Sarasota: Break Barriers, Build Beliefs workshop
Time: May 2, 2026 10:00am - 2pm
From Rev. Patrice Curtis UUA Transformational Ministries Director
THINK OF A MINISTER. DON’T THINK OF A PALM TREE!
Chances are you thought of both. Perhaps distinct images and feelings came to your mind’s eye. In terms of a minister, what images came to mind? Was it a person of a particular gender, race, or age?
Break Barrier, Build Beliefs is a highly recommended part of the search process for our congregation. In finding the person who would best match us as our minister, we might accidentally overlook a particular person because of bias. 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. Society sets us up for this. We can be better.
Credentialed ministers in our faith who are LGBTQIA+, disabled, younger, older, working class, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, fat, neurodiverse, genderqueer and other marginalized identities still face discrimination as part of the ministerial search process. In our efforts to find the best match, our congregation will host a Break Barriers, Build Beliefs workshop on Saturday, May 2nd at 10:00am.
The B4 workshop is a conversation, where we will have a chance to examine how we can temper and avoid bias and prejudice becoming a part of our search process. Avoiding bias is yet another way to put our faith into lived experience and improve the odds that, regardless of identity, we will find the minister who holds the gifts, skills and passions to serve us well.
This opportunity allows the entire congregation fuller participation in the search process. It will allow us to explore our hopes and concerns for a new minister, learn more about the search process, and see how our history (both personal and congregational) might interfere with our efforts in this search.
So, come on Saturday, May 2nd at 10:00 am to the Lexow Wing to participate in this program provided by the UUA.
Time: May 2, 2026 10:00am - 2pm
From Rev. Patrice Curtis UUA Transformational Ministries Director
THINK OF A MINISTER. DON’T THINK OF A PALM TREE!
Chances are you thought of both. Perhaps distinct images and feelings came to your mind’s eye. In terms of a minister, what images came to mind? Was it a person of a particular gender, race, or age?
Break Barrier, Build Beliefs is a highly recommended part of the search process for our congregation. In finding the person who would best match us as our minister, we might accidentally overlook a particular person because of bias. 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. Society sets us up for this. We can be better.
Credentialed ministers in our faith who are LGBTQIA+, disabled, younger, older, working class, Black, Indigenous, People of Color, fat, neurodiverse, genderqueer and other marginalized identities still face discrimination as part of the ministerial search process. In our efforts to find the best match, our congregation will host a Break Barriers, Build Beliefs workshop on Saturday, May 2nd at 10:00am.
The B4 workshop is a conversation, where we will have a chance to examine how we can temper and avoid bias and prejudice becoming a part of our search process. Avoiding bias is yet another way to put our faith into lived experience and improve the odds that, regardless of identity, we will find the minister who holds the gifts, skills and passions to serve us well.
This opportunity allows the entire congregation fuller participation in the search process. It will allow us to explore our hopes and concerns for a new minister, learn more about the search process, and see how our history (both personal and congregational) might interfere with our efforts in this search.
So, come on Saturday, May 2nd at 10:00 am to the Lexow Wing to participate in this program provided by the UUA.
