Why you should attend Beyond Categorical Thinking
This workshop, which will take place on October 13, is an important part of the ministerial and interim search.
Close your eyes and picture your ideal minister. Someone you trust to hear and understand your concerns and support the spiritual life of the congregation. What does that person look like?
We all wonder about who the next minister be: Will they hear me? Will my concerns and needs be met? Will the minister understand what I’m living with? How will the community respond to the new minister?
In thinking of the answers to these questions, we tend to picture an “ideal minister” in our head, someone with a specific age, gender identity, nationality, physical or cognitive ability, race, sexual orientation, etc.
Once this picture is in place, it can be easy to unintentionally exclude ministers who don’t match it. At times, we get caught up in comparing candidates to our mental picture and forget what we hoped for in a minister beyond these characteristics.
To help keep these mental images from getting in the way of a productive ministerial search, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) offers the Beyond Categorical Thinking (BCT) workshop to all congregations involved in the search for a new minister. This program is designed to promote inclusive thinking and prevent unfair discrimination during the search.
UCE will participate in the BCT workshop, led by Jerry Carden and Kathleen Robbins, on Sunday, October 13. The program includes a presentation during both of the Sunday morning services and a three-hour workshop following the 11:00 service with these trained facilitators. Lunch will be provided during the workshop to all participants.
During this workshop, UCE members will have the opportunity to:
- learn more about the ministerial search process;
- consider their own hopes, expectations, and concerns for a new minister; and
- explore how thinking about people in categories can sometimes interfere with choosing the best ministerial candidate.
The search committee invites all congregational leaders, members, and friends to participate in BCT on October 13. This is an important part of both the interim and search process, and this event is a great opportunity for everyone in the congregation to have their voice heard. You are an important part of the search process, and we hope you join us!
To RSVP for the event, please click here or email ministerialsearchcommittee@ucevanston.org