Importance Of Cultural Sensitivity

Cultural Sensitivity and the Church

Cultural sensitivity begins with the understanding that there are differences between cultures. These differences are reflected in the ways that different groups communicate and relate to one another. Cultural sensitivity is more than awareness that there are differences in culture in order to interact effectively. A culturally competent person views all people as unique individuals and realizes that their experiences, beliefs, values, and language affect their perceptions

The goals and objectives of the training

i. Recognizing the differences that exists between different cultures is important; however, coming to the understanding that there are differences within cultures is also equally important ii. Bringing

Taking people from different cultures to the churches they will be attending ii. Walking with people from different cultures around their neighborhoods iii. Taking these people them to their libraries on a weekly basis iv. Taking them to sporting events of their choice

v. Helping the find an ethnic market where they can be involved in food preparations, especially those that originate from their home countries vi. Engaging them in singing as well as dancing, most preferably in their nativity to bring in them a sense of comfort.

Relationship and Trust Building

Participants will also be made to understand the importance of controlling their feelings since irrespective of the culture; all people have a sense of reading body language and when they point out the difference in body language, many will tend to think they are the cause of the change. In case there are frustrating moments, participants will have to save them for later encounters with those people they are most familiar with e.g. spouses since most of the communication with varied cultural people is non verbal. As a move to win trust of those people from different cultures, participants are urged to make their churches their priorities.

Irrespective of their non-universality, participants should be made aware that gender, when it comes to matters pertaining to the church, whether male or female does not apply but rather on concepts relating to cultural backgrounds that one comes from. Another key thing to note concerning gender that contradicts what the society expects but finds its application in the church is the aspect of role. Because of this, participants should make sure that they allocate duties based not on the ‘male-female categorization of the world’ but on the effectiveness of task completion. Furthermore, participants should be made to refrain from attributions that make people question the reality of men and women as well as their roles within the framework of the