Starting Out

Hello!

My spiritual journey has been going on for many, many years, but I'm on a new fork in the proverbial road. I'm hoping that with this online journal, I'll help others who are discerning their own paths, and maybe even illuminate my own. Writing is a big part of my life. I teach essay writing as an English professor, and I also teach literature. I write poetry. I listen to music, especially to the lyrics. Words surround me. So I'll be attempting to imbue my journey with words as I reflect on changes, challenges and the joys of my walk with God. I hope you'll join me and add to my insight, and maybe to your own!

As a starting point, I'll share some basics about my life that I plan to elaborate on later. I'll work backwards and see how that goes. I'm a member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Aurora, IL. It's a small-ish church that is growing and changing. I've been here since Christmastime 2004. In fact, I remember my first day with the week before the first Sunday in advent, and I stayed for a brunch served to the members who decorated the church after services. I talked and talked to our then priest, Fr. Burden, and was really taken in. I've been here ever since! I'm on the Worship team, serving at the altar, serving as a lector, and doing lots and lots of other projects. I love it!

Before I came to Trinity, I was a member in churches in Copperas Cove, TX and Duluth, MN. I was active in those congregations too. I came to the Episcopal Church in Duluth through St. Paul's church, and was received into the church in 1996.

Before joining the Episcopal Church in Duluth, I stayed out of church altogether while I was in college. I was discerning what I wanted and didn't want in a church family. You'll see why...

My first church was Our Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church in Tucson, AZ. I was baptised there as an infant, went to school there from Kindergarten through 8th grade, received First Holy Communion, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and Confirmation. I can still recite even lesser-known prayers like "Hail Holy Queen," thanks to the nuns and lay teachers during those nine years of education. My parents were active in the church and regularly gave of their paychecks to help the church. They showed me what it meant to be a full member of a church family. But they separated and divorced when I was in high school and were effectively banished from that family. It caused me a lot of confusion and sent me searching for a family that I could more fully trust and invest my life in.

In future posts, I'll explore how this past has colored my present life and where I'm headed. I think I'm in for a bit of a roller coaster ride, so I'm currently trying to locate that bar that can hold me in my seat. Is it behind me or what???