Returning

As I sit quietly enough to reflect over the past two months I recall the rush of fall semester finals, followed by the holidays, a brief break, and then a frantic push to read as many books as I could before I left for the Global Justice Trip to Chiapas, Mexico.  I managed to turn my final reflection paper in before the semester began. I am taking Preaching, Worship in the Church, and Constructive Theology. The amount of reading and work described in the syllabi is overwhelming. I have my own neurotic system of creating index cards for each assignment and cluster them together by weeks. I try to envision the time, intellectual capability, and energy to commit to these classes. I work hard to focus on the voice of gratitude over that of fear and complaint. Each index card represents new learning and an opportunity to engage in dialogue with the writer, my professor, and my classmates about issues important to our denominations and personal faith. What an extraordinary gift.

Running parallel to the school work are meetings with potential church-based internship sites for next year. I plan to do my full year internship in conjunction with the 15 hr./wk. internship required for the M.Div.  I’ve had the opportunity to preach in three Unitarian Universalist Churches this year and I am excited to enter into a deeper relationship with a congregation next year. I can already see how the courses I am taking this semester will feed directly into my leadership and skills in a church setting.  

My last area of focus is a 400/hr. spring and summer term internship with the Center for Public Ministry at United and Minnesota Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA). Several United students are doing internships within our own denominations as we work within faith communities to defeat the proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman in Nov. 2012. The long-term vision is a faith-based infrastructure that will work toward full relationship equality in Minnesota. My church, Unity Church Unitarian, has convened a multifaith group in St. Paul and I am excited to see what we can accomplish when we pool our passion, talents, and resources. As part of my internship I am chair of a committee which is planning a faith-based “Power Summit for key multifaith statewide leaders working to defeat the amendment.  I appreciate the mix of theoretical and applied learning that this semester offers.

During quiet times my thoughts return to Chiapas. On our last day a number of us hiked a steep trail in the cloud forest. The altitude added a layer of challenge as with each vertical step my lungs filled to what felt like half of their capacity. Our experience in Chiapas speaking and worshiping with indigenous communities and local leaders reminded me of how easy it is for me to walk through my life totally unaware of the unending list of privileges that my skin color, education, and socio-economic status affords me.  At the same time, I often feel my own marginalized status as a non-Christian in an ecumenical seminary and as a lesbian parent at a time in MN when it is open season on debating the value and validity of my primary relationship and family. Unitarian Universalists believe that faith is about the journey, not the destination. Without the hope of life beyond this one we need to look to this day and live it with integrity, service, and joy. I want build relationships across differences even though the air feels thinner and the steps are steeper than I ever imagined. United provides a place where I am pushed to keep climbing and where I can ask for time to rest when I need it. I’m not sure if there is a mountaintop I need to reach during my life time, but I can say for certain that the vistas along the way are breathtaking. 

- Laura Smidzik, MDiv student