SWUUWCon 2022 Workshops
AM Workshops
Q&A – Amy Martin, Moonlady
Join our Keynote theme speaker for a roundtable discussion and Q&A after her morning talk: Amy’s great knowledge of the Moon, understanding the synchrony which creates tides, how the Moon led to life on Earth, the Moon’s metaphoric qualities, and much more. Additionally, Amy will be sharing news about her new book on the amazing nature of North Texas, due out later in the year.
Origami as Spiritual Practice – Kathy Johnson-Throop
Origami is the art of paper folding. Join us to fold paper into beautiful flowers and other shapes. Paper folding is a spiritual practice that can calm and focus your mind and has the added benefit of a beautiful creation to see at the end of the process. In this workshop we will craft origami flowers to adorn a branch to decorate our conference space. Other patterns may also be folded. We will also read some poetry that matches the mood of the paper folding.
My Female Identity – Toia Phillips
A workshop designed to help us focus on increasing cultural competencies in several areas of our modern landscape, including: Norms, Gender Identities, Social Identities, LGBTQ Umbrella, First Impressions of Trans People. We’ll talk through a process that encourages individuals to gain more understanding of one another by drawing parallels to shared experiences. By acknowledging and visually demonstrating that all of us have complex multifaceted intersectional identities, we’ll begin to understand what aspects of our identities are most and least influential on our perspectives and experiences.
PM 1 Workshops
Water exercise for all! – Becky Warren
Did you know that water aerobics can burn as much as 501 calories per hour in a 200-pound person?! This statistic is from the Mayo Clinic. Whatever your exercise level, however, water exercise is for you. Water provides a natural and gentle resistance training for the body. All exercises will be done in shallow (chest-deep) water. Please join the mermaid crew in the indoor hotel pool for an hour of good, clean (wet) fun with Becky Warren. Becky has been a water aerobics instructor for the last 30 years at the Waco Family Y.
Self-Differentiation and Non-Anxious Presence: Hyphenated Concepts to Live By – Julie Cecil
A famous Rudyard Kipling poem begins and ends with these words: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you…(then) yours is the earth and everything that’s in it.” How do you respond to crisis, challenge, change, and resistance? How do you navigate your own emotions along with congregational anxieties, among others? Part of being an effective leader in your circle of influence is offering a non-anxious presence.
Rabbi Edwin Friedman and Murray Bowen crafted the concept of self-differentiation based on cell biology. They stated that self-differentiated persons are able to do three things: define ourselves based on our principles (take a stance), regulate/manage our anxiety (keep cool), and remain in relationship (stay connected). We’ll have a blend of information-sharing, dialogue, and group interaction as we explore these concepts together.
Circles & Sabbats – Honoring the 8 Turns of the Wheel of the Year – Karen McGinnis
From ancient times to modern, in all cultures across the world, we CELEBRATE. In this workshop we will explore the close relationship between these different celebrations and how they all originate from astronomy! Have you ever wondered why Easter changes every year, from late March to sometime in April? The answer is in the stars, specifically OUR star, the Sun. Together we will create a Sabbat Circle and you will be given easy steps to follow in creating your own for each turn of the wheel. Whether you observe alone or with others, staying “in tune” with nature and the seasons is a blessing as we celebrate For The Beauty Of The Earth.
Creating Climate Justice Through Unitarian Universalist Community Action – Aly Tharp
There is a sea of resources to support UUs in protecting and respecting the beauty of the Earth, but this sea can often be hard to navigate! Where to start? What to do if congregational energy is focused elsewhere? Connect with Aly Tharp, Co-Director of the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth and ad-hoc member of the UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team, to learn more about how UUs are getting organized to address the climate crisis and work together for a thriving Earth, and how you can be a part of this faithful movement.
PM 2 Workshops
Picking up the pieces: Envisioning a Green Future through the Art of Collage – Terri Jo Mosley
The events of recent years have left many feeling fragmented, frayed and even fragile. This workshop will employ the art of collage — a creative collection of assembling diverse words and images, paper or even fabric– to encourage participants to dream of the interdependent web of all existence and the role they will play in sustaining it. Through collage, the soul will go from inner journey to outer expression, fully embracing their “oneness” with the planet we call home.
The presenter will bring many of her own supplies (magazines, papers, scissors, glue) but participants are also encouraged to bring items that may hold special meaning for them, such as photographs, swatches of cloth, pieces of broken jewelry, fur shed by a beloved pet, etc.
Understanding Our Grief – Rev. Julie Cecil
A conversational seminar about Grief, Change, and Loss. For the last two years during the Covid19 pandemic we have all experienced varying degrees of grief due to a multitude of changes and loss. Join our Conference Chaplain Rev. Julie Cecil, who will facilitate a small group discussion in the style of covenant groups, to talk with each other about grief and how we understand and cope with it.
Earth Dreams – Valley Reed
“Mother Earth is a living being” begins the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, as embedded in the constitution for Bolivia.
SHE is understood as a sentient being in many indigenous cultures and animistic traditions around the world. In this workshop, we Awaken the Sacred Dream of the Earth with a conscious group dream journey, guided by the drum. We breathe with the Great Mother in connection with the Tree of Life, and join the heartbeat of Gaia with our own. We tap into our wild instinctual nature in connection with our animal allies, to guide us deeper into the world behind the world, where we may discover the sacred dream of the Great Mother and our unique destiny design. Drumming and Dreaming together in collaboration with the Earth.
Bring – Dream Journal, pen, yoga mat or blanket to lay on. We will create a sacred dream altar where you are welcome to place your intentions and prayers and sacred items as part of the collective dream. Your drums, shakers, rattles are welcome.