Spring 2015 – Update

Greetings from Tulsa, Oklahoma  – Church Internship – April 28, 2015

This is a long overdue update! I am happy to report that I arrived in Tulsa on March 21 for a 10-week church internship as part of my required course work toward my Masters of Divinity. My host church is Unity Church of Christianity (UCoC) where Rev. Mary Anne Harris is the spiritual leader. I had the pleasure of traveling to Italy with Rev. Mary Anne and several of her congregants in October 2012. But we go further back than that! I became acquainted with her in 2001 in northern California at Tri-Valley Unity. So we’ve both moved around a bit but stayed connected. It has been a great learning experience here and I’m sure this stay in Tulsa will serve me well in the years ahead as I launch my own ministry.

The first few months of this year have flown by. Not only was I busy in January with co-chairing the Martin Luther King, Jr. event at Unity Institute and Seminary, but I also went through a series of interviews for the Licensing and Ordination (L&O) process in late January. I am two/thirds of the way to completion of the educational and ordination process. My anticipated graduated date is June 2016 (next year). It was two years ago that I left my corporate job and drove to Unity Village, Missouri, to start the ministerial program. I am still happy with my decision!

I did a little singing for Rev. Sandra Campbell at Unity Temple on the Plaza, in Kansas City, MO on February 15, for her Black History Month sermon. Rev. Sandra did an excellent job describing the history of gospel music, and I had a chance to bring out my gospel roots on “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” The fine musical staff, Jerome Johnson, and the choir at Unity Temple of the Plaza rounded out the morning of jubilant musical renditions. I was also invited to be the guest speaker at Unity Spiritual Center in Springfield, MO, on February 22. For the most part, seminary has kept me very busy!

So far during my church internship, I have been greeted and surrounded by this warm, generous, loving faith community at UCoC who’s had my back and is loving me right where I am. I sang on Easter Sunday, gave the Sunday morning talk on April 19, and was worship leader on April 26. They’re keeping me hoppin’. I love it! I am so very grateful to be staying with one of the congregants in a comfy little room overlooking a pond with a fountain (ducks and all); yay for my room, my bed, and my own little desk to study. (Thank you to my gracious host – Ms. Diane Pinsart and her dog Bailey…for sharing their space with me.)

I do miss singing – – so, every now and then when I feel a song coming on, I just let it come on out (LOL). By trusting the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, I am finding the right and perfect balance of my gifts in ministry. THANK YOU GOD!

ALSO, THANK YOU for your love, support, encouragement, and prayers as I continue to shape, hone, and cultivate the ministry to which I believe I have been called. I am in high gratitude! Have a blessed day all day!

More later….

Love & blessings,

Dinah