Those Unforeseen Forks in the Road
Three years ago, for the first time, I attended the Unity Ministries Worldwide Convention. At the time I had been taking a lot of ministerial pre-req classes but had been doing so mainly for my own healing and growth. Fully embarking on the journey of becoming an ordained minister seemed like a crazy, certainly unplanned, fork in the trail from which I could not see the end destination. However, I was drawn to it and taking the classes felt like right thing to do and I continued to receive encouragement and support. In addition, my long-standing career in environmental and economic system change had been put on hold by circumstances beyond my control and there was no way to know if it would survive those challenges.
One of the sessions of that 2019 Convention was the graduation and ordainment ceremony for those students completing their ministerial training. For reasons I didn’t really understand and couldn’t fully explain, I was very moved by the ceremony and felt a tumbler clicking into place moving me a little further along the new path.
This week I am back in Overland Park, Kansas, for the 2022 Unity Worldwide Convention. This time, watching the class of 2022 become ordained ministers was far more deeply moving. This time I had a much better understanding of just how much goes into this process, what a big commitment it is – many years, thousands of dollars and hours of study, hundreds of written assignments and spiritual talks developed and delivered. Also, this time, I knew many of the graduates; we had been in many, many classes together, supporting and learning from one another.
Though I loved seeing my friends and colleagues reach the amazing milestone of becoming credentialed ministers, that’s not why I’m at this conference. I’m here to deliver a Sacred Eco-Nomics workshop and represent the Unity Worldwide EarthCare team. More and more I am being tapped to speak and teach about environmental, climate change, and economic systems change at Unity and New Thought spiritual events. This feels incredibly gratifying, the coming together of my long-standing career on behalf of this beloved planet and my new wild ride of ministry.
Sometimes we are shoved out to sea with no distant shore anywhere in sight and no idea the terrain of the new lands we may land on. I have come to know that often, those uncharted ventures turn out to be the grandest adventures of our lives.
If all goes according to schedule, I will be at this conference next year as one of those walking the stage to become an ordained Unity minister. I am so, so glad I listened to Spirit, and my courageous Higher Self, and so very grateful for all the love and support along the way.