Beyond Categorical Thinking Workshop

As an important part of the Search Process, the Ministerial Search Committee hosted a Beyond Categorical Thinking Workshop on February 10, 2008, from Noon to 3pm. The UUA arranged for two well–qualified facilitators to preside at the event: Everardo Aguilar and Denise Allen.

We were pleased to have 40 Northlakers, representing all major church commitees and functions, participate in the entire workshop and a few others drop by for parts of it. The purpose of the workshop was to try to identify any attitudes or beliefs that could hinder our selection of the best qualified minister for us and also to identify areas of concern that may need more attention at future workshops or other church activities.

Few participants expressed any concerns about selecting a minister who was a person of color, a person with a disability, or a person who was bisexual, gay or lesbian. Some concerns were expressed about having a transgender minister and discussion ensued about mental illness and addictions and the need to know that any mental illness or addiction was under control and would not pose a risk to the congregation. In regard to disabilities, participants recognized that our facility was not ideal for a person with mobility issues — no ramp to stage, need to go outside to change floors, two buildings that are not connected, etc. Until we can afford to install elevators, these problems will continue to exist. In a similar way, our congregation may not be ideal for a person of color, because the person may not see anyone like him or herself in the congregation, but we all hoped that if we had a minister of color the minister would help us to attract a more diverse membership, which everyone seemed to believe was a good idea.

Concerns were also expressed about a minister who could not speak clearly or who was disfigured in a way which might pose a distraction to those attending services. Participants expressing concerns about transgendered persons acknowledged that part of the problem was a lack of understanding of the condition.

We all enjoyed getting to know the facilitators and appreciated the information they shared with us about the Search Process and the experiences of persons of color and others of diverse background who have gone through the ministerial search process. One reason for these workshops is that some categories of individuals have received many fewer requests from congregations than others.

Background of our facilitators:

Everardo Aguilar: Everardo has been a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego for 21 years and currently serves on its Board of Trustees. As the church’s UU United Nations Office Envoy, he helps educate the community about the UN and sponsors an annual fundraiser for UNICEF. Everardo has been involved with the Children’s Religious Education program for 17 years. He is a facilitator and district trainer for the Pacific South West District for the Jr. and Sr. High versions of the Our Whole Lives Sexuality education program. Everardo lives in San Diego with his partner of 15 years, Brian Coit, and their two “fur children” their cat “Charlie” and their dog “Duke”. He is a health educator for the County of San Diego’s Immunization Branch. In his “off time” Everardo enjoys movies, cooking for friends and is a huge Star Trek fan. When they can, Brian and Everardo enjoy “road tripping” and take car trips to places like Las Vegas and Texas.

Denise Allen: Denise recently moved to the Portland area with her partner, Mary DeWitt. Prior to that, she was a member of the UU Church of Long Beach (California) for 11 years, where she served in a wide array of leadership positions, both in her home congregation and at the national level. As a Beyond Categorical Thinking facilitator and Welcoming Congregation consultant for the past 10 years, she has preached in UU congregations around the country on a variety of subjects. Denise works as a manager for a video relay service and is a professional sign language interpreter. She has three adult children and three cats, and her hobbies include writing poetry, aromatherapy, and blogging.