September 13, 2024
Dear church,
One of my favorite children’s books is called “Milo Imagines the World.” In this book, Milo is riding the train with his sister, and on their ride, he draws pictures of the other passengers and makes up stories about who they are and where they are going. There's the whiskered man with the crossword puzzle; Milo imagines him playing solitaire in a cluttered apartment full of pets. There's the wedding-dressed woman with a little dog peeking out of her handbag; Milo imagines her in a grand cathedral ceremony. And then there's the boy in the suit with the bright white sneakers; Milo imagines him arriving home to a castle with a drawbridge and a butler. But when the boy in the suit gets off at the same stop as Milo – at the prison where they are going to visit their parents – Milo realizes that you can't really know anyone just by looking at them.
This story came to my mind this week because we are preparing to host an Anti-Bias Training at Grace next Wednesday from 6-8p. Why? The short answer is: because all of us have biases and make assumptions about others because of these biases. We internalize our biases subtly and over time, and sometimes we don’t even realize we have them – this is called unconscious bias. Learning to recognize these biases and understand where they come from is an important part of dismantling stereotypes and discrimination in our society. It also is an essential part of being able to engage more authentically and openly with others, especially those who are different than us.
This training will be facilitated by Anna Stamborski. Anna is a light-hearted, down-to-earth, passionate facilitator. She is skilled at helping us identify our biases with honesty rather than shame. I took this training with Anna last year and found it to be fun, accessible, and eye-opening. This training is open to everyone in the congregation, and please bring a friend if you’d like! No need to sign-up ahead of time. Come prepared to learn, laugh, interact, and leave with some next steps!
Learning together,
Pastor Sarah
Every Friday, we send an email to the congregation and any others who would like to learn more about the Grace community. The last four Friday emails are posted below.