For our Field Studies office at McCormick, we are required to furnish this Vocational Vision Statement.  I provide it here as an electronic resource for those who are interested in “what I want to be when I grow up.”

A church I used to pass frequently was the highlight of my days.  They had a sign with customized messages, and the wit of the author was highly developed.  One day, however, the sign had a simple, profound message that I have adopted as a concise summary of the theme of my call: Many Voices, One Song.

My call, as I understand it, is under continuous development and manifestation.  Born and raised a “church rat,” I was never fully satisfied with the way things were.  If everyone is a child of God, then what difference does it matter that one church sign reads Catholic outside while another reads Lutheran?  Why are we as Christians so certain that our faith is exclusively inspired yet reject Muslims who hold the same claim?

I am an individual who lives life in questions, not answers.  When someone says it can’t be done, I challenge them with, “Why not?”  Instead of ending with “what if,” I seek to help people experiment and attempt to realize their dream.  All of these things come together in a sense of call that is uncompromisingly ecumenical, intentionally interfaith, unapologetically Christian, and relentlessly experimental.

When I took my first seminary class, it was for personal enrichment.  That class, however, jumpstarted my discernment and lead me to depart the predictability and comfort of full-time employment and come to McCormick as a full-time student in preparation for ordained ministry.  My call to public ministry as a clergyperson is the clearest form of God’s call on my heart: to demonstrate God’s extravagant love for all God has created; to partner with and equip God’s people to demonstrate that same love in their own lives; to reconcile God’s children with each other in the beloved community of peace; and to speak with a prophetic voice to a shattered world in its own language, customs, and environment.

My discernment has led me to seek the opportunities of two field experiences — one domestically in the Chicago area to fulfill the requirements of my academic program, and a second internationally to directly experience global ecumenism and ministry.

My field experience here at home will provide the next step on my journey of discernment and hopefully shed some light on the setting of public ministry to which I am called.  I will be able to best use my gifts in a setting that is at least ecumenical, if not interfaith.  It will be an environment that is high in faithful risk while low in anxiety.  I will be encouraged to be a member of the community, not just an outside observer fulfilling academic credit.  The setting will boldly proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a spirit of humility, kindness, and compassion.  At this time, I feel called to an agency setting and have been encouraged to further explore work with young adults and collegiate ministry.  I am not, however, ruling out the work of the Holy Spirit calling me to a congregational ministry setting.

Abroad, I hope for a different experience than in the U.S.  I am looking for a congregational placement where I can engage with those “doing church” in a different context.  I am actively seeking an intergenerational congregation within the Presbyterian Church Aotearoa New Zealand that can provide me the opportunity to experience the daily demands of parish ministry, planning worship and Christian education offerings, cooperating with pastoral care as appropriate, and participating in congregational life as much as possible.  I am looking for a congregation similar in characteristics to those described above: high in faithful risk, a bold witness to Jesus Christ in a tangible spirit of humility and compassion, and a willingness to experiment and try new things for the sake of the Gospel.

I hope my supervisors and I will be able to develop a relationship of mutuality, each teaching and learning from one another.  I look forward to conversations about the intersectionality of faith and practice in our modern world.  I want mentors who are able to assist me in better defining and articulating my own faith and call, as well as guide me in developing a toolbox of resources for future ministry settings.  Above all, I hope to find supervisors that see me as a future peer in ministry, providing the opportunity to engage during field studies rather than reflect in their shadow.

My “ecumania,” as I like to describe it, is embedded in my DNA.  As a child I was baptized in the tradition of the American Lutheran Church, raised in the Church of the Lutheran Brethren and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, sought out spiritual community in the Episcopal Church and American Baptist Churches, and attempted to reject all religious community before finally finding myself in the United Church of Christ.  I believe it is the role of the church, in whatever theological identity it claims, to: reach out in Christ-like love and compassion to the needy; speak out against the systems and structures that oppress, degrade, or otherwise fail to recognize the dignity and worth of all people; be a place of love, peace, acceptance, and hospitality; and support the community of believers in their own personal and spiritual development.