Seasonal Minister

In June of 1994 I was ordained as an Interfaith Minister in the great Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. It was a very hot and humid day. The weather leading up until then had been lovely. The sky was clear blue and the air was fresh and clear. A couple of days before the weather turned quickly and a front loaded up and the humid was unbearable.

This is New York City weather in the Summer. You never know if you need a wrap or a strapless dress. Such is life. It surprises.

The day of the ordination was unbearably humid. The sky was brutal bright with heat. All of the seminarians were lined up in their lovely white albs which stuck to them like tissue paper to the skin. Our well coiffed hair dissolved into cotton fuzz and our faces had a permanent sheen that was not just from the aura of spirituality. At some point the sky darkened to a deep purple black and the thunder rumbled deep across the city skyline. While we happily processed the skies opened and those who had not made it into the Cathedral were trapped under the weathers influences.

The ordination was long. Really long. We sang, prayed, sang, prayed some more. There were speeches, sermons and in between we were ordained. By the time we left we were the soggiest bunch of newly ordained ministers you would ever care to meet. But... we were happy.

Since then I have done workshops, classes and one on one consultations. During ministerial studies and there after I volunteered working with AIDS and patients with life threatening illnesses. Mostly I enjoy baby blessings,and weddings. I have never had to do a funeral but I have held the hand of many a sorrowful person.

In 1994 I was ordained under the worst kind of weather. I am a seasonal minister.