This powerpoint was developed by JustPeace Center for Mediation & Conflict Transformation of the United Methodist Church to aid in leading small group study of The Journey: Forgiveness, Restorative Justice and Reconciliation.
The Journey was written for eight sessions of two hours each. In the introduction to the book, we recommend studying Chapters 1 4, 5 and 6 together if time does not allow for the full 8-session study.
This is for Class II: (Chapter 4 in The Journey)
All copyrighted material has been deleted. This includes videos and songs that may have been used during past training sessions. If you have any questions about the deleted material, contact JustPeace at info@justpeaceumc.org
3. Remembrance
page 91 of The Journey
As we gather, let us remember:
“The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting
arms…”
Deuteronomy 33:27a
4. Stay With Me
(NohoPu)
TFWS #2198
Stay with me,
Remain here with me,
Watch and pray,
Watch and pray.
(repeat)
5. Prayer of Lamentation
Let us pray silently,
lifting up to God any present grief or
fear we’re experiencing.
6. Words of Assurance
page 91 of The Journey
Psalm 23 (UMH #754)
(In unison)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures;
leads me beside still waters;
restores my soul.
leads me in right paths
for the sake of the Lord’s name.
7. Words of Assurance – cont’d
page 92 of The Journey
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff;
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
8. Words of Assurance – cont’d
page 92 of The Journey
Surely;
goodness and mercy;
shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
as long as I live.
9. Our Covenant (page 27)
We covenant to:
Prepare prayerfully and carefully for the study.
Speak with respect.
When talking piece is used, speak only
when you have the talking piece.
Be honest – saying what you think, not
what you think you should say.
Speak only for yourself.
Speak in a way that encourages dialogue.
Be brief and to the point.
Listen with respect.
10. Our Covenant (continued)
Listen for understanding the text and one
another.
Try to understand perspectives that are
different from yours and respect the fact
that the goal is not consensus on the
meaning of the text but learning and
sharing.
Carefully hold all the differences together.
Be open to new viewpoints, new ideas –
to being transformed.
Keep confidential those personal stories shared
in the Circle.
Stay in the Circle throughout the discussion
and come to all of the sessions, if at all
possible.
19. An Easter Prayer for Slow Walkers
on the Journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem
Dear God,
(around worship table, in a single-file circle,
without touching, two steps forward, one
back)
We have been in this procession from
Bethlehem to Jerusalem many times before.
We understand the pace of it,
the rhythm of it,
the ultimate destination of it.
20. An Easter Prayer for Slow Walkers
(break circle, walk randomly, without
touching, two steps forward, one back)
But we are not all at the same place in the
cycle.
Easter on the calendar may not be Easter in
my soul.
21. An Easter Prayer for Slow Walkers
(around the worship table, re-form circle,
hand on shoulder of person in front of you,
two steps forward, one back)
I am drawn, however, to be a part of the
journey.
It is not that I think I am helped by someone
else’s elation.
That is too fleeting and too simplistic.
Nor is it that I can help someone else by my
own great faith.
That is too deceiving and self-righteous.
22. An Easter Prayer for Slow Walkers
(tighten the circle and bring it close as possible
to the worship table)
It is more that I want to be as
close to Easter as is possible, as often as
possible.
I find, O God, that when I am close
to the kind of love Easter reveals,
I become a better person.
Indeed, I become more capable, myself, of truly
loving.
And it is THAT:
23. An Easter Prayer for Slow Walkers
my enhanced capacity to love, as
mysterious as is the gift,
that brings me back, to be near once again
to any source of the life-giving mystery
that is Easter.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
who has become my savior, Amen.
Adapted from John Winn
24.
25. Closing
“Every creature is a word of God.”
Adapted - Meister Eckhardt by Marcia McFee
[Name], you are the Word of God.
ALL: Thanks be to God!
Notas del editor
Items for Tables/worship center – candle, perhaps a stone, a small crucifix or strand of prayer beads. NOTE: For next class, ask for a couple of volunteers who would be willing to offer an enactment of the Ghana story, pages 113-115 of The Journey. The visual portrayal will be narrated – per the text in The Journey.
Move to “Key Guideposts for The Journey”….
(Page 91 remembrance – in slide as well) As we gather, let us remember: “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms…”Deuteronomy 33:27a
(Page 91 – Simpler song in TFWS - alternative) Stay with me.Remain here with me,Watch and pray,Watch and pray.(repeat)
(Page 91 Silent prayer – in slide as well)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures; leads me beside still waters; restores my soul. leads me in right paths for the sake of the Lord’s name.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff; they comfort me.You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely; goodness and mercy;shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.
In the chapters 4-7 we focus on guideposts for the journey. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 are the other three chapters on which we will focus in the regional schools. (Again –see page 12.) Today we focus on Chapter 4 – Grieving Loss and Confronting FearsWe look more deeply into the journey of those who experience harm and loss—a multifaceted journey that involves grieving and confronting our fears, truth-telling and confronting the other, as well as rehumanizing the other and the choice to forgive.
The Women at the Tomb
Reading of the Text – Page 92 of The JourneyJohn 19:25-27Matthew 27:45-46(Silence follows…)John 20:1-18Matthew 28:1-10(Silence follows…)
Image during circle discussion of text….
Reminders -- The Study of the Bible with the Circle ProcessIn our work of conflict transformation, we have found the Bible to be our key text. Much of what we have learned from the secular study of mediation, restorative justice and peace building is found in a most profound way in the Bible. We also believe that everyone brings wisdom and experience to the text and one of the goals of this study is to affirm everyone’s “own critical capacities, their own intellectual depth, and the right and ability to think for themselves.” In preparation for the study, we ask everyone to read the text, journal their own thoughts and questions before they read our questions and our reflections. Another goal of this study is both personal and social transformation, not just receiving information. In this Bible Study, we invite participants to experience the circle process. In our work of conflict transformation, we find this to be the most powerful process for providing a space where people, even in conflict, can have a good conversation to get to a good place together. It provides a space safe enough for the telling and hearing of stories, opening up our own stories in response to the text. The circle process takes place in a circle of chairs, ideally with six to ten people. We understand that in large groups you may have more than one circle. Multiple circles will allow greater contribution from each person and will allow more than one person the opportunity to facilitate a circle. The circle is a sacred space where God’s presence is recognized with an opening and closing ritual. Together the group determines a relational covenant as to how each member of the group will be treated. The work of the group is framed by questions that take the group together deeper and deeper into the text and their own experience. In the beginning a talking piece is used to make sure that every voice is heard.
The lessons of Olga Botcharova learned from her work in dealing with violence and the trauma of war and atrocities of the former Yugoslavia are portrayed in this visual (display – found on page 103). We continue to reference this visual in the next chapters as we try to understand how to break cycles of violence and retribution.
Walking Prayer – Page 105.An alternative – Winn Slow Walk To Easter
Exercises(SAH) “It is a curious fact,” says Walter Wink, “that the most revelatory insights have most often come to people, not during the more intellectual discussion…but in the application exercises.” This is potentially the most profound experience in the study. Wink asserts that Bible study often only involves the left brain and leaves out the right brain. The right hemisphere dominates the left side and handles spatial relations, gestalts, synthesis of the whole, the grasping of meaning-in-context, which is synthetic, metaphorical, imaginative and holistic. The right side is seen most fully in artists of all kinds. Metaphors, word pictures and parables come from the right brain and must be grasped by the right brain. As with Wink, and many of you, we believe that in this study, we need to integrate the left and right brain so that the text becomes incarnate, felt and lived. So we turn from questions and conversation to exercises that bring the whole self to the text. We have made suggestions for such exercises in each chapter. Each of these exercises is designed to bring our creativity and imagination to the text. We invite you to think of more options. The exercise should be integrally related to the central tenets of the text, being mindful of the goal of personal and social transformation. In doing so, we are also aware that the text, the themes and these exercises may touch us deeply. Prior to the start of your session, identify persons and resources available to members of the study for pastoral care and support. As participants, you are responsible to care for yourself and your participation. As leaders, you are responsible to be stewards of the process. Invite persons to take responsibility for their own participation. For example, it is appropriate for a member of the group to pass the talking stick if he or she feels more comfortable doing so.
Everyone will stand. The leader willdemonstrate the Coptic passing of the peace. This is done in silence. The leader turns to the person on her left. The leader touches her hands to herlips, and then holds her hands like a cup in front as the person to her leftputs his hands underneath her hands and then circles her hands with hishands, scooping up the peace that is being passed. He then turns to theperson on his left, touches his hands to his lips, then holds them like a cupin front as the person to his left puts her hands underneath his hands thencircles his hands with her hands, scooping up the peace that is being passed.This is repeated around the Circle until it returns to the leader who scoopsup the peace and ends with these words, “Go in peace.”