Sister Amy Jahn de Torrez, AiM, Director of Outreach Ministries
As of 1pm yesterday, that's officially my new title.
The AiM--Associate in Ministry--is what makes it different from my title before 1pm yesterday, when I was Commissioned and Installed at Christ Lutheran Church.
On my better, not-so-bitter judgement, I won't complain about this process on livejournal. A friend of mine out here, who works for the ELCA, has encouraged me to write my reflections on this three-year journey and hand them in to those who work in the office in Chicago, that they might have a close-up understanding of how an LDA Deaconess (square peg) becomes rostered in the ELCA (round hole).
Instead, I'll celebrate how good it feels to be done with it all. I'll celebrate that these three letters might make it easier for me in the future to stand up for things like my salary, benefits and pension with a national church backing me. I'll celebrate that these three letters give me the right to vote at my upcoming Synod Assembly. I'll celebrate the fact that someday, someone might consider me more qualified for a job than I was before because I have these three letters following my name. And, I will celebrate that the next time someone asks me to jump through hoops in order to somehow make my life easier, I hopefully won't go through as much of an emotional and theological crisis. It's just not worth it.
Okay, that just sounded like complaining....but that's where I am right now. Today, these are the positive elements that I can find in having completed the rostering process. Hopefully someday I'll have some more substantial reasons to celebrate.
The AiM--Associate in Ministry--is what makes it different from my title before 1pm yesterday, when I was Commissioned and Installed at Christ Lutheran Church.
On my better, not-so-bitter judgement, I won't complain about this process on livejournal. A friend of mine out here, who works for the ELCA, has encouraged me to write my reflections on this three-year journey and hand them in to those who work in the office in Chicago, that they might have a close-up understanding of how an LDA Deaconess (square peg) becomes rostered in the ELCA (round hole).
Instead, I'll celebrate how good it feels to be done with it all. I'll celebrate that these three letters might make it easier for me in the future to stand up for things like my salary, benefits and pension with a national church backing me. I'll celebrate that these three letters give me the right to vote at my upcoming Synod Assembly. I'll celebrate the fact that someday, someone might consider me more qualified for a job than I was before because I have these three letters following my name. And, I will celebrate that the next time someone asks me to jump through hoops in order to somehow make my life easier, I hopefully won't go through as much of an emotional and theological crisis. It's just not worth it.
Okay, that just sounded like complaining....but that's where I am right now. Today, these are the positive elements that I can find in having completed the rostering process. Hopefully someday I'll have some more substantial reasons to celebrate.