www.innocenceproject.org/), which is an organization dedicated to using DNA evidence to help the wrongfully accused free themselves from prison. Two hundred and forty nine people have been cleared of false charges since its beginnings in 1992.
Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF)
See what CLF (at clf.uua.org/) has to offer, like KidTalk and jewelry. There might be CLF members in your congregation. Ask around.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: FORGIVENESS RECIPE (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth explore what makes up forgiveness.
Create small groups. Give each group a cookbook, paper, and pens. Tell them they will work together to create a Forgiveness Recipe. Ask them to look at the cookbook for a few minutes to familiarize themselves with what is included in a recipe. Explain that they will now use the basic elements of a recipe to create their own Forgiveness Recipe and that they will share their recipes with the larger group after about ten minutes. You can ask everyone to create a recipe to seek forgiveness or to give forgiveness or ask half of the groups to do one and the other half, the other.
When they share their recipes, ask them to notice anything that all of the recipes share. Ask them to pay attention to anything unique about a recipe. Invite participants to explain why they chose what they included in their recipes. Ask if it is helpful to explore forgiveness as a step-by-step process that is similar to using a recipe? Is this an approach they can use in everyday life? Just for fun, ask if forgiveness were a food, what kind of food would it be?
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: JUSTICE ART (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth explore the connection between forgiveness and the inherent worth and dignity of every person (first Principle).
Invite youth to find a comfortable space in the room and give everyone one sheet of tracing paper, one pencil, one clipboard or cardboard, and one copy of Handout 2, Justice Art. Ask them not to read the handout until the music begins playing. Explain that one side of handout offers details about the life of the artist. After reading about the artist, participants trace one part of the piece of art—any part of their choosing—with the pencil and tracing paper and then create a new piece of art by adding their own sketches around what they just traced.
Invite participants to appreciate the art for a few moments before the music begins. After a few moments, play the music and invite them to read about the artist before tracing the art. After every youth has started tracing, remind them that their artist drew these same lines without actually being able to take a walk through their neighborhood for inspiration. Invite them to allow a moment of gratitude as they trace for walks through their neighborhood to see butterflies and flowers.
After every youth has began sketching a new piece of art, invite them to think about what their artist statement would be for what they are drawing and invite them to write an artist statement somewhere on their tracing paper once they are finished drawing. How does what they discovered about the artist of the original artwork influence their sketch? Influence their idea of what art is and what it can do? Gather youth in a circle for a discussion:
Invite youth to share their artist statements if they choose.
HEEDING THE CALL: WORKSHOP 11:
STORY: A CIRCLE OF FORGIVENESS
By Rev. Dr. Emily Brault. Used by permission.
Rev. Dr. Emily Brault is a Unitarian Universalist minister who works as a Chaplain with the Oregon State Correctional Department. Prior to her current position working with incarcerated women, she worked at a juvenile correctional facility. This is one story of forgiveness that has inspired her along the way.
While I was working at a juvenile correctional facility, I met a 15-year-old boy. We'll call him Jeremy. Jeremy was in prison for breaking into a church and stealing money. It was a random church. He didn't know anybody there, had never gone there, but it was an easy mark and he "needed" the money. Who knows what for.
Toward the end of his sentence, Jeremy had the chance to participate in a Restorative Justice Circle. It turned out that some of the people at the church wanted to meet him. They wanted to hear his side of the story—why did you do it? Why us? And they wanted to tell their side of the story, too—how did Jeremy affect the church? How did he affect the people in the church?
I was one of the people who helped Jeremy get ready for his circle. At first, Jeremy didn't understand why the people would be mad at him. He said "it's not like I stole from somebody, in particular. The church can always get more money. It's not like it's somebody's money." I tried to explain it to him like this: Imagine that you have two piles of money. One pile is for yourself, for things that you want—maybe a bike or a stereo. And the other pile is for your grandpa. Maybe you are saving money for your grandpa because he needs surgery or he needs glasses, and you've been saving money for him for a long time. So now imagine these two piles of money, and I'm going to take one of them from you. Should I take your money, or should I take the money that you have been saving for your grandpa? Jeremy decided I should take his money. When I asked him why, he said, "Because I can always get those things later, but my grandpa needs my help." "Well, Jeremy," I said, "when you stole from the church, you stole money that people gave so they could help other people. So you didn't just steal from one person. You stole from a pile of money that was meant to help many people, maybe people like your grandpa."
Jeremy was very nervous about meeting the people that he had stolen from, but he wanted the chance to apologize to them. He was very scared about what they would say, though. Would they hate him? Would they yell at him? He had no idea how they would react. But he wanted to apologize, and he had the courage it took to listen to whatever the people of the church needed to say to him.
I met with Jeremy the day after the Circle. He was so happy and energetic. "When I got there," he said. "I was really nervous. All these people were there. The pastor was there, and like five different people from the church. And we all just went around the table and talked. They told me how I had hurt them and how they were still struggling with feeling safe in their church. Some of the people cried. I felt so bad. I cried, too. I told them everything. What I was thinking, why I did it. And I apologized. I apologized for being selfish, and for thinking only of me, and for never thinking about how I might affect other people. I wish I could take it back. I wish I could live that night over and make different choices. But I can't. All I can do is say, 'I'm sorry.' And after it was over, some of the people gave me hugs. I don't think I've ever cried so much, Chaplain! I can't believe they gave me a hug. And they forgave me."
Jeremy was a different person after that. Something changed in him—something big and important. He talked about his experience in that Circle for months. He talked to other guys in the prison. He talked about choices and responsibility, he talked about how our actions affect others even when we don't know it, and he talked about how grateful he felt that he had a chance to say he was sorry and start again.
I lost touch with Jeremy after he got out, but he will always impress me. I hope that church was as transformed by the Circle as he was. May we all have the courage to face our hurts with gentleness and hope.
HEEDING THE CALL: WORKSHOP 11:
HANDOUT 1: ALLY ACTION 7
I want to be an ally to _____________________________________________.
Phase 8: Date
What action do you want to take?
What resources or materials do you need and how will you get them?
What hazards or risks are involved?
What obstacles might you encounter and how will you overcome them?
What supports do you have or could you obtain?
HEEDING THE CALL: WORKSHOP 11:
HANDOUT 2: JUSTICE ART
By Charles H. Lawson. Used by permission.
Print the artwork on one side of a sheet of paper and the text on the other side.
Charles H. Lawson is a self-taught artist serving a life sentence at Graterford Prison.
Charles Lawson's art has been exhibited at the Philadelphia Art Museum, Temple University, the Methodist Annual Convention, Inmate Art Shows and other venues. He is the co-creator of the Crime Prevention Program, Road Map for Life (C) His art and statements stimulate dialogue with at risk youth about the critical issues they face in their lives.
Artist Statement
I have two major goals in exhibiting my artwork. My first goal is to inspire the young to look at their own talents and turn away from violence and the threats of peer pressure that can lead to places like the halls of the criminal justice system and eventually to prison. Growing up in Philadelphia I knew the poverty and violence that young people live with every day. Peer pressure was a constant reality and survival was dependent on how you were perceived. If I can inspire just one or two persons, then I can count myself among those who have tried and succeeded. So I say to you, whatever your talent or ability, I was 35 years old and in prison before I recognized my talent to paint. DON'T YOU WAIT!
My second goal is a HOPE. As you look at my work, it is like I am standing before you and this hopeful goal encompasses the whole of my being. It is my hope that in viewing my artwork you will recognize that even in prison there are individuals who have worth and have something to contribute to their communities. I believe that redemption is possible, even for long-term offenders. If you can see the value in my artwork, then I truly HOPE you come away with a determination to see that changes are made so that such worth is no longer wasted, but put to constructive use.
Artists can raise consciousness, whether it be in showing the beauty and integrity we need to preserve in our day-to-day lives—or in showing the pain and injustice we need to address and correct. If my art has given you pause.....and in that pause, you feel and see something outside of yourself that can help Trans-Form your understanding, and Trans-Form your actions, then I have made a contribution to your life.
HEEDING THE CALL: WORKSHOP 11:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION MATCH UPS
Germany
United States
United States
Japanese Americans
Jewish People Affected by the Holocaust
South Africa
Unitarian Universalists
Ute tribe
Black South Africans
African Americans
HEEDING THE CALL: WORKSHOP 11:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: HISTORIES
South Africa and Black South Africans
Apartheid was the law in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Apartheid laws enforced segregation by race and kept the white majority in power, while denying black South Africans basic human rights and freedoms. After years of pressure from other countries, South Africa dismantled apartheid. An official apology from the government was never issued, though individual officials and citizens publicly apologized. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to grant amnesty to those who had committed political crimes on both sides under apartheid; to record the story of (predominantly black) victims whose voices had until then been silenced; and to make recommendations on reparations, both symbolic and monetary, for those identified as victims. It was met with uneven success.
Germany and Jews affected by the Holocaust
Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, a state-sponsored, systematic genocide executed by Nazi Germany. After the war ended in 1945, the Jewish people established their own state, Israel, in the Middle East. In 1952, after negotiations between Israel, the World Jewish Congress and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany until 1990) The government of West Germany signed an agreement to provide 715 million dollars in goods and services to the State of Israel as compensation for taking in survivors; 110 million dollars to the Claims Conference for programs to finance the relief, rehabilitation, and resettlement of Jewish Holocaust survivors; and direct reparations to selected individuals over a 12-year period. Additionally, the government of Germany coordinated an effort to reach a settlement with German companies that had used slave labor during the war and established a National Holocaust Memorial Museum in Berlin.
At that time, German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer made a public speech that acknowledged the suffering of the Jewish people, stopping short of actually assuming responsibility or apologizing, saying "... unspeakable crimes have been committed in the name of the German people, calling for moral and material indemnity, both with regard to the individual harm done to the Jews and with regard to the Jewish property for which no legitimate individual claimants still exist."
In the ensuing years, various members of the German government have
offered apologies for Germany's role in the Holocaust, including President Johannes Rau, who said, in an address to the Israeli Knesset (parliament) in 2000, "I am asking for forgiveness for what Germans have done, for myself and my generation, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, whose future I would like to see alongside the children of Israel." Not everyone affected by the Holocaust—either directly or through their ancestors—accepts the apologies or approves of reparations.
Unitarian Universalists and the Ute tribe
In response to a report by UUA President Bill Sinkford, delegates at General Assembly in 2007 made a resolution to "encourage their congregations and the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) to research their own and the Association's history: to uncover our links and complicity with the genocide of native peoples; with slavery and the slave-based economy; and with all types of racial, ethnic, and cultural oppression, past and present, toward the goal of accountability through acknowledgment, apology, repair, and reconciliation." The resolution requests congregations and the UUA report back in subsequent General Assemblies.
In the process, a little known part of our history was uncovered by Reverend David Pettee and Ted Fetter. In 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant invited Protestant denominations to take over the management of Indian reservations and agencies. "The American Unitarian Association (AUA) accepted charge of the district covering the Colorado reservation occupied by various tribes of the Ute. The hope was that not only would the religious managers be less corrupt than some government officials, but also that they would 'civilize' the Native American people."
Petee, Fetter and others discovered mismanagement and misunderstanding. The situation eventually erupted into violence and the forced removal of the Ute from their native land.
In response to these findings, President Sinkford issued an apology at General Assembly 2009, saying, "We participated, however ineptly, in a process that stole your land and forced a foreign way of life on you. We ask for your forgiveness, and we promise to stand with you as you chart your way forward."
United States and Japanese Americans
In 1942, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into World War II, the United States government ordered the relocation of 120,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans to War Relocation Camps. Sixty-two percent of the interred were American citizens. The internment led to property and job loss, deaths due to poor medical facilities in the camps, and immeasurable psychological damage.
In 1988, Congress issued the Civil Liberties Act, which said, "The Congress recognizes that, as described in the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, a grave injustice was done to both citizens and permanent residents of Japanese ancestry by the evacuation, relocation, and internment of civilians during World War II.
As the Commission documents, these actions were carried out without adequate security reasons and without any acts of espionage or sabotage documented by the Commission, and were motivated largely by racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.
The excluded individuals of Japanese ancestry suffered enormous damages, both material and intangible, and there were incalculable losses in education and job training, all of which resulted in significant human suffering for which appropriate compensation has not been made.
For these fundamental violations of the basic civil liberties and constitutional rights of these individuals of Japanese ancestry, the Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation." Congress also authorized monetary redress (at www.answers.com/topic/redress) in the amount of about 20,000 dollars per surviving internee (at www.answers.com/topic/internee). After determining terms of payment and definition of eligibility in 1988, over 82,000 Japanese Americans received payments.
United States and African Americans
The first Africans arrived in the United States. as indentured servants in 1619. The institution of enslaving Africans by states started in 1640. By 1800, over 700,000 Africans had been brought to the country as slaves. Though some states had laws that allowed enslaved Africans to earn their freedom, these laws were the exception and not the rule. Hence slavery was passed down through generations until it was repealed in 1865 by the 13th Amendment. After its repeal, discrimination and violence against African Americans took new turns with Jim Crow laws and legal segregation in the public and private arenas.
From 2006-2007, six states (Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey and North Carolina) apologized for slavery, prompting the United States House of Representatives (in 2008) and the Senate (in 2009) to apologize. The Senate resolution acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws; apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws; expresses Congress's recommitment to the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and calls on all people of the United States to work toward eliminating racial prejudices, injustices, and discrimination from society. To prevent the possibility of African Americans' suing the United States government for reparations, the resolution includes the disclaimer: "Nothing in this resolution authorizes or supports any claim against the United States or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States."
HEEDING THE CALL: WORKSHOP 11:
LEADER RESOURCE 3: MIRROR AND WINDOW MEDITATION
Read aloud in a calm and reassuring voice.
Take a few breaths in and out at an easy pace in order to calm your body and mind. Let your mind wander until you get to a path. This path is peaceful and calm. Allow yourself to walk down the path for a while in your imagination.
Go slowly and pay attention to anything you may see along the path. Just notice any images or sensations and let them go as you wander slowly forward.
You come to a clearing now and find a comfortable place to rest. In your hand, imagine a wonderful tool that is both a mirror and a window, depending on which way you turn it. Look at each side of this tool. You can see your own face in the mirror side and the face of others will appear through the window.
Each time you turn the tool say softly to yourself. "I forgive you." "I forgive me."
Repeat this several times. "I forgive you." "I forgive me."
Gently put the tool down and slowly leave the clearing to return to your path. Walk gently along the path. Slowly notice your breathing and pay attention as your breathe in and out.
Quietly return to this room.
FIND OUT MORE
Justice
"Racism, Reparations and Accountability Payback?" (at www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1954) is an article from The Christian Century, written by Victoria J. Barnett, a white female social activist.
Read more about the UU Truth, Repair and Reconciliation (at www.uua.org/events/generalassembly/2009/ga2009/144286.shtml) efforts toward the Ute tribe. Additional resources (at www.uua.org/leaders/idbm/multiculturalism/araomc/104381.shtml) for action and reflection are included.
Prison Reform
Find out more about UUs working with prison ministry at The Church of the Larger Fellowship Prison Ministry Program (at www.clf.uua.org/penpals.html) website.
Books to Prisoners has a website with more details on their program.
Art for Justice (at www.artforjustice.org/index.html) exhibits and supports the work of the incarcerated to promote dialogue and find effective ways to prevent crime, lower incarceration rates, and improve the criminal justice system and public safety.
Reparations
Bittker, Boris, I. The Case for Black Reparations (Boston: Beacon Press, 2003).
Music for Inspiration
At Folsom Prison, an album by Johnny Cash
"The Heart of the Matter" by Don Henley
"Moment of Forgiveness" by the Indigo Girls
Movies for Inspiration
Shawshank Redemption (directed by Frank Darabont, 1994)
Dead Man Walking (directed by Tim Robbins, 1995)