Ordination allowed me to claim my authority as a minister and it expanded the kinds of experiences and people I would come to serve over the next 15 years. These included Christian rites, weddings, baptism, funerals and memorials. It also included pastoring the West Gorham Union Church for a year, offering Sunday services at Mercy Recovery Center, and being a volunteer chaplain at Southern Maine Medical and Goodall Hospital. I earned a certificate in Spiritual Direction and have been leading individuals and groups in the practice of spiritual direction, and I became Director of Spiritual Growth at Woodfords Church in Portland.
It has been an honor to be ordained and I realize that it is my call and my faith that has ordained me, as did ChIME. ChIME offered me the training and a platform to stand on, so that I could truly allow my spiritual passion to be realized. To ChIME, my fellow classmates from that first class, and to the students that I have taught at ChIME since then, I am deeply grateful.
