Here is the first draft of the actual letter. Comments please.
Richview Council,
I am writing to you because I would like to begin the Discernment process as an Inquirer. I have been connected to the church most of my life. My Dad is a minister and when he remarried, he married a minster. My Mum is very active in her church and choir as well. So it could be said that I come by it honestly. I have been attending Richview since just after my daughter's birth in 2005 and almost immediately felt a sense of belonging there.
When I was faced with making a decision about what to do with my life in my early 20's I felt a pull towards the church. At the time I felt I wasn't really and so chose the less challenging path and became a Massage Therapist. While I do not regret this decision, the draw to the church has never left me and my call to be leadership within the church has only increased in strength. I can no longer ignore the constant urge I have to be a bigger part of the church. I have spent time working with the youth to see if that quieted the voice, but it has proven to only make it louder and put the call into concrete form. I can only attribute that to me coming closer to where I should be.
My experience with the call to ministry has been much like hiking toward a waterfall. I have known longer than even I am aware, that the call was there. As I began to move in the direction of God's purpose for me I began to hear the trickle of the water, faint and far away. With each step I have made along the path the sound of the water has become clearer. There have been times when something has distracted me and I have left the path. Then the sound of the waterfall has still been present, and those off path experiences always brought me back to the path with a stronger desire to be there. The water is now loud in my ears. The water fall is just up ahead around a bend. I can almost see it. It is time.
I do have a question regarding the support person for the Discernment process. I have someone in mind, but they are not a member of Richview. She has, however, grown up in the United Church and has known me for 9 years. She is honest and I have no doubt of her ability to be straightforward with me and challenge me throughout this process. Would she be an acceptable choice?
Thank you for your time in reading this letter and considering my request. If you have any questions or need further clarification please feel free to contact me.
Yours
Rebekah Duncan
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Deets on the Letter
Okay the letter must contain:
A request to be considered an inquirer and to beging the Discernment process.
A bit about my connection to the church.
Why I am looking at becoming a Minister. (Keeping it simple)
Closing
This is Michelle's advice.
The post isn't really a letter, I guess I wasn't very clear about that. I have never articulated my journey to this place in any way before so I figured the best way to get to a letter was to first put this stuff down on 'paper'.
I am completely in love with all of you who wrote to me, on the blog and personally. You are all so amazing and I could not ask for a better group of people to call friends. I would like to take a second to publicly acknowledge some of my best and brightest.
Sim - You rock my world and challenge my complacency. Thanks for that. I love you.
Heather - Your friendship makes it easy for me to be myself. Not something I am always comfortable being. I love you
Lisa - I will never share with another girlfriend the things we have shared. I miss you so much. I love you
Nicole - Nobody else makes me want to sing the way you do. (Or understands why I like country music). And no one has ever forced me to find my voice the way you have. I love you
Shelley - My Mommy Buddy. Our play dates are such a relief to me, you make me feel normal (a precious gift) I wish we were closer so it could be more often. I'll be back soon. I love you.
Jenny Benny - My lovely lovely spirited friend. You are so much more than anyone really knows. Thank you for sharing some of that with me. I love you
Marie - My editor. You must cringe every time you read an unedited blog post. I so wish that this distance between us would disappear. Yet I know when the need is there we will reach for each other again. I love you
Jenn K - A chat with you never fails to lift me up and allow me to breathe deeply. You are a cherished soul to me. I love you
Sandra - Your spirit and drive are inspiring. Thank you for letting me in. I love you.
Michelle - You are still new to me, but already you are inspiring me to reach for some stars that I had placed out of reach.
Allie - You keep me young, remind me how that was and why not being in my 20's is fantastic. That might sound weird, but I value that so much. Love you
Anna - I will never forget what you did for me when I was in hospital with Liam. You are a wonderful woman and I so look forward to seeing what comes next for you in your life. I know you will face that with all that makes you so special. I love you.
My Love - I can not truly express what you have done for me in my life. 14 years of friendship, 13 years of relationship and 7 years of marriage to a headcase like me. I think you might be sainted. In seriousness though, you stayed by me while I was an insecure mess (trust me, I was way worse). You stayed though I lied and hurt you, and you forgave me, lesser men would have fled. You challenge me everyday to be better. You chose me as your forever and helped me create two of the most amazing people, our children. You love me even when I hate myself. You encourage me. And so even though you are not always here you are my heart. You are what has allowed me to come to this point and to be able to continue on from here. I am still, so into you.
I also would like to slightly amend something I said.
There are times, especially since my mother-in-law passed away this past October, that the support and friendship I receive on Sunday is all I get for the week. And often it is enough to sustain me. Friends are busy, family far away, husband out of town. Church, as it has always been, is there for me, building me up.
I did not mean that my friends, family and Love do not support me. They do, they so do. I guess I mean that there are times when I am needy and their lives and priorities are not all about me. Shocking I know. In those times when I am in need of a lift and everyone else is living their own lives (again, how dare they!) the church is always there. I expect it to be, that is it's purpose.
Hope that helps
Love
Be
A request to be considered an inquirer and to beging the Discernment process.
A bit about my connection to the church.
Why I am looking at becoming a Minister. (Keeping it simple)
Closing
This is Michelle's advice.
The post isn't really a letter, I guess I wasn't very clear about that. I have never articulated my journey to this place in any way before so I figured the best way to get to a letter was to first put this stuff down on 'paper'.
I am completely in love with all of you who wrote to me, on the blog and personally. You are all so amazing and I could not ask for a better group of people to call friends. I would like to take a second to publicly acknowledge some of my best and brightest.
Sim - You rock my world and challenge my complacency. Thanks for that. I love you.
Heather - Your friendship makes it easy for me to be myself. Not something I am always comfortable being. I love you
Lisa - I will never share with another girlfriend the things we have shared. I miss you so much. I love you
Nicole - Nobody else makes me want to sing the way you do. (Or understands why I like country music). And no one has ever forced me to find my voice the way you have. I love you
Shelley - My Mommy Buddy. Our play dates are such a relief to me, you make me feel normal (a precious gift) I wish we were closer so it could be more often. I'll be back soon. I love you.
Jenny Benny - My lovely lovely spirited friend. You are so much more than anyone really knows. Thank you for sharing some of that with me. I love you
Marie - My editor. You must cringe every time you read an unedited blog post. I so wish that this distance between us would disappear. Yet I know when the need is there we will reach for each other again. I love you
Jenn K - A chat with you never fails to lift me up and allow me to breathe deeply. You are a cherished soul to me. I love you
Sandra - Your spirit and drive are inspiring. Thank you for letting me in. I love you.
Michelle - You are still new to me, but already you are inspiring me to reach for some stars that I had placed out of reach.
Allie - You keep me young, remind me how that was and why not being in my 20's is fantastic. That might sound weird, but I value that so much. Love you
Anna - I will never forget what you did for me when I was in hospital with Liam. You are a wonderful woman and I so look forward to seeing what comes next for you in your life. I know you will face that with all that makes you so special. I love you.
My Love - I can not truly express what you have done for me in my life. 14 years of friendship, 13 years of relationship and 7 years of marriage to a headcase like me. I think you might be sainted. In seriousness though, you stayed by me while I was an insecure mess (trust me, I was way worse). You stayed though I lied and hurt you, and you forgave me, lesser men would have fled. You challenge me everyday to be better. You chose me as your forever and helped me create two of the most amazing people, our children. You love me even when I hate myself. You encourage me. And so even though you are not always here you are my heart. You are what has allowed me to come to this point and to be able to continue on from here. I am still, so into you.
I also would like to slightly amend something I said.
There are times, especially since my mother-in-law passed away this past October, that the support and friendship I receive on Sunday is all I get for the week. And often it is enough to sustain me. Friends are busy, family far away, husband out of town. Church, as it has always been, is there for me, building me up.
I did not mean that my friends, family and Love do not support me. They do, they so do. I guess I mean that there are times when I am needy and their lives and priorities are not all about me. Shocking I know. In those times when I am in need of a lift and everyone else is living their own lives (again, how dare they!) the church is always there. I expect it to be, that is it's purpose.
Hope that helps
Love
Be
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)