“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 the minister?”

In answering these questions, a picture of the “ideal minister” — influenced by categories like age, gender identity, nationality, physical or cognitive ability, race, sexual orientation, etc. — may come 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 hope for in a minister.

On the weekend of October 20 – 22, UUFD will participate in the Beyond Categorical Thinking workshop offered by the UUA. On Friday afternoon, the MSC team will meet with Keith Kron, our UUA Transitions Office representative. Keith will also lead the Saturday workshop and deliver the homily via Zoom for Sunday’s service.

The workshop will be in-person on Saturday, October 21, from 9 am to noon, in the Sanctuary, followed by lunch. The program is designed to promote inclusive thinking and help prevent discrimination in the search process for a new minister. We will consider the hopes, expectations, and concerns for a new minister. We will learn more about the ministerial search process and explore how thinking categorically about people sometimes interferes with choosing the best candidate.

Come on Saturday, October 21, from 9am – noon, to participate in this UUA-sponsored workshop. The selection of a minister is important. This BCT workshop is another opportunity for everyone in our Fellowship to be a part of that process. This experience will provide guidance for the MSC in our work.

Please sign up with MSC member Liz Volz at warmandwise@gmail.com, so we can plan our space and numbers for our lunch order.