In June 2022, I stood in front of my seminary directors, deans, and classmates and made my personal vows of ministry. Speaking our vows was part of our ordination ceremony. The two years of seminary were challenging, personally and for the whole class. When we started, we were still in the first year of the COVID pandemic. The once hybrid program had to be adapted to being fully online. Our class got to know each other on Zoom. I remember, when we were together in person for the first time at the retreat that included the ordination ceremony, being surprised by our height differences, having never seen more than heads and shoulders in boxes on the screen.
The vows were a big deal. We were each asked to take our Interspiritual education and distill it down to what our individual ministries would look like. What were we willing to commit to? I struggled to write my vows, because I could not, at that point, define my ministry. What I eventually did was write something I thought was very general, and that encompassed wildlife rehabilitation as well as whatever I would end up doing once I had “Reverend” in front of my name. I did not know then that I was realigning myself to a path I had already been walking and that would be demanding more of me in the days to come.
My vows started with: “I vow to commit my hands and my heart.”
Right there, I offered my hands in service. I did not commit my mind or my voice, but my hands, to the work of my ministry. I promised to do stuff. Looking back, I was probably thinking about taking care of turtles, but I left it open for the Earth to show me what needed to be done to take care of the biosphere.
Then I committed my heart to the work, too. Whatever it was that I was going to be doing, I was going to be feeling. The heart generates many emotions, from love and joy to anger, despair, and grief. I promised to bring them all into the service of my ministry.
While I, of course, do lots of thinking and speaking as a minister, I also get my hands dirty often. Despite being in grad school and studying heady topics like philosophy and religion, I never feel like a scholar. Sometimes I chose an outfit from my “green academia” wardrobe before I dive into research just to feel like a scholar, but my clothes do not stop me from being distracted by the squirrels in my yard. My outfit also does not stop my heart from breaking for an injured turtle or a felled tree. I made a promise, after all.