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.