I believe there are certain parallels between square dance callers and small town ministers. Think of the square dance community as a "small town" and it becomes a little clearer. Although square dancers are spread out geographically, as a group they behave like a small town. Square dancers are a close-knit, friendly group of people, where most everyone knows everyone else, good traits as well as bad, and everybody knows everybody else's business.

        Now let's talk about small town ministers for a moment. Ministers are expected to be "holier" than their congregation, after all, he/she is a minister, right? So, the people of the community have certain expectations. They expect the minister to lead by example, somehow be "more" of everything that their religion advocates. The minister should be more accepting, less judgemental, more loving, more pious, more of everything that his/her religion teaches.

        The square dance community expects the same from it's callers. As a caller you are expected to be "more" of what makes a square dancer unique. You are expected to be friendlier than the average dancer (very hard to do), more polite than the average dancer (not always as hard to do as I wish it was), and exhibit more enthusiasm for dancing than the average dancer. The people of the square dance community expect this of you, as a leader of their activity.

        Another trait of the small town minister is always being "on". When the Sunday sermon is over, the minister is still a minister, he/she doesn't get to take their "Minister Hat" off and just be a person. At the grocery store people still recognize them as a minister, not just another person buying groceries. And gossip abounds. Anything you are heard saying, or seen doing gets spread around the town like wildfire. A person could be the most devout, learned minister in the country and be capable of delivering the best sermons that anybody ever heard, but wind up being unpopular or even shunned based on how they carry themselves in their personal life. So, the minister may never let his/her guard down in public. They must always be "on".

        And so it is with being a square dance caller. When the dance is over, and a caller goes home, or out to a pizza parlor, he/she is still a square dance caller. I am constantly amazed at how many places I have been where I was approached by somebody who recognized me as a caller. Or how many times I was told at a dance that I had been seen here, there, or on the freeway, doing this, or that. And gossip abounds. I once applied for a position as club caller for a Portland area club, and I had friends calling me and letting me know details of the clubs deliberations before the club president could call and deliver the same information!

        And, not unlike the example I gave of the small town minister, the communities opinion of you personally has a great deal to do with their opinion of you professionally. A person could be the best caller in the country, have the smoothest patter with the most interesting choreography and the best singing voice, and still wind up being unpopular because of how they carry themselves in their personal life. So, the caller, too, should never let his/her guard down in public. They must always be "on".

        Yet another parallel between callers and ministers is the disposition of their wife/husband/partner. The ministers wife, for example, is expected to be involved in the ministry. This means being present for the sermons, helping with organization of church activities, and being the "hostess" for all kinds of church functions. It is very close, I imagine, to being an assistant minister or co-minister, so to speak. And just like the minister, the partners personal life is also on "display" to the community, and the community's opinions of the partners personal life reflect directly on the minister.

        By comparison, a lot of the same expectations are put on the caller's partner. They are expected to be involved with the caller's club(s), help organize the caller's schedule, and display the same sort of exemplary behavior that is expected of callers, even in the face of adversity. A caller's partner has enough influence on community opinion that they can literally make or break a caller's career. My partner is a definite assett to me as a caller, and if you would like to read more about her and how she helps me, please go to my callers partner page.

        The opinions expressed on this page are mine, based on my own personal experiences in the area where I live. I am not suggesting that what I have said here is true for everybody, nor am I trying to lay down some sort of "guideline" that I think callers and their partners should follow. These are just my thoughts, that I share with you simply for the sake of sharing them.