I am home from Chicago, where Meadville Lombard Theological School is located. I am feeling refreshed and energized! It was great to see the other seminarians again and I am taking two awesome classes this semester– UU History and Polity and Faith Formation in a Changing World. They are both required courses but I can tell already that they are going to be highly engaging and informative! What’s even better is that Helen is in these classes, too! We will be learning about how Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists organized themselves, practiced their religion, formed and changed their beliefs, and engaged in social justice. Our Faith Formation class is all about UU religious education! I look forward to sharing my learnings with you through sermons, at meetings (in practical ways), and in conversation.

Chicagoland also happens to be the place where I grew up, in the suburb of Glen Ellyn. I took a train out to my hometown on the Tuesday that I was there and didn’t have class. I spent some time sitting by the little lake there (Lake Ellyn, it’s called), reflecting and journaling, and saying hello to folks as they walked by. I walked by my grandparents house, visited some shops downtown, and enjoyed a Chicago hot dog from the vendor on the corner. It got me thinking a lot about belonging (our September monthly theme) and in what ways I feel like I still belong to that special place. I look forward to sharing and reflecting with you throughout this month. September 18th will be an Autumn Equinox service in which we explore “belonging to place”.

Feel free to ask me more questions about my seminary experience and let me know what parts of our UU faith you are interested in!