ATTENTION PLEASE! We are in the process of updating all A SACReD Journey online resources. While most resources match the updated curriculum, there are some misalignments across the modules. We apologize for any frustration or complication this adds to your facilitation of the ASJ Curriculum. We aim to have all modules updated by early April. If you have questions please reach out to Kentina Washington-Leapheart: [email protected]. Thank you for being with us on this journey! 

• Playlist

Welcome all participants, thank them for participating in the SACReD Journey curriculum, and invite them into a centering moment. Consider recognizing the native tribal land where the gathering is taking place (or the general vicinity of where most people are, if meeting virtually). See this chart for reference and the Resource Page. 

Dr. Elisabeth Paquette, UNCC

This is an adaptation of “Montreal Land Acknowledgement,” Feminist Decolonial Politics: A Decolonial Thought Workshop

Then take a minute to have participants breathe, feel their bodies, and center in brief silence.

Our opening reading is from Steve Biko, a South African activist against apartheid. In the midst of that incredible struggle for human dignity and equality, he wrote:

We regard our living together
not as an unfortunate mishap
warranting endless competition among us
but as a deliberate act of God to make us a community…

jointly involved in the quest
for a composite answer
to the varied problems of life.

Steven Biko, I Write What I Like, edited by Aelred Stubbs (Bowderdean Press, 1978) 43.

Alternative Opening:

Offer a prayer or reading from your own tradition that invites people into community, or select one from the bank found on the Resource Page.

• Invite participants to share their name, pronouns, and a place they’re finding joy or meaning in their life right now. Facilitators should model it by going first and being brief.
• If sharing pronouns is not common in the participants’ setting, explain that having everyone share pronouns helps to create a more welcoming space for people of all gender expressions. Although it may feel new or awkward, encourage folks to show respect for each other and refrain from making jokes about it. See the Resource Page for additional framing for why we share pronouns in introductions.
• After all participants have shared, thank everyone for sharing —perhaps referring to a few of the things shared.
• Now the facilitators should give fuller introductions of themselves, speaking to their faith and Reproductive Justice connection, and why they chose to become a SACReD facilitator. Do not give your full resume–that’s too much! Sharing some additional information about yourself can help build trust with participants.

Next is a simple round of sharing. Invite each person to give a few sentences in response to this question:

• “Why are you interested in this curriculum?”

• What is Reproductive Justice?
• What do you know about the Reproductive
• Justice Movement?

The definition we use is from SisterSong, the nation’s oldest and largest reproductive justice organization. SisterSong defines Reproductive Justice as the human right to:

1. Maintain personal bodily autonomy, 
2. Have children, 
3. Not have children, and 
4. Parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.

Joy: For SACReD, there is an undefinable gladness in knowing you are the co-creator of your life with the Divine in the pursuit of flourishing. Joy is always communal. Joy persists.

Justice: SACReD utilizes the Reproductive Justice framework. Justice to us is an embodied balancing of power that brings about healing, accountability, and liberation.

Wholeness: SACReD believes that each person is born complete, good, worthy, and beloved. As we end systems of oppression, each person will be restored to themselves, one another, and the Divine.

Compassion: Being with; SACReD accompanies people through all their reproductive journeys, meeting people where they are physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

Values Pronunciation Guide:

• Pikuach Nefesh, “pee-KOO-akh NEH-fesh”
• Kujichagulia, “koo-ji-chah-gu-LI-yah”
• Imago Dei, ”ee-MAH-go DAY-ee”

• Which of these values stands out to you or resonates with you most?

1. Foundations for the Journey
   • Module 1: Introduction to SACReD, the Curriculum, & Each Other
   • Module 2: Reproductive Oppression & Reproductive Justice
   • Module 3: Religious Oppression & Liberative Faith Responses
2. Guiding Principles for the Journey
   • Module 4: Reproductive Dignity, Moral Agency, & Justice for ALL
   • Module 5: All Bodies, Sexualities, & Genders are Sacred
   • Module 6: All Reproductive Journeys are Sacred & Worthy of Support
3. Commitments to the Journey
   • Module 7: Personal Transformation for Reproductive Dignity & Justice
   • Module 8: Local Transformation for Reproductive Dignity & Justice
   • Module 9: Societal Transformation for Reproductive Dignity & Justice

Take a few minutes now to ask yourself what community agreements would foster collective honesty, vulnerability, and accountability?

We offer these agreements as a baseline. (Adapted from “Practices Against Habits of White Supremacy,” Facilitation Grounding Tool, created by Lyndsey Poglitsch-Godwin, first used in 2015. This resource is adapted from Tema Okun’s “White Supremacy Culture.”  

• Bring a learning mindset. Open yourself to new ideas and understandings–including new ways to view your own experience! There are different, valid views within this group. Instead of judgment, lean into curiosity.
• Use “I” statements. Speak from your own personal experience rather than speaking of another’s experience or generalizing about a group.
• It’s okay to be messy. This work is emotional and complex, and it’s okay not to have clear answers. Lean into uncertainty and vulnerability. This is a space to practice imperfection.
• Care for each other. Vulnerability is much easier when you know there’s care as well. Take the lesson, leave the story. Respect confidentiality. It’s okay to share what is learned through this experience, but not details about another person unless you have specific permission to do so.
• Practice self-awareness. Pay attention to how your various identities and life experiences impact how you communicate in this space. For example, some people with more privileged identities tend to speak more often, interrupt others, or rush to fill brief periods of silence, while others gather their thoughts.
• Get uncomfortable. Remember that this is where learning happens. Being uncomfortable is not the same as being threatened or at risk. Those most marginalized are regularly uncomfortable AND at risk, living within systems designed against their/our thriving. Growth is both uncomfortable and painful at times.

Watch the related videos. We will discuss these topics more in the next session. All of these videos are on the Resource Page. Facilitators make sure to email the links to the group ahead of Module 2.

1. Patriarchy:
   • Video – The Girl Child & Her Long Walk to Freedom “Understanding our History of Patriarchy: What’s Faith Got to Do With It? (4:40)
2. Race, Racism, and White Supremacy:
   • Video – BBC Ideas – Daniel Nils Roberts “The Myth of Race” (7:01)
   • Video – The Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley – Dr. Chip McNeal “Structural Racism Explained” (7:24)
3. Economic Exploitation 
   • Video: TIME — “A Look At Income Inequality In The United States” (3:36)
   • Video: CBS News — “Equal Pay Day: Wage gap robs women of millions of dollars” (7:07)
4. Intersectionality 
   • Video: Blue Cross MN — “What is intersectionality?” (0:54)

Review the glossary definitions of the terms above.

Journal and reflect on the following questions:

1. What are the relationships between the videos’ topics and Reproductive Justice?
2. Having watched the videos, how does your body feel? Do you feel any points of compassion, anger, shame, or disappointment? Note in your journal your physical, emotional, and spiritual reaction to this content.
3. What questions do you have about what you watched? What would you like to understand better?

Reflection Prompt: Thinking about where you are on your journey and what you know we are going to cover in this course, what is a hope you have? It can be a hope specific to this course experience, or a broader hope about your journey related to sexuality and religion.

God who is known by many names,
Spirit of Life and Love,
We are grateful for this unique opportunity to be together,
To share honestly about our lives and our struggles, our principles and our hopes.

Be with us on this journey:
Towards the goal of individual and collective healing.
Towards the goal of individual and collective liberation.

Amen.

Alternative Closing:

Offer a prayer or reading from your own tradition or select one from the bank found on the Resource Page.