Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Fund for Theological Education’s Leaders in Discernment conference in Stony Point New York. The Fund for Theological Education (FTE) is an organization that promotes the education and development of young Christian religious leaders. This two and a half day event brought together young people from various denominations to talk about religious leadership and ministry. I can really only describe this experience as a blessing.
Everything about the conference was fantastic. The facility was beautiful; I made use of the outdoor labyrinth as well as getting to jump into piles of leaves around the grounds. Even better, though, was the gathered community. We were a very diverse group of Methodists, Pentecostals, Quakers, Baptists, Catholics, United Church of Christ, Unitarian Universalists, and others, but we bonded quickly and were able to share and interact deeply with one another. Throughout our time together we heard from different religious professionals about their paths to ministry, we experienced new and innovative forms of spiritual practice, and we created deep connections with our religious peers.
I have to admit, that at the beginning of the conference I was nervous about being the only Unitarian Universalist. I learned very quickly that my brand of abstract heavily love based pantheism was very different than the strong Trinitarian beliefs of the rest of the group. The inhibitions that these differences caused me were quickly shed on the second day, when I went to Courtney Goto’s intoning workshop. In this workshop, the six of us sat together with our eyes closed. Then we concentrated on a specific prayer. Finally someone started vocalizing. The vocalizations were generally long sustained vowel sounds that mixed together to form a heartbreakingly raw symphony of voices. I felt so safe and connected to the world and to the people I was with. This exercise showed me how we could all be so different as individuals, but we could come together to create something incredibly powerful.
I left the conference feeling refreshed and inspired. The people that I met are the people who will be my future colleagues in ministry, and I am so grateful already for the fantastic gifts they possess. It was eye opening for me to see such a diverse collection of people of faith come together to learn and share. Going forward I am excited to implement the knowledge I gained from this event, but I’m even more thrilled for the possibility of working with these wonderful people again.