+

Love Your

Neighbor

Sharing our Stories,

Changing our Church

+ Call to Worship

One: We are God’s beloved, gathered

together to worship with not only our voices –

but with our hands and our feet.

Many: We come from many places, with

joys and with sadness, with hope and

frustration, we bring all of that into this

space.

+One: We thank God, our creator, who

welcomes us in, who calls us by name, who

invites us to pursue justice and resist evil.

Many: We come to this space bringing all

of who we are, with identities that resist

categories, but know that we are children

of God.

One: Let us love one another, let us build this

beloved community, and let us worship God

this day!

+ Opening Prayer

+ Introductions

“It is vain to talk of the interest of the

community, without understanding what is the

interest of the individual.”– Jeremy

Bentham

+ Introductions

What brings you to this space? What are your hopes for the UMC as we look towards General Conference?

Spend 5 minutes in pairs: Answer the question above and other information

about yourself you want to share

Each person taking 2 minutes to answer.

Come back to your tables in groups of 6 and have each person introduce their conversation partner in 1 minutes. (6 minutes total)

+ Overview of Our Day: Agenda

Campaign Overview

One-To-One Meetings

General Conference Plans

Advanced Storytelling

Action Plans

+ Overview of Our Day: Covenant

Breaks and Bathrooms

Covenantal Commitments

+

OverviewOf the Campaign

+Where are we?

+ Goals

Work to build a more

inclusive Church

Impact General Conference

delegates to vote to remove harmful language in our

book of Discipline

Build relationships with those with whom we agree and those with

whom we disagree

Strengthen our Annual Conference

Teams

Work in coalition with Common

Witness Partner Organizations

+ Actions

Witness at

General

Conference

Plan local

gatherings

during General

Conference

Ensure every

US delegate

has two in-

person

conversations

with

Reconciling

UMs

Host 55 Annual

Conference

Team Trainings

____________

_

____________

_

____________

_

+

General Conference Theme & Message

+

Common WitnessCoalition for General Conference: our

partners and values

+ MFSA

To mobilize, lead and sustain a progressive

United Methodist movement, energizing

people to be agents of God’s justice, peace

and reconciliation.

Founded in 1907

+ Affirmation

As an independent voice of Lesbian,

Gay, Bisexual, transgender, and Queer

people, Affirmation radically reclaims

the compassionate and transforming

gospel of Jesus Christ by Relentlessly

pursuing full Inclusion in the Church as

we journey with the Spirit in creating

God's beloved

community.

Founded in 1975

+ RMN

Reconciling Ministries

Network mobilizes United

Methodists of all sexual

orientations and gender

identities to transform our

Church And world into the

Full expression of Christ’s

inclusive love.

Founded in 1982

+

Skills BuildingOne-to-Ones

+One-to-Ones: The

Importance of

Building

Relationships

“If you want to move people, it

has to be toward a vision

that’s positive for them, that

taps important values, that

gets them something they

desire, and it has to be

presented in a compelling

way that they feel inspired to

follow”

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

+ How to Set Up a One-to-One

Use phone, email and letters

Be persistent – do not expect the delegate to return your first call or reply to your emails

When you invite them to meet, tell them you will take less than an hour of their time

Assume the delegate will wants to meet with you

Make the meeting at the convenience of your conversation partner

Things to RememberBe respectful of time: limit your

meeting to 30 minutes

Gather as much information

about your conversation

partner as possible

Practice active listening

Follow up after your meeting

Phone calls

Letters and thank you notes

+ What to Say

Begin with an introduction of who you are

Share why you wanted to meet with them, why you are a Reconciling United Methodist, and your love for the UMC

Invite them to share about what matters to them in the UMC

Respond by naming shared values or interests… and build upon your commonalities (tell your story of us)

Ask how they will vote at General Conference, what you can do to help them, if they will speak with other delegates

Conclude by asking them to pray with you

+ Useful Questions for Conversation:

What made you interested in becoming a delegate

to General Conference?

What excites you about the future

of the United Methodist Church?

Have you ever felt excluded or

judged? How did that feel?

If you could give an address at

General Conference, what is

the most important thing you

would share?

+ Practice (20 Minutes)

Gather in pairs to practice one-to-ones

Take turns being the delegate and the RUM

Share why reconciling matters to you, learn one interest of the delegate and ask them to vote for justice at GC.

Overview Silent preparation time 5 minutes

Practice #1 5 minutes

Practice #2 5 minutes

Discuss the activity at your table 5 minutes

What surprised you?

What did you find helpful?

What lessons would you share with others?

+ Group Reflection

What surprised you?

What was helpful?

What do you think is important in meeting with a delegate

to General Conference, as opposed to others?

What will be different about an in person meeting? How

can you prepare for that?

What do you see as the challenges in this activity? How

can you work with those?

+

Sample Story

General Conference

Actions: National

& Local

+ Coalition Preparation for GC

Phone Banks

Mailing Resources

Legislative Leadership Team

Global Relationship Building

http://www.generalconference2012.org

http://www.gc12.org

+ Local Actions in Advance of General

ConferenceMeeting with delegates individually

Scheduled meeting with delegation

ACT Gathering during General Conference

Date:

Time:

Place:

+

Meeting with DelegatesBuilding relationships between

RUM’s and GC delegates

+ Lunch

We will gather together at ______ to

practice storytelling and make final

actions plans for our work together

+ The

Connectional

UMC

“Though we may not think alike,

can we not love alike?”

~John Wesley

+

StorytellingRelational Organizing

Stories of Self, Us, Now

+ Relational Organizing

Our campaign is modeled on the work of Marshall Ganz.

A Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, Ganz teaches, researches, and writes on leadership, organization, and strategy in social movements, civic associations, and politics.

+ Why Relationships Matter

Change us and change the church

Deepens our awareness of the humanity of

all of God’s children

Make an “issue” personal; thereby, restoring

our common humanity

Stories are

the glue that

binds

Together all

of our

relationships

+ Why Stories Matter

Allow us to be vulnerable with another and

thus form deep connections with each others

Motivate action by engaging our heart and

our imaginations

Demonstrate that words in the Book of

Discipline have a harmful effect on the lives

of specific people

Move us from apathy to action

+ Telling Our Reconciling Stories

Our personal stories are connected to the larger stories of our community.

Our stories create a tapestry of ACTION and HOPE.

Our stories weave together:

Story of Self

Story of Us

Story of Now

+How Stories Mobilize:

Story of Self:

why you have been called

Story of Us:

who we are together

Story of Now:

what we are called to do together.

39

Our stories weave together identity, values, &

call to action.

+ Telling Our Reconciling Stories

Stories should be under 2 minutes.

Stories should be specific.

Stories should use the language of emotion.

Stories should include a challenge, a choice

and an outcome.

Stories should offer hope.

Stories should communicate values.

+ Building Blocks of Stories: 41

Plot

•Challenge

•Choice/Response

•Outcome

Focus

•A single event

•A person or Relationship

•One choice point

Situation Appropriate Length

(2 minutes) Language of emotionExpressions, not

explanations

Common Values

+Story of Self

Focus on choice points

Describe the moment where your values were lived out, with some kind of an outcome (positive or negative)

What STORY, RELATIONSHIP or MOMENT in your life demonstrates your personal calling as an inclusive United Methodist most clearly?

The story of self tells WHY we have been called to

do what we have been called to do.

Why are you called to seek to change the

Book of Discipline?

+ The Story of Self: Exercise #1

Gather your team. Appoint a team timekeeper. 2min

Take 5 minutes to silently develop your “Story of Self.”Use the worksheet on pages _________

5min

Tell your story to your team members and respond to

each other2 minutes to tell your story & 3 minutes for feedback

15min

Choose your most able storyteller to offer their story to

the large group.

3min

Why are you called to seek to change the

Book of Discipline?

+Sharing our Stories: Debrief

What worked? What resonated with you?

Why is this person committed to The UMC?

What were the challenge, choice, and outcome?

What values were revealed in their story?

What did you want to know more about?

What could have been better?

44

Coaching Questions:

+ Weaving Together Our Stories

• Why you are called to do what you are doing

Self

• Why the church is called to change

Us• What you are

asking of your delegate

Now

+Story of Us

This story weaves together our calling and

purpose by describing our

Shared experiences

Shared values

Shared purpose

The Story of Us names who we are

together and the values which define our

common life

Who are we as The United Methodist

Church?

+The Story of Now:

Outlines the challenge facing the UMC.

Articulates the hope for a better future: The Church as it is v. the Church as it ought to be.

Presents a choice with the “fierce urgency of now.”

The Story of Now tells the story of what

we are called to do together

What can we do to become a United

Methodist Church who truly loves our

neighbors?

+Self, Us Now: Exercise #2

Gather in groups of 2 2min

Take some time to silently develop your 5 minute

combined story in this order: Self – Why you are a reconciling Methodist to

Us – Why the church needs to become a Reconciling church

to

Now – Asking your delegate to vote for equality

5min

Tell your story to your team members and respond to

each other5 minutes to tell your story & 3 minutes for feedback

15min

Choose your most able storyteller to offer their story to

the large group.

3min

Telling the entire story – self, us and now

+ Sharing our Stories: Debrief

Coaching Questions:

What worked? What resonated with you?

Why is this person committed to The UMC?

What were the challenge, choice, and outcome?

What values were revealed in their story?

What did you want to know more about?

What could have been better?

49

+

Action PlanningReview of delegates

Local actions

+ Planning to Meet with Delegates

Delegate Name Reconciling

Storyteller #1

Reconciling

Storyteller #2

+ Action Planning – local actions

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

+Important resources

Campaign Evaluations

Delegate meeting reporting forms

Toolkits and Scripts

Appendices

http://www.Generalconference2012.org

(found in your campaign manual)

+Evaluations

Please remove the back page from your training manual

We will spend 5 minutes on these short evaluations

Please consider visiting www.rmnetwork.org/campaign-evaluation to complete the longer survey

Key Learnings

Needs Change, Improvable

Worked Well, Very Helpful

+ Commissioning

What brings you hope as we look toward

General Conference 2012?

How will you seek to make a difference so

that hope can be realized?

Meet

With a

Delegate

Attend ACT

Gathering in

April

Other

Ways?

+

Commissioning

As you go out,

travel in God’s perfect love

every where you go. In

each new moment, live with

faith in God’s unpredictable

plan for good.

And, as you count your days

as done remember to hope

that tomorrow will be a little

better because you lived

today.

Amen