DECEMBER Week 4.

Social Justice

CREATIVITY

Material and Tradition Elements for this Block: List of materials Warrior Writers Website: http://www.warriorwriters.org/about.html Art supplies Scripture or Tradition. Psalm 104:24 O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Genesis 1: 1-5 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. QUOTE We often find ourselves at times in the darkgood or evil or in between, of our own making or anothers making. Our work is to name the darkness for what it is and to find what it asks of us: whether it is darkness that asks for justice to bring the dawn of hope to a night of terror, or for a candle to give warmth to the shadows, or for companions to hold us in our uncertainty and unknowing, or for a blanket to enfold us as we wait for the darkness to teach us what we need to know. In these Advent days of darkness and waiting, it may indeed seem that Gods face is hidden from our sight. But the sacred presence is there, breathing in the shadows. This is when we learn to trust senses other than sight and to seek the face of God beneath our fingertips. Jan Richardson, Night Visions, page 3 Objectives. Participants will consider creativity and gestation, using and reusing, and the role of creativity in creation and recreation. Participants will explore the connection between art/creation and social justice. How can someone use their gifts to further justice? How does artistic expression help us to understand and feel more deeply with those who are suffering?

Through examining the experiences of veterans who have created art, and through creating their own piece of art, participants will explore the unique role of artistic expression in reveal truths that might otherwise be hidden.

Background for Facilitator. For this session, please plan to spend 90 minutes. Warrior Writers is a nonprofit that works with recent veterans to help them express and make sense of their experiences through the arts. From their website, Warrior Writer's mission is to create a culture that articulates veterans' experiences. We aim to provide the opportunity for a creative community for artistic expression among veterans. We provide witness to the lived experiences of warriors. Through poetry, music, film, and visual art, veterans give us a window into the reality of war. This workshop is not designed to convince anyone of a particular position on war, but rather to demonstrate the power of art to make social commentary, to reveal truth that might otherwise remain hidden, and to further a healing process for those who suffer. In the group activity where participants are asked to create a small piece of art, be sure to emphasize that this is not about artistic ability but rather it is about the creative process of expression, and finding different ways to express truth. Materials You Will Need. Access to the internet and a way to show a video clip with sound Laptop computers, if available Journals and pens Paper, paint, markers, and whatever other art supplies you have

Presentation of The Material (20 minutes) Have everyone gathered watch the brief clip on the main page of the Warrior Writers website (http://www.warriorwriters.org/about.html). If there are several computers with internet access, split the group into pairs. Have each pair explore the website, being sure to look at at least one film, one piece of art, and one piece of writing (see headings on the main site to take you to these resources). If there is only one computer, do this exploration as a large group. Gut Response (5 minutes) Have participants journal for five minutes, recording initial reactions to what they saw, heard, read, and felt when they experienced the artwork of these veterans. Did the fact that they expressed their experiences artistically and creatively impact your response? Engagement of the Material: Group Activity. (20-30 minutes) Using the available art supplies, ask participants to create some form of visual art or writing that expresses a truth they have learned through their service work. This is not about creating great art, it is about allowing for creative expression, and making the connection between art and social justice.

Some queries to guide their creative process include: Is there someone you work with who has not had a voice? How could his or her story be told artistically? What suffering has been hidden and how might it be expressed? What unique role does art play in expressing truth? How can an art form better portray something than if you were writing or speaking about it? What emotions have you felt in your service work and how can you express those in a way that brings others into your emotional world?

Group Reflection (10 minutes): After giving them 20-30 minutes to create their piece of art, have the group come back together and ask each person to share their work, explaining what issues they represented and why they chose to do it they way they did. Discuss what advantages and challenges there are to expressing an issue of justice through artistic mediums. Synthesis (10 minutes) Heads/Hearts/Hands: Go around the circle and have each participant say one thing they are taking away that is something they will think about (heads), something they are feeling (hearts), and something they want to do with the new information they have (hands). Pillar Signature: Ideas for Next Steps Investigate local artists engaged in social justice work. Invite them to share a meal with your community and to share with you their experience of the intersection of art and justice work. Walk around your neighborhood and look for signs of artistic expression that may be speaking a message. Notice, pay attention to graffiti in your city. Prayer. Move over the face of my deep, my darkness, my endless restless chaos, and create, O God; trouble me,

comfort me, stir me up, and calm me, but do not cease to breathe your Spirit into my wakening soul ~Jan Richardson

** additional resource materials/web links** The Garbage Warrior, a film about architect and activist Michael Reynolds and his work to turn trash into sustainable living spaces. The film can be purchased here: www.garbagewarrior.com. Urban Gateways: Center for Arts Education (Chicago) http://www.urbangateways.org/ American Friends Service Committees Windows and Mirrors Project http://afsc.org/project/windows-and-mirrors. This is a mural which is over 900 square feet depicting the human cost of the war in Afghanistan. It is not the voice of one person, but that of an engaged artistic community. Their collective voice comes through with power and volume, speaking to us on both intellectual and emotional levels. Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas, by Jan Richardson In Wisdoms Path: Discovering the Sacred in Every Season, by Jan Richardson The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations, by Howard Thurman, including The Hope of the Disinherited, page 9