Break Barriers, Build Beliefs (B4) Workshop: Post-workshop summary

Hosted by the Ministerial Search Team

 On Saturday, November 9th, a thoughtful and curious crowd of 25 of us gathered in the Cleveland Room for a learning experience with the very warm and wise Rev. Amanda Schuber.  Rev. Schuber currently serves as a Developmental Minister at the High Street UU Church in Macon, GA. She shared some of the realities and challenges of living in the South while holding several marginalized identities; she did not record our session due to heightened safety concerns with the evolving political climate.  As one participant commented, the workshop “prompted great self-reflection for us as individuals and as a church with positive and inspiring ideas for how we move forward in love.”

Here are some key ideas from the workshop that we wanted to share with the full congregation:

Multiple identities:  We all hold more than one identity, and none of us wants to be identified with “one story,” be it one we are proud of or not. This is important to keep in mind, in relation with our ministers and their interests, and also with each other.

Belonging vs. Othering:  What is it that makes someone feel welcome, and that they could be a part of our community (be they a minister or a potential member)? It is vital that we look at all the ways that we connect with others, and what messages we send. Consider ways to practice Radical Hospitality at our services and during fellowship.

Understanding and Confronting Bias: We looked at different categories of bias, how to be more aware of them, and how they impact how we see the world (including how they could affect the selection process for the Search Team). We all carry biases (and they are not all bad), but we don’t want those beliefs to define how we approach and relate with people.

Understanding Microaggressions: We learned about the small actions (often subtle or unintentional) which can diminish another person, and how they have the potential to add up to “10,000 daily paper cuts.” 

Interrupting Microaggressions:  Rev. Schuber shared the fact that ministers with marginalized identities typically have shorter tenures because of silence from a congregation in the face of microaggressions, and the feeling of not being supported.  We all must be willing to step in and interrupt microaggressions and other behavior that goes against our shared values. This becomes more natural when there is a collective awareness of an articulated mission/vision/covenant, as we can “call each other back” into Covenant. Part of loving and caring for each other is helping one another do better.

Types of Bias and Microaggressions

Please see the B4 Discussion Guide for a helpful overview of types of bias and microaggressions.

Co-conspirators:  While it is important to be an ally, what is needed now even more are co-conspirators: people who are willing to actively join the fight and help amplify marginalized voices. Given the evolving cultural/ political landscape, people with marginalized identities will need support more than ever.  We have to be willing to take risks and to act in love, not out of fear…  we have work to do (in our congregation and in the wider world).  

____________________________

Results from the pre-workshop survey (completed by 62 people) illustrate some of the work we have to do:

  • More than half of the respondents said they weren’t sure if First Church has a mission and a vision statement. (We don’t! We also don’t have an articulated Behavior Covenant, other than our 1629 Covenant).

  • Only 35% felt “competent to interrupt a microaggression when it is happening between congregants.

  • Only 8% agreed that the “congregation has effective ways to engage and manage conflict amongst congregants over congregation-level issues.”

  • Only 11% felt that  “my congregation has a process for accountability when a congregant strays from behavioral expectation.”  

  • When asked if the church has offered formal opportunities to discuss topics such as anti-racism, diversity and justice, well over half of respondents replied no or unsure. 

______________________________

Some ideas for next steps– things we can work on together!

  • Using our Blue Sky visions to help develop inspiring vision and mission statements.

  • Enhancing our communications and marketing (see sidebar about a new Team forming!)

  • Invigorating our Welcoming habits (while not overwhelming visitors)

  • Having pronoun stickers available for nametags

  • Helping keep our Little Free Library stocked

  • Bringing in additional speakers/workshop leaders on related topics

  • Participating in the UUA 2025 Common Read: Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families–already planned! 

  • Contributing to discussions and helping to support the development of a Behavior Covenant and other systems which support “Right Relations” in our congregation.

Notes prepared by Anna Brandenburg