I know it's been way too long since I last wrote. I also left the blog on a sad note which was not my intent. When you're grieving it seems like time should stand still, but it doesn't. My life is living proof of that. I'm going to bullet point all the big things that have happened
- I had the opportunity to preach/testify at my church's Passion Sunday worship service. Here's a link to listen to it. If you've got time to listen, please check it out. All the speakers were amazing.
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| Here I am sharing. |
- After I testified at church I went straight to a social justice action in Chicago called Occupy Palm Sunday. This group called Community Renewal Society (CRS) planned to take over every police station in the city of Chicago to push their FAIR COPS initiative. I'm part of a group at my seminary called Seminarians for Justice. We were asked to plan one of the many actions. I was one of our co-leaders and it was amazingly successful. We had a peaceful, prayerful protest that included students, faculty, and staff. This kind of event is why I left my job to go back to school. Palm Sunday was truly a day filled with justice and joy.
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| This is the whole group that came out to Occupy Palm Sunday! |
- Easter, besides being a holiday that I celebrated, was the day of my ex's memorial service. It was very sad and difficult. I felt so awkward being there, especially since I was there with my current boyfriend. It was a lovely service. I just kept thinking what my ex would have wanted and I knew it wouldn't have been that. But I also kept in mind that memorial services, while they are for the deceased, are also for those who are still living. There still isn't a day that goes by when I don't think about him, but my grief is easing.
- Easter was followed by spring break. Tim (the bf) and I went to Florida to visit his parents. It was so nice to get away from Chicago and experience some lovely warm weather. On April 1st Tim, his parents, and I went to the Morikami Japanese Gardens. It was totally beautiful and I particularly liked it because I've always been partial to the Japanese garden at the Chicago Botanical Garden and this reminded me a lot of them. While we were there Tim proposed!!! I was so taken aback and ecstatic. Tim chose to propose on April 1st because April Fool's Day is his favorite holiday, and it also happens to be my parents' anniversary, so it was particularly special all around. The funny thing is that morning Tim assured me that he was not proposing while we were on vacation. That trickster!
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| Tim proposed by the Happy God |
- Wedding planning is in full swing. We're planning a small ceremony in Chicago for our immediate family and will be having a large party in May 2017. This is mainly because we don't want to plan a large wedding and I for sure do not want to plan it while I'm in school.
- I just finished my second semester at seminary yesterday. I'm all registered for a summer class at my seminary. As you may or may not be aware I am doing a dual degree to earn my Masters of Divinity and Masters of Social Work. Next fall I'll be starting the MSW program and I'm all registered for classes there. It feels weird to be done with my classes... but I am so grateful to have it finished.
- Tomorrow I'm heading out to Portland, OR for the United Methodist Church's General Conference. This the UMC's highest legislative body which meets every 4 years. I'm going with a group called MOSAIC. They are an arm of Reconciling Ministries Network. RMN fights for full inclusion for LGBTQ folks in the UMC. I'm excited to go be a witness and fight for inclusion.
I think that's all for my updates... it sure is a big dump and I apologize for that. Keep an eye on the blog over the next few weeks to hear more about my experience in Portland.
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