Stock Stories, Hidden Stories, Transforming Stories

by Jean Chagnon, member of First Congregational Church of MN, UCC in Minneapolis

My partner and I have several Lands Ends bags that are “seconds.” These are bags where somebody did an “oops” with the monogram! After getting the bag, we make up a story. For example, we have a bag with the monogram “Mrs Conry.” We decided that Mrs Conroy was a much-loved science teacher. We imagine that the bag was intended as a gift of appreciation from a student who won the state science Olympiad. On one level these stories are fun and comical. Nonetheless, I would offer that the story shapes how we feel about using the bag.

The power of story to shape our reality, our perception, our feelings, and our history is a truth I have learned repeatedly as a healer. The stories my clients tell themselves about what has happened to them, about who they are, about how the world works profoundly shape their sense of identity, safety, and security. Much of my work as a healer is introducing my clients to new stories – stories that expand, transform, and heal.

Once again, I was struck by the power of stories during a training I participated in as part of the conference Anti-racism Ad Hoc group. During this training, we were introduced to the concept of stock stories, hidden stories, and transforming stories. Stock stories are the standard, everyday stories that are told again and again. They come to shape consensus reality and inform how people feel about their life. In contrast, hidden stories are the unknown stories, the stories that are intentionally pushed to the edges. Transforming stories are the stories that open our perception, expand our reality into new, more just, and equitable spaces.

While understanding this framework around stories was itself helpful, the most powerful piece for me was understanding more fully that to create transforming stories one must first know the hidden stories, the stories that are pushed to edges, the stories we want to ignore, to forget. This is a process of acknowledging and honoring what we have sought to dismiss or minimize. In honoring what has not been seen – the hidden story – we create a pathway to transformation.

The Conference Anti-Racism Ad Hoc Committee is inviting all of us into reflection on the stories that define our consensus reality — stories that have been pushed to the edges, and stories that invite us into an expanded, more just, more equitable way of being together in community. What do you see as the stock story of our conference? What do you believe about who we are, where we began, how we live into our faith? What are the stories that we have collectively pushed to the edges? How might we open our hearts to these stories as a pathway to transformation and a greater vision of God’s beloved community on earth?

LEARN MORE about racial justice in the MN Conference UCC and read all of the blog posts from members of the Anti-Racism Ad Hoc Committee.

Deadline for Nominations for Settled Conference Minister Search Committee Extended to April 30

Do you know someone in your congregation who is a strong and visionary leader? Someone who is an active listener, a critical thinker, team oriented, and a justice-minded individual who cares deeply about the future of the Conference?

A Selection Committee is actively identifying people with these types of skills to serve on a search committee for the Settled Conference Minister. Fill out this Google form to nominate an individual you believe would be a qualified candidate to serve on the Search Committee. Self-nominations are not allowed.

Nominations close Tuesday, April 30, at 5:00 pm.

History of the MN Conference UCC: Expulsion of the Dakota

The following is the fourth history segment in a series, shared regularly in COMMAntary to help us come to terms with our past. We’re doing this not to be mired in nostalgia for “the good old days,” but to consider what our history might tell us about God’s aims for our present and future ministry.

For hundreds of years, or perhaps even thousands, the Dakota people lived in the area covered by today’s Minnesota Conference. Today, though, only 4,000 Dakota people live here, with only eight fluent Dakota speakers left. What happened?

Part of the answer lies in the mid-19th century. Between 1831 and 1863, relations between Anglo-Americans and the Dakota collapsed. In the 1830s, Congregational missionaries worked with Dakota speakers such as Joseph Renville to translate the Bible into Dakota (thus making Dakota a written language for the first time). At the same time, though, increased Anglo-American migration forced the Dakota off land they had called home for centuries. That pressure increased in the 1840s, and in the following decade, Anglo-American political leaders made and then broke multiple promises to and treaties made with Dakota communities. Those broken promises would lead to war just four years after Minnesota became a state.

The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 is extensively covered elsewhere (you can read more about the war in general here and can find the impact on your county here). For our purposes, though, it’s important to note the impact of the war on Minnesota as our context for ministry. The war ended with the largest mass execution in American history in Mankato (where the condemned sang “Wakantanka Taku Nitawa,” which is Hymn #2 in the New Century Hymnal).

After the conclusion of the war, the U.S. Government exiled Dakota peoples to present-day Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Some Dakota peoples fled north to Canada, with descendants remaining in places like Winnipeg. A very small number of Dakota, protected by white people (including Congregationalist missionaries), were allowed to remain in Minnesota because they had adopted white ways of living. While some of the exiled families have since returned to the North Star State, this mass expulsion radically changed the ethnic makeup in what we now call the Minnesota Conference.

Even as the Dakota presence in Minnesota was decimated, the Ojibwe presence continued. Today, the Ojibwe outnumber the Dakota in Minnesota by a ratio of ten to one, with nearly twice as many Ojibwe reservations as Dakota reservations. Even with those significant numbers for the Ojibwe community, the U.S. Census reports that only 1.4% of today’s Minnesotan population identifies as American Indian/Native Alaskan of any tribe or band.

Of the many lasting impacts of the U.S.-Dakota War, perhaps none reshaped our context for ministry more significantly than the expulsion of nearly all Dakota persons after the war. While this expulsion didn’t exactly create a “blank slate” for white people, it did give rise to the myth of Indians “riding off into the sunset” that continues to shape our public life even today (as with the conversation about changing our state flag).

In coming weeks, the history of the Minnesota Conference will focus more on European-American immigrants to the state, including how many of our current congregations came to be. Still, the story of the Minnesota Conference cannot be divorced from the 19th century realities of how the Dakota and Ojibwe experienced the arrival of folks like the Anglo-American Congregationalists.

Photo credit: Indian camp, Dakota Territory, 1865. MN Historical Society

MN Conference to Offer Effective Transitional Leadership Training

by the Rev. Cindy Mueller, Minister for Congregations in Transition, MN Conference UCC

As a minister who has spent most of my ministerial career as a trained interim serving congregations in transition, I know how important it is to have the right skill set to serve congregations during times of anxiety. As the Conference staff person who assists congregations in obtaining transitional leadership during an interim time, I am aware there is a shortage of people out there with the skills needed to guide a congregation through challenging transitions. I am also aware of the ever-changing and chaotic time in which we live that requires our ministers to be equipped with the necessary skills to guide a congregation into a re-imagined future.

This is why the MN Conference UCC has arranged for a UCC faculty member of the Interim Ministry Network to come to the Twin Cities and offer its Effective Transitional Leadership Training. The dates of the event are Monday, June 10–Wednesday, June 12, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm each day. All in-person training will take place at the MN Council of Churches building at 122 W. Franklin Ave, Minneapolis.

The usual cost of this kind of training can be as high as $2,300 (and is only offered online), but your OCWM dollars are making it possible to subsidize this training at the greatly reduced rate of $200. This includes the training and all course materials required, three lunches, snacks, and beverages along with participation in a cohort group facilitated by the Rev. Chris Hart (our trainer) over a 12-month span of time to begin after the training is completed. Folks from outside the MN Conference (of any denomination) who are interested in attending this event are welcome to reach out to Cindy Mueller (cindym@uccmn.org) for further information regarding their registration rates.

If you are looking for new skills to assist your congregation or others in transition, please consider attending this three-day event. Registration will open soon. Watch for details in upcoming editions of COMMAntary.

The Damascus Project to Launch First Ecospirituality Course

Responding to a desire to think about climate through a theological lens, the Damascus Project is excited to offer its first course in Ecospirituality. The course begins today, April 10, but there is still time to register and join (and you can always watch the recording of the first session is you can't attend on the 10th).

The course has been designed by Dr. Trish Zimmerman, professor of theology and ecological conversations at St. Olaf College and a member of First UCC, Northfield, Minnesota. It will guide participants in spiritual reflection and ground them in ecological practices. LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Coming up with The Damascus Project

Many of us recognize that in the midst of climate change, the coming election season, or in changing seasons of our lives, we seek Christian practices that will sustain us in keeping hope, easing anxiety, and calming our nervous systems. This is what the contemplative practices found throughout the world’s religions do. Starting this spring (through November), the Wisconsin Conference’s Associate Conference Minister Rachel Bauman will offer a course Listening For God, Contemplative Practices in Ordinary Time. This cohort is free of charge and limited to eight persons. LEARN MORE & REGISTER

This spring the Minnesota and Wisconsin Conferences will offer an Exploring Implicit Bias course, which meets the requirements of the Manual on Ministry and is approved for authorized ministers by both Conferences. LEARN MORE & REGISTER

We Need Your Vital Input!

Help us improve the Minnesota Conference’s Outdoor and Faith Formation ministries by participating in our online survey. You will help us assess the effectiveness of our programs, identify areas for improvement, and discern how we can better support your local congregation’s ministry and leaders. TAKE THE SURVEY

What Do We Mean by White Supremacy – and What Does it Have to Do with Me?

Thu, Jun 6, 2024 9:30 am – 5:00 pm, College of St. Benedict

REGISTER HERE

In this workshop led by Associate Conference Minister Kelly Gallagher, we will reflect on the meaning of white supremacy and how it impacts our churches, culture and way of being in the world. Kelly Gallagher has been working on her own racism for more than 40 years and has been leading trainings and workshops to help others for over 10 years. We will also have time to discuss the bylaw change coming before the Annual Meeting to establish a Committee to Dismantle White Supremacy.

This training meets the standing requirements for authorized ministers in the Minnesota Conference UCC.

You Belong! Join the Spring 2024 Conference Youth Event

April 19-21, Camp Onomia $175

Minnesota Conference youth will spend a weekend exploring “belonging.” Together we’ll reflect on how we as people and we as the church can extend our welcome to others and to ourselves through discussion, worship, play, time in nature, music, and art. LEARN MORE

Strengthen the Church Resources Available

Strengthen the Church supports the expansion of ministry and growth of local congregations. It helps the UCC fulfill its commitment to creating a just world for all by investing in new ministries and practices that meet emerging needs. Most congregations will receive the STC offering on Pentecost Sunday, May 19.

Downloadable resources includes the video featured above plus impact stories, a call to offering, music video, and much more. LEARN MORE

Joys & Concerns

You are invited to attend a Service of Ordination for Hilary Flynn on Sunday, April 21, 3:00 pm, at Wayzata Community Church. Clergy are invited to robe and process; please wear red stoles and arrive at 2:30 pm. Reception to follow. Please reach out to See Chang, COM administrative assistant at COMadmin@uccmn.org with any questions.

Partner News & Events

Spirit & Struggle: Acting Toward a Shareable World

May 9–10

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

We are living through perilous and divisive times. The idea of building walls that keep “us” safe from “them” is as much a vexing spiritual and theological problem as it is a social and political one.

How might faith leaders and congregations courageously and creatively engage in socially transformative action from a place of spiritual grounding and depth? How might compassionate listening and radical imagination help us forge new connections across lines of difference, build a more just world with others, and facilitate a “revolution of values,” rather than fuel the flames of fear, hatred, and exclusion?

UTS invites you to explore these questions in plenary sessions and worships. Keynote speaker is Dr. Joy Ladin. READ MORE AND REGISTER

Upcoming Conference Events

• Apr 12-14: Our Whole Lives (OWL) Facilitator Training
• Apr 19-21: Spring Conference Youth Event: You Belong
• May 18: Covenant Day, Twin Cities (location & time TBA)
• Jun 6: What Do We Mean by White Supremacy Training
• Jun 7-8: Annual Meeting
• June 10-12: Effective Transitional Leadership Training (registration coming soon)
• Jul 17-20: Regional Youth Event
• Aug 11-13: Clergy Family Retreat
• Sep 13-15: Women's Retreat: You Are a Story
• Oct 11-13: Fall Conference Youth Event

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