Understanding My Calling
I believe that God has called me to serve the church in a special way that goes beyond the important work that all baptized Christians are called to do. While every member of the church is called to live out their faith through service and love, my journey has led me to a deeper, more specific calling: to become an ordained pastor.
The Unique Role of Ordained Ministry
Ordination is about more than just taking on a leadership role. It’s about being entrusted with the sacred responsibilities of guiding a congregation in worship, providing spiritual care, and, crucially, administering the sacraments. The UCC sacraments of baptism and communion are vital practices that connect us with God's grace in profound ways. They are moments where we experience God’s love and presence in a tangible form. As an ordained pastor, I would have the privilege and responsibility of leading these sacraments, helping to nurture the faith and spiritual growth of our community.
The Importance of Sacraments to Me
The administration of the sacraments is deeply meaningful to me because they are core to our faith and worship. Baptism symbolizes the beginning of a person's faith journey, marking their entry into the Christian community. Communion is a continual reminder of Christ's sacrifice and our global unity as a body of believers. Being able to administer these sacraments means facilitating profound encounters with God's grace.
Additionally, while not sacraments in the UCC, weddings and funerals are pivotal moments in the faith journey of most people. Officiating at weddings allows me to bless and support couples as they commit their lives to one another before God. Conducting funerals provides an opportunity to offer comfort and hope, honoring the lives of loved ones and affirming our faith in eternal life. These moments are significant touchpoints where people deeply feel the presence of the church and God’s love, and must be taken very seriously by ordained clergy.
My Love for Liturgies and Sacred Spaces
I have a deep love for the creation of liturgies and sacred spaces. I have prepared single services and complex, 5-week long worship series, most recently the 5 weeks of Pride Month. I even wrote the entire liturgy for my own wedding in 2007, combining opposite-sex wedding liturgies from the UCC and same-sex "Holy Union" ceremonies from the Metropolitan Community Church into a single, same-sex-centric wedding liturgy, which did not exist at the time. Crafting deep, meaningful, rich, scripture-centered worship experiences is a passion of mine, and I strive to create environments where people can encounter God in profound and transformative ways.
Previous Ministry Experience
As a lay minister at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington D.C., I had the privilege of administering communion through the laying on of hands and personal prayer. This practice allowed me to deeply enrich the spiritual experience of parishioners, providing a personal and heartfelt connection to the sacred act of communion.
Why Ordination Matters to Me
I have felt a deep and growing sense of calling to pastoral ministry, one that has been affirmed through my experiences, my spiritual education, and my spiritual journey. This isn’t just a job for me—it’s a vocation. It’s about dedicating my life to serving others, providing pastoral care, preaching the Word, and ensuring that the sacraments are administered with the reverence and care they deserve, all so that people can have meaningful encounters with God.
Limitations of Commissioned and Lay Ministry
While commissioned ministers and lay ministers play crucial roles in the church, there are specific limitations that make ordination necessary for the full scope of pastoral duties:
Sacramental Authority: Only ordained ministers are authorized to administer the sacraments. This includes baptisms, communion, and other rites that are central to the spiritual life of the congregation.
Spiritual Leadership: Ordained ministers carry a recognized authority and responsibility that extends beyond that of lay ministers. This includes providing consistent and reliable spiritual leadership, which is crucial for guiding the congregation through times of change and growth.
Pastoral Care: While lay ministers can provide significant support, the pastoral care provided by an ordained minister is often seen as more authoritative and comprehensive. This can be crucial in providing counseling, mediation, and support during critical times in the lives of congregants.
The Impact of Ordination on Effectiveness
The reality is also that being an ordained minister can indeed have a bigger impact because people tend to listen to them more, treat them as authority figures, and accept more guidance from them. This greater influence stems from the formal process of ordination, which signals to the congregation that the individual has been vetted, trained, and deemed spiritually and ethically fit to lead. The ordination process builds trust and credibility, making congregants more likely to follow the guidance and teachings of ordained ministers. Social and psychological factors, such as respect for tradition and the halo effect, further enhance the authority of ordained ministers, enabling them to be more effective and impactful in their ministry.
My Gifts and Preparation
I bring a unique combination of gifts and experiences that I believe will benefit our church community. My lifelong participation in the UCC, my deep understanding of spirituality and theology, and my passion for personal and community growth all equip me to be an effective pastor. I have significant experience and formation that ensures I am ready to take on the responsibilities of ordained ministry, and I am committed—guided by the Marks of Faithful and Effective Authorized Ministers—to continuously developing myself through practical experiences and formation in order to become the best version of myself I can be.
Exhibiting a Spiritual Foundation and Ongoing Spiritual Practice: My lifelong participation in the UCC has deepened my spiritual foundation, and my commitment to ongoing spiritual practices sustains and enriches my ministry.
Nurturing UCC Identity: My work in creating inclusive liturgies and worship series, especially for Pride Month, reflects my dedication to nurturing and expressing the UCC identity and value of of Extravagant Welcome.
Engaging Sacred Stories and Traditions: Crafting deep, meaningful, scripture-centered worship experiences that have practical application in today's world showcases my ability to engage with and bring to life our sacred stories and traditions.
Caring for All Creation: Through my ministry, I strive to foster an inclusive, compassionate church, especially focusing on those who have been marginalized. Additionally, I have a deep appreciation and respect for nature and animals. From a very young age, I would spend hours of my day in the nearby woods among streams and trees, which instilled in me a profound love for the natural world. This is evidenced in my daily life by my efforts to reduce my carbon footprint, eliminate non-recyclable packaging from our home, and perform small acts of care like lovingly rescuing bees from our pool. My commitment to environmental stewardship reflects a holistic approach to caring for all of God’s creation.
Working Together for Justice and Mercy: My commitment to creating environments where people encounter God and to fostering a more inclusive church aligns with the UCC's call to work for justice and mercy. My lifelong involvement in LGBTQIA+ rights and, more recently, the work of decentering whiteness, show my further commitment to this mark.
Transformational Leadership: My experience in leading complex worship services, series and events that involve many people from throughout the church and beyond demonstrates my capacity for transformational leadership. Through 3 years of leadership as Moderator of BMUCC, I inspired and guided the congregation towards active engagement in our mission, and I continue to do that at First Church Phoenix as well.
Above all else, I have a passionate and enduring desire to help people encounter the God of love. I believe that when individuals experience and embrace their birthright to that love through grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, their lives will be transformed for the better. In feeling God's love, they will learn to love themselves and more fully love their neighbors, as Jesus commanded us to do. It took me many years before I could understand this, and I believe I can help others get there too - perhaps faster and easier than I did.
The Impact of My Ministry
Being ordained would allow me to serve our community in a fuller capacity. I want to be able to provide consistent and reliable spiritual leadership, offering guidance, resources, and support to those in need. I also believe that my unique perspective and experiences will bring valuable insights to our congregation—especially to those who have been marginalized—helping to foster a more inclusive, understanding, and compassionate church.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I am deeply committed to serving the church as an ordained pastor. I believe that this is where God is calling me to be, and I am ready to take on the responsibilities and challenges that come with this sacred role. I ask for your support in ordaining me so that I can fully live out this calling and contribute to the spiritual health and growth of our church community and the mission of caring for all creation that we can collectively make a reality in the world.
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