How do we respond to our own frustrations and incapacities?
“Burnout only really begins to heal when people learn how to grieve.”-Rachel Naomi Remen
Author: eamaya1
Identity Wheel
Activity: Instruct participants to draw a large circle. Create an identity wheel by drawing different “pie slices” for your identities using the following categories:
- Race/Ethnicity
- Gender Identity
- Sexual Orientation
- Religion/Spirituality
- Social Class
- Ability Status
- Other Identities?
A Room with a View
By James Jarrett
Hope has withered
And faded
Like cut flowers
No root
No branch
Life still held
But fleeting
Slowly fading
Nourished in vain
To try and keep going
For a few more days
Works of Mercy
The corporal works of mercy (flowing from the Gospel, especially Matthew 25: 31-46) are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, cloth the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and bury the dead. The spiritual works of mercy, also rooted in the Christian scripture, are to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear wrongs patiently, and pray for the living and dead. Continue reading
Speed “Dating”
This can be a simple icebreaker or a deeper exploration of VIA themes, depending on the questions.
Babble
Have everyone find a partner and divide them into partner #1 and partner #2. Give the whole group a word, and have partner #1 babble to #2 about the word for 30 seconds while partner #2 simply listens. Continue reading
Stand Firmly for Justice
“O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for God can best protect both. Follow not your personal inclination, lest you not be just, and if you distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that you do.” -Qu’ran 4:135 (Islamic sacred text)
Human Knot
Do this only if whole group feels comfortable touching and holding hands. Maybe ask people to close their eyes and put their thumbs up or down if they are comfortable. If even one person is not, do not do this activity.
Choose an issue such as poverty, education, immigration, or anything you/the group/society are currently facing. Ask the group to stand in a circle and join right hands with a person across the circle from them. As the pair join hands, invite each of the people (or both as a pair) to name a cause that contributes to the issue you’ve selected. Go around the circle until all participants have had a turn to speak. Continue reading
Experiencing Pity
Begin with an example of poverty/suffering.
Discuss:
- What thoughts come to mind on the idea of pity? Is it a positive or negative to pity someone?
- Does pity motivate your service? If someone were to accuse you of serving out of pity, how would you respond?
- Have you seen/heard pity expressed at your service site? How have you addressed this? Continue reading
Starting and Returning to Service
For those who are new to a service site: What are some things you have already experienced?
For those familiar with a service site: What do you continue to experience? How can we gain from our volunteer “experience”?