Intern Gathering at Starr King

I just returned from the gathering of interns and their supervisors at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley. The Bay Area locals were complaining about the cold weather we brought with us, and I quietly enjoyed the relative warmth. Our hotel was being remodeled and didn't have heat, but that wasn't a problem for me!

The two days of the gathering were a microcosm of Starr King pedagogy, lots of deep discussion and sharing, using techniques like the 'fishbowl' to encourage more open sharing than might otherwise occur. I relished watching my friends emerging as ministers, I suffered in solidarity as struggles were brought into the group. We had tense times too, as we considered what it means to be a white ally (both individually and as a congregation) to people and communities of color. In that process, I realized that I still have far to go in the work of anti-racism and anti-oppression.

More Blogging at 'Unity Men'

I'm working with Justin on the Unity Men's Retreat, on February 22 - 23, and decided to start another blog, Unity Men (unitymen.blogspot.com), to more effectively provide information on this event and other men's programming. Since the Unity website will likely be in transition and redesign during the time up to the retreat, we wanted more access and control of the information we put on the web. It's another experiment.

In a discussion with the Elders group yesterday, we touched on blogging. We were talking about journaling, and I mentioned that I blog. While none of this group blog, they were all very aware of the dangers of putting information out into cyberspace that one would later regret. I'm glad they have that awareness; I know that elders are often targeted for fraud, and much of that these days is computer related. Yet I hope some of the elders may find these tools useful as a way to stay connected with their families and perhaps leave a somewhat more accessible and permanent written legacy than cards and letters might represent.

Photo from an earlier Unity Church Men's retreat.