cultural competence | MINISTRY FROM TWO POLES

Posts Tagged ‘cultural competence

May

Twin Sons of Different Mothers

Categories: Personal Stories
Tags: Christian, Church, conflict resolution, cultural competence, Faith, God, humility, inclusive, Progressive, reflections, Theology

It is hard to fathom, at least for me, how two people with similar conditions can be so very different. To coin a title from a Tim Weisberg album we are in many ways “twin sons of different mothers.”

Not including age (unfortunately I am the older son), we share interests such as cars and woodworking, similar levels of intelligence, senses of humor, music, recreational activities, introversion (even down to Myers-Briggs results). Heck, we even pack our excess weight in the same place. And, as mentioned in previous post, Karl and I are both bipolar.

The differences in our personalities, lives and how being bipolar plays out in our daily existence are somehow perfectly mirrored in the conditions of our garages and workshops. I am left wondering if every person’s personality could be understood and analyzed based on the condition of their garages. Forget the house, the furnishings, the kitchen and the yard! If archeologists a thousand years from now were to delicately uncover our perfectly preserved work spaces, they could peg our personalities down to a “t”. Continue reading ‘Twin Sons of Different Mothers’

May

Being Prodigal

By Rev Andy Little 1 Comment

Categories: Ethics, Justice & Mercy and Sermons & Studies
Tags: biblical authority, Christ, Christian, Church, conflict resolution, cultural competence, Ethics, Faith, God, healing, humility, IMAGE OF GOD, inclusive, initiatives, Kingdom of God, PC(USA), poverty, Progressive, reconciliation, Schenectady, Theology

The Prodigal Son becomes a new creation – reconciled with his loving father. Among other things, this story is a wonderful story that exhibits the flow of worshipful life perfectly.

All the elements are there – the son turns his back on his parent and heritage – takes his material wealth as if it were his own just reward – squanders it on the things that the worldly things that he knows his father would disapprove of – eventually recognizes his own poverty of spirit – reluctantly returns in contrition to his father, prepared to confess and accept his punishment – and encounters a loving parent, willing to accept the slings and arrows of his culture for forgiving his child, and running to him with arms wide open to accept him back into the household.

If that is not the flow of life, what is? It is a beautiful parable, is it not? It is a true work of art being told by Jesus to illustrate a point. But, sometimes, in appreciating the beauty and warmth of the story, we neglect to realize the real purpose Jesus told it. We gloss over the most important aspects. Continue reading ‘Being Prodigal’

May

… to Each According to Need

By Rev Andy Little Leave a Comment

Categories: Economic Theology and Ethics
Tags: biblical authority, Christian, Church, church administration, cultural competence, Ethics, Faith, initiatives, Kingdom of God, PC(USA), poverty, Progressive, Schenectady, Theology

While this exact phrasing is allocated to Marx, there is a biblical equivalent to “From each according to ability, to each according to need.”

The pericope from Acts 4:34 & 35 is:
“There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”

While I have attended churches that lived fully into this concept, one has made it into the news. CNN reports in “Church gives fresh meaning to ‘offering’ plate” that a Texas church has opted to follow this example in its Sunday worship. As the plate goes around, people are asked to give what they can and take what they need. Continue reading ‘… to Each According to Need’

May

A Failed Rationale for Ministry

By Rev Andy Little 3 Comments

Categories: Ethics, Justice & Mercy and Personal Stories
Tags: Christian, Church, church administration, conflict resolution, cultural competence, Ethics, Faith, group dynamics, initiatives, poverty, Schenectady

This is the rationale for ministry I developed for the church I served until recently. In the end, while many in the congregation were enthused, the leadership rejected it wholesale. Because of the way the relationship was terminated, I will probably never know why this raised the ire of the leaders. This was not delivered as one document, but as several. I have compiled it here and I would love to have feedback from readers telling me where I went wrong. Don’t worry about being subtle or reserved – brutal honesty would be appreciated. Continue reading ‘A Failed Rationale for Ministry’

May

U.S. State Dept Treats Foreign Workers as Commodity

By Rev Andy Little 1 Comment

Categories: Economic Theology and Ethics
Tags: Christian, cultural competence, Economy, Ethics, oppression, poverty

In a new revelation, the full story of which can be found at CNN’s “State Department: Non-Americans making $3 to $4 a day“, we find the State Department paying the equivalent of slave labor in our missions overseas. The State Dept corrected an earlier report that discussed some workers earning less than $1 a day after realizing they had made a currency conversion error.

You’d be hard pressed to find a sweat shop in the least developed country paying less, unless the workers were indentured servants or slaves. Doesn’t our government have any ethics at all? Even most trans-national corporations look downright scrupulous compared to the State Dept. The report includes details that, in order to exist, some employees have to eat once a day and send their children panhandling and begging in the streets. It also includes a complaint from the State Dept that it cannot keep workers. No shit! Continue reading ‘U.S. State Dept Treats Foreign Workers as Commodity’

May

A Tradition of Equality?

By Rev Andy Little Leave a Comment

Categories: Ethics and Justice & Mercy
Tags: bias, cultural competence, Ethics, history, immigration, inclusive, oppression, poverty, remembrance, Schenectady, society

The summer seems to be a great season for patriotism. It begins with Memorial Day and ends with Labor Day, well not officially, but certainly in practical terms. Both these holidays celebrate what has made and still makes the U.S. the U.S. – people. In between these holidays, of course, we have Flag Day and Independence Day. July does seem to represent the peak of summer and, I think, the peak of summer patriotic fervor, perhaps a lasting effect of the fireworks and cook-outs. Between the celebrations of people, we celebrate nationhood, freedom and this great land.

Just like a church, however, a nation does not exist without people. The land certainly does, but it is the people who make it a social, political and communal place. Freedom is an empty concept without people – the freedoms we celebrate are those that are the inalienable rights of the people of this land. But just who are these people, you know, the ones who have had this freedom? Continue reading ‘A Tradition of Equality?’

May

Love & Forgiveness – Reflections on Romans 12

By Rev Andy Little 1 Comment

Categories: Ethics, Justice & Mercy and Sermons & Studies
Tags: biblical authority, Christ, Christian, Church, conflict resolution, cultural competence, Ethics, God, group dynamics, healing, humility, IMAGE OF GOD, Kingdom of God, oppression, PC(USA), Progressive, reconciliation, Schenectady, society, Theology

Romans 12: 1-3 and 9-18

I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

What is “church”? What is its purpose? How is it meant to be or act in the world?

Recently, with a small church, we had to wrestle with the intended nature of the church – what the church should be, and how it should conduct itself – both inside and outside its own structure. For churches, these questions are no less monumental than, “What is the meaning of life?” In many ways members of the congregation objected, some vehemently. There is no doubt that these are important questions for ministers. But they were equally important for the people of the church. Continue reading ‘Love & Forgiveness – Reflections on Romans 12’

May

LGBTQ Young People & Risk of Suicide

By Rev Andy Little 3 Comments

Categories: GLBT & Queer Theology, Justice & Mercy and Marriage & Sexuality
Tags: bias, Church, cultural competence, Ethics, GLBT issues, group dynamics, healing, homophobia, IMAGE OF GOD, oppression, poverty, Progressive, reconciliation, Schenectady, society, Theology

From a report compiled by The Trevor Project:

Although, practically, there is no way of knowing how many suicides are completed by LGBT and questioning adolescents, reliable research on the attempt rates of this demographic group are available. In the 2005 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MA YRBS) concluded that lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are “almost four times as likely to have attempted suicide” and “more than five times more likely to have received medical attention for a suicide attempt” than their heterosexual peers.

The reasons for these disproportionate numbers are varied and many, but almost certainly include the lack of self-acceptance as the primary among them. In a 1995 study published in the Journal for Developmental Psychology (Herhberger and D’Augelli), the single largest predictor of mental health was self-acceptance. According to Remafedi (1991), highly feminine boys have also been shown to be at higher risk for suicide attempts because they are the ones perceived by others to be homosexual and behave outside of gender specific norms.

Because of this, feminine boys and “butch” girls are more likely to receive the brunt of bullying in school along with traditional society’s disapproval. As recent events have proven, the perception of being gay is enough to precipitate bullying and harassment, Continue reading ‘LGBTQ Young People & Risk of Suicide’

May

Empty Ritual

By Rev Andy Little 1 Comment

Categories: Justice & Mercy, Liberation theology and Sermons & Studies
Tags: biblical authority, Christ, Christian, Church, cultural competence, Ethics, Faith, Holy Spirit, humility, inclusive, initiatives, Liberation theology, oppression, PC(USA), poverty, Progressive, reconciliation, Schenectady, Theology

Mark 11:15-19 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 are texts about showing how empty some common practices have become. Jesus erupts seemingly out of nowhere, upsetting the civic peace that the Roman and Jewish authorities work so hard to maintain. hat is Jesus up to? Aren’t Jesus’ actions immoderate?

It strikes me that Jesus is blowing the whistle on temple practices that have taken on a life and importance of their own, and have no bearing on worshipping or promoting faith in God. Jesus appears to be acting recklessly, by attacking the status quo at the temple. At the same time, the temple practices themselves are deemed foolish and even abusive in the eyes of Jesus. Continue reading ‘Empty Ritual’

May

A Vision of Inclusion

By Rev Andy Little 1 Comment

The crux of chapter 9 of John, which you’ll be reading shortly, is found at the beginning and end. In between, we find examples that illustrate the points being made. The verses that make up the middle paragraphs are rich with symbolism, but there’s only so much that can be covered in one page. So I will concentrate mostly on the beginning and ending. This is a powerful testament to including rather than excluding those we deem unacceptable. Continue reading ‘A Vision of Inclusion’

May

Open Letter to Legislators of NY – Same-Sex Marriage

By Rev Andy Little Leave a Comment

Categories: GLBT & Queer Theology, Justice & Mercy and Marriage & Sexuality
Tags: bias, Church, conflict resolution, cultural competence, Ethics, GLBT issues, homophobia, inclusive, initiatives, Kingdom of God, marriage equality, oppression, PC(USA), poverty, Schenectady, society

Whenever one writes letters to legislators it is always better if it is short, sweet and to the point. The problem with that is that the lack of logical arguments that can fit into a short letter tends to limit their educational and persuasive value. Short letters simply allow room to state an opinion – one among a plethora of opinions fielded by constituents – that do little to edify, persuade or even debunk opposing arguments.

Faced with this dilemma, I am writing a letter that is in two parts. The first simply states my opinion as a constituent and asks that my opinion be considered in deciding on the merits of legislating for same-sex marriage. The second part, which can easily be ignored if the legislator is so inclined, or read if he/she sees fit to consider logical arguments, outlines various points using opponents’ logic as a springboard.

Part 1.

Very briefly, I would like to state my opinion that it is a travesty that same-sex relationships are not afforded all the same civil benefits in New York as heterosexual married couples. Continue reading ‘Open Letter to Legislators of NY – Same-Sex Marriage’

May

Dignity For All Students

By Rev Andy Little 1 Comment

Categories: Ethics, GLBT & Queer Theology, Justice & Mercy and Marriage & Sexuality
Tags: bias, Children, Christian, cultural competence, Dignity, Ethics, GLBT issues, group dynamics, healing, homophobia, inclusive, initiatives, oppression, Schenectady, society, Transgender, writing

I have been asked repeatedly why I am a straight ally of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) sisters and brothers. Whether it is because of things I write, things I say (for instance on the floor of my presbytery) or where I choose to be activist, the fact that I am straight and a minister seem to stand out significantly. There is, at the same time, suspicion and excitement that a straight minister would care enough to be visible in support of LGBT.

Jenna and I ran directly into this while present and active at the Equality and Justice Day put on by Empire State Pride Agenda. No less that a dozen times we were asked if we would allow our picture to be taken and placed on websites or blogs. We also entered into numerous conversations, all concerning the role of the church in oppression and anti-GLBT equality.

One specific effort of Pride Agenda is Dignity For All Students, a bill in New York that seeks to address bullying for any reason including sexuality and gender expression. When asked, I responded that my interest in this is very personal. I was on the receiving end of homophobic bullying in grade and high school simply because I was slightly built (hard to imagine now) and a little effeminate. My young life in school, along with some friends, was hell that left me contemplating suicide many times during my high school years.

While meeting with an aide of Senator Farley to make the case for Dignity, I stated the reasons for my interest and followed up by saying, “We have a moral obligation to protect the most vulnerable, and no-one is more vulnerable than our children.” As an expression of our concern in this issue and the dangers faced by those deemed by peers to be different, Jenna and I will be attending “train the trainers” classes for the Trevor Project, a nationwide hot-line for children and youth at risk and contenplating suicide.

To end of bringing as much attention to the issue as I can, I am reprinting the NY Times commentary by Charles Blow. Continue reading ‘Dignity For All Students’

Apr

Mary & Martha – True Disciples

By Rev Andy Little Leave a Comment

Categories: Feminist theology and Sermons & Studies
Tags: bias, biblical authority, Christ, Christian, Church, conflict resolution, cultural competence, Ethics, Faith, Feminist theology, God, Holy Spirit, humility, IMAGE OF GOD, inclusive, initiatives, Liberation theology, oppression, PC(USA), poverty, Progressive, Schenectady, Theology

Reading: John 12:1-8

Stark contrasts and interesting characters seem to be the order of the day for the readings this morning. Sandwiched between passages about life and death, we have a seemingly simple vignette of a dinner party. The hosts and guests of the party are intrinsically related to what has come before and what will yet be.

The setting:

Bethany – the home of Martha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus. There are a few scriptural references about Jesus, Mary and Martha – and most of them include closeness – an intimacy of friendship. Bethany, it seems, was a frequent stop for Jesus and, from what we are told, it seems like this is where Jesus may have come to regenerate – to relax a while – a place to be Jesus the person as opposed to Jesus the Messiah. Jesus still taught – people still listened, but there appears to be a kind of intimacy in this house that draws Jesus.

The story before the reading: Continue reading ‘Mary & Martha – True Disciples’

Apr

Racism, sexism, classism, et al

By Rev Andy Little Leave a Comment

Categories: Ethics, Justice & Mercy and Liberation theology
Tags: bias, Christian, Church, conflict resolution, cultural competence, Ethics, group dynamics, humility, inclusive, initiatives, oppression, Progressive, reconciliation, Schenectady, Theology

The great list of “-isms” could go on and on. As a society, we always tend towards separating – discriminating between people like us and those not like us. In the extreme, it is called xenophobia – irrational fear of the stranger. While it can be argued that cultures having European roots have perfected many of the “-isms”, they are in no way limited geographically. Even the most basic building blocks of society – tribes – were many times based on a sense of “them vs us.” The jury is still out on whether this is an integral part of human existence or a learned trait spanning hundreds of generations. It is clear, however, that it is part of the human condition that we must strive to overcome if we are to live fully in the coming Reign of God. Continue reading ‘Racism, sexism, classism, et al’

Apr

LGBT Equality and Justice Day – NY Capital

By Rev Andy Little Leave a Comment

The activists gathering

Yesterday, the Empire State Pride Agenda held it’s annual E&J day – a day that includes both political activism and a very visible public rally. The turn out again this year was phenomenal. Having had same-day and pre-registation in previous years, there was already a full roster of activists before the actual day arrived. Anyone showing up on the 28th with the hope of being part of the lobbying effort were sorely disappointed. Many of those did, however, stick around for the rally. Continue reading ‘LGBT Equality and Justice Day – NY Capital’

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That's too bad - I'm so sorry. Oh, well, just try to make the best of it. What you'll find here is a variety of essays and ramblings to do with things theological, social, whimsical and, sometimes, all three. I don't write to get famous - trust me, I've been told how futile that would be - but to express myself. I love to communicate and browbeat - ummm, I mean dialogue - about the things I find intriguing. Since you're here, and the door's locked, why don't you stay a while. There's a page bar under the header with links to information about us - I mean me. Don't forget to tell me what you think - in a nice way, I mean.