Carson sees people, individually, for who they are. She is aware of cultural and racial differences, but chooses to see past those false divides to reach out to the heart of the person before her. PSR is a community of great variety, which has given her the experience of relationship with those she might otherwise have never met. I believe she treats everyone with an open heart and willing spirit.
Michael Haven - Seminary Peer and Ordained Minister of UCC
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By sharing her personal story of a difficult journey into authenticity, Carson has offered herself to our faith community as a living example of how to develop and maintain a healthy sense of self by trusting in God. At First Church UCC we believe that our individual stories matter, and that the painful stories, shared with others through our faith that we are in God’s care, are our most valuable contributions to each other. Carson has provided great leadership in this sense. She conducted a spiritual formation series in which participants contemplated and then prepared presentations of their personal ‘spiritual autobiography’. Carson led the way with her own autobiography, setting the stage for others to share deeply, honestly and with transformational results. It was one of the deepest spiritual experiences I have had at First Church UCC. Drawing on her ability to communicate matters of the spirit Carson has also led other classes that became part of my vital experience at First Church UCC.
Mark Hardin, Member of First Church Local Church Discernment Committee (LCDC)
I was honored to befriend Carson Hawks at the Pacific School of Religion. During that time I watched Carson continuously engage the deepest wounds of her soul, at times armed with little more than her faith in her calling. She was wise enough to seek a variety of guidance, requesting support from others, reading books on trauma and healing, and spending a lot of time in quiet communication with God. Over those years I watched her confront her fears and the demons of her past with a resiliency that I have rarely seen in others. This deep commitment to healing and growth, all under the guidance of a loving God, is a very special and powerful trait. In my spiritual tradition, we believe that the most courageous of us - the wounded healers - traverse the dark night and return with wisdom that can heal the world. Carson Hawks is one of those people. I've witnessed her journey to gain that wisdom and her joyful sharing of that healing with others. Carson comes to her ministry with special wisdom to see the wounds of others and to nurture their own journey into healing. I believe that she is one of the most gifted healers I have ever met. She will be a blessing to anyone who is lucky enough to benefit from her wisdom.
Kai Koumatos - Seminary Peer and Interfaith Priest
With regard to strengthening inter-personal assets, I share my experience with Carson’s helping me to strengthen those skills. In the classes/ workshops in which I participated, Carson started off with introductions and a request that we enter into a covenant with each other, applying “Vegas rules” and other concepts such as mutual respect, to maintain a safe space where we all could experience a consistent, agreed-upon level of sensitivity to all participants. Carson’s use of this tool in the classes helped me to develop a greater awareness of others’ needs and tools to use to show respect for those needs so that we all could experience greater growth as a group as well as individually. With regard to strengthening intra-personal assets, while I am not on Carson’s discernment team, over the time I have known Carson, I have heard her share what she is learning about herself – her strengths and her weaknesses – as well as about her relationship with God on her spiritual journey into ministry. This awareness seems to be key for anyone to experience growth.
Beth Duvall - Member of First Church UCC - Phoenix
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