Phyllis Unterschuetz to keynote MLK Interfaith Prayer Breakfast
Phyllis Unterschuetz, an author, speaker and workshop facilitator who has been doing field research on the dynamics of racial conditioning for 20 years, will be the keynote speaker at the seventh annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Interfaith Prayer Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 16.
The topic will be "Honestly Confronting Racism." This year's theme is based on a speech the Civil Rights activist gave at Grosse Pointe High School in Michigan on March 14, 1968, less than a month before his assassination: "I do not see how we will ever solve the turbulent problem of race confronting our nation until there is an honest confrontation with it."
The breakfast will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at D'Andrea Banquets, 4419 Route 14 in Crystal Lake. Tickets are $20 or $10 for students. Tickets are available at www.faithbridgeinterfaith.org; just scroll down there is a PayPal button on the left.
The theme for this year's event is " Honestly Confronting Racism." The program will include a Native American honor song, call to prayer, and group prayer with participants from a variety of local faith traditions including Islamic, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, various Christian traditions and New Thought. There also will be the reading of a winning essay by a local middle school student addressing the theme, plus music and chants with Lia Nicine McCoo.
Phyllis Unterschuetz earned a bachelor's degree with an emphasis on intercultural relations from DePaul University in 2002. In recognition of her essay "Understanding Prejudice Using Mind, Heart, and Will," she received the Arthur Weinberg Memorial Prize for Social Justice, and the School for New Learning Award of Excellence for her work in collaborative learning.
Unterschuetz grew up in the Chicago suburbs and lived there until 1997, when she and her husband, Gene, sold their house and moved into an RV; they spent 15 years on the road and visited 47 states, conducting field research on the dynamics of racial conditioning. Motivated by their belief in the oneness of humanity and their commitment to eliminating racial prejudice, they developed a workshop entitled "From the Same Dust," sharing their conviction that individual racial prejudice can be eliminated only through the practice of honest self-assessment, the willingness to risk making mistakes, and the creation of intimate friendships with people of diverse backgrounds. In an effort to provide concrete examples of these concepts, they began telling stories of their personal struggles to overcome their own racial conditioning. These anecdotes eventually became the basis for their book, "Longing: Stories of Racial Healing," which was published in May 2010. Since that time they have made over 150 author appearances for universities, civic organizations, neighborhood groups, and religious gatherings in 22 states.
Unterschuetz is also co-founder and president of the Race Story ReWrite Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create sustainable social change by elevating the discourse on race and empowering individuals to access their authentic capacities to transform cross-racial relationships. The project team's goal is to create a profound shift in personal and collective beliefs about race, using innovative workshop exercises to guide individuals and organizations through a process of identifying their current race story and replacing it with a narrative that reflects a commitment to transformation and justice.
FaithBridge seeks to promote mutual understanding and respectful relationships among diverse religious communities; to develop interfaith communication, understanding, cooperation, spiritual practice and action; to foster a network of community religious leaders; to create opportunities for interreligious learning, fellowship and dialogue; and to nurture a culture of justice, peace, and healing among all religious communities.
FaithBridge events and activities include the Faith to Faith, Face to Face class, a bi monthly dialogue, a Community Thanksgiving Service, the MLK Breakfast, and last year's Sounds of Faith performance. Our supporting organizations include local faith communities in McHenry and Lake Counties and the Department of Mission and Spiritual Care of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.