Soup's On!

It was just about eight years ago that the soup began to bubble. The meat had been there since early in her life, hanging out with her grandfather- who showed her the unsung wonders of the natural world- and her grandmother- who shared with her the joy of community service; the church services she attended in Arkansas, where the hellraisers and opressors of her small town spoke loudly of the pious life they would never actually live.

The vegetables were selected, washed and sliced as she found the satisfaction of stage managing high school theatre productions, and later, the hard work of keeping a law firm on an even keel. She encountered a man who had quit religion at fourteen and set out on a journey toward understanding the universe without the drama of gods, heaven or hell, and who believed that her journey was at least as important as his or anybody else's. We became a formidable team.

The fire was lit as they joined the First Unitarian Church of Orlando, finding a large group of humans who understood and cared about their journeys. That first sound of singing in the pot was heard when the Worship Associates program was begun, and she was learning the magic of turning an idea into a one-hour worship experience for a room full of people she cared about. Then there was Leadership School, General Assembly, and then working in the Florida District Office. Her Professional Organizing business, she came to understand, was ministry without the credentials. She wanted the credentials. Bubble bubble, toil and trouble.

She spent two years mopping up the remaining credits and requirements of a Bachelor's Degree, then four years ago began the joyful hard work of earning a Master of Divinity degree. We lived in Massachusetts for four years, she graduated with honors in May, and now we're in Albuquerque, with her name in lights on the corner of Commanche and Carlisle.

She still has to face the Ministerial Fellowship Committee in December. If all goes well there, she can begin her search for a congregation lo lead and follow- cats to herd. Good thing she's married to a world class cat juggler.