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Cultural Competency – Step 1

by | Feb 28, 2022 | Board of Lay Ministry, Conference Newsletter

By Alberta Farnsworth, DSC Lay Leader

I recently participated in the Cultural Competency training offered by CCORR. I highly recommend this training and suggest watching for your church to offer it.

One thing we reflected on was our own individual culture. Where was I born, where was I raised, what were, and are some family dynamics? Afterward, I spent some time considering why I make some decisions the way I do. For example, the year I was in sixth grade, my family moved, and I started a new school in January. My new class had 45 students in it. There was no room for each of us to have our own desk, and there were not enough textbooks for everyone. Maybe that is why my gut reaction is to vote for school overrides whenever they come up. I don’t want other children to experience that situation. Because I changed schools a few times during my elementary years, I missed learning about multiplying and dividing fractions because that was taught at different levels in different states. Failing a math (or arithmetic as it was known then) test was very upsetting because I considered myself good at that. Maybe that is why I support the Common Core curriculum. How I vote is part of who I am and is part of my personal culture.

The training did not focus on our personal culture specifically, but it did lead me to think about it. As a Lenten practice, I plan to spend time thinking (meditating?) on how my past is affecting my current beliefs. How do I react as our church works to rid itself of the institutional bias that continues to hurt many of our siblings in Christ in so many different ways? Learning from the past should keep us from making the same mistakes over and over.

Blessings as we look forward to celebrating the risen Savior.

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Author: Alberta Farnsworth

The Desert Southwest Conference is a diverse and loving organization with open doors to a variety of people and partners in ministry. Celebrating our connection and diversity, we offer various resources. Content on this site includes information from other organizations that may not reflect the official policies or Social Principles of The United Methodist Church or the Desert Southwest Conference.

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