Beyond Categorical Thinking
Promoting inclusive thinking and working to prevent unintended discrimination in the ministerial search process.
Workshop Report
Emerson Proven: Beyond Categorical Thinking
“We are tough and we are solid.” “We are open-minded and welcoming.”
(…and, dog-gonnit, people like us!)
These words came from our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) “Beyond Categorical Thinking” (BCT) workshop facilitator, Edward “Eddy” Carroll when meeting with your ministerial search committee after the BCT event held on Sunday, July 19.
The BCT process is a milestone along the path to finding our next settled minister. The program is designed by the UUA to promote inclusive thinking and help prevent unfair discrimination in the ministerial search process. Your Ministerial Search Committee sponsored the event which included a meeting with the search committee and Eddy on Saturday night, a worship service designed around BCT where Eddy was the pulpit speaker, a three-hour workshop led by Eddy, and a final meeting with him and the search committee.
During the worship service, Eddy told of his upbringing in a large Catholic family in South Jersey where all his brothers and sisters had to break the news to his mother and father that he was gay. He recounted the nurturing welcome he received from visiting his first Unitarian Universalist church, The Unitarian Society of Denver, Co, where he attends to this day and is known there as “The Church Lady”.
After lunch, Eddy facilitated a three-hour workshop to examine our potential concerns as a UU congregation in calling a minister of color and/or Latina/Hispanic or other ethnicity…in calling a minister with disabilities…or a gay, lesbian, or transgender minister. Unfair discrimination might also occur around the categories of age, marital status, or “unseen” disabilities (i.e. depression/mental, learning, addiction/recovery).
Meredith Graham was on hand to participate and be of help in catching our attendance statistics:
- 61 Emersonians attended the worship service
- 46 people attended the workshop (Eddy was impressed with this amazing turnout)
- 38 returned to the workshop from the break
- 37 participated in the Case Studies small breakout groups
Participants filled out a detailed questionnaire regarding possible areas of concern and the answers were tabulated.
Minister of Color:
Concerns – 32 stated no concerns
In this area, 5 people had concerns that an African-American might feel uncomfortable serving a white congregation. 13 people felt a minister of color would attract a more diverse population to Emerson. 10 people thought it would bridge connections to our Latino neighborhood.
Minister with Disability:
Concerns – 18 stated no concerns
6 people were concerned about job performance. 3 people were concerned about accommodating the minister. 12 people had concerns over the “unseen” disabilities of; depression, addiction, mental illness, and learning.
LBGTQ Minister:
Concerns – 32 stated no concerns
3 people had concerns about a transgender minister. 3 people were concerned about the prospect of the minister being “single issue”. 1 person thought it might help us welcome more members from the LBGTQ community.
While the questionnaire answers were being tabulated, the participants broke out into groups to discuss various instances of discrimination that have occurred in our UU congregations. A member of the search committee attended each breakout group to listen to the participants and record their impressions.
Eddy presented the results of the tabulation and, most interestingly, told us the idea that a minister of color or ethnicity or sexual orientation might attract members of those groups is largely a misconception and it does not bear out in our congregations.
Overall, Eddy Carroll said he was amazed at the turnout and participation of our congregation and that he saw “NO RED FLAGS” in tabulating our survey questions. He loved our church and grounds and said he will be available for advice and counsel in our search process.
On behalf of the Search Committee, I would like to thank all of you who were able to participate in this wonderful and enlightening workshop. I am so proud to be a part of this phenomenal congregation.
~Linda Fitzgerald, Coordinator of BCT for the Search Committee
Think of a minister, don’t think of an elephant.
Chances are you thought of both. And distinct images perhaps came to mind. In terms of a minister, what images came to mind? Was it a person of a particular gender, race, or age?
Beyond Categorical Thinking is a highly recommended part of the search process for our congregation. In finding the person who would be the best match for our minister, we could potentially overlook or even let biases keep us from knowing that a particular person would be the best match for us.
Other congregations have assumed that their ideal minister looks a certain way, and often ministers who are not white or male or heterosexual or able-bodied or of a particular age or class are discounted and seen as “less than” in some ways. Ministers in our faith who are people of color, bisexual, gay, lesbian, female, transgender, differently-abled, young, old, ethnically different, or of a different class—all of these credentialed ministers still face discrimination as part of the ministerial search process.
The BCT workshop is yet another way for us to put our faith into lived experience and improve the odds that regardless of identity, we will find the minister who is the best match for us and will serve us well.