October 13, 2019

“Getting Beyond Categorical Thinking” – Jerry Carden and Kathleen Robbins

“Will the new minister hear me? Will MY concerns and needs be met? Will the minister understand what I’m living with? How will the community respond to our new minister?”

These are questions that when answered, a picture of the ‘ideal minister’ (categorized by age, gender nationality, physical ability, race and sexual orientation) comes to mind. With this picture in place, it can be easy to unintentionally exclude ministers who fall into certain categories. At times we get caught up in comparing candidates to our “picture.” We can even forget what it is we hoped for in a minister.

This Sunday, our congregation is participating in the Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop offered by the UUA for congregations involved in a ministerial search. The program includes the Sunday morning services and a three hour workshop following the 11am service!

Both are designed to help prevent unfair discrimination in the search process and to promote inclusive thinking about the kind of minister our congregation is looking for. In the workshop we will consider the concerns, expectations, and hopes we have for a minister, and how thinking categorically about people can sometimes interfere with choosing the best candidate.