My name is different. Then? Anna Barrett. Now? Anna Guillozet.
My home is different. Then? Ada, Ohio. Now? Columbus, Ohio.
My status within the United Methodist Church is different. Then? Laity. Now? Clergy.
Of all of the things have brought me to the place I find myself now, Exploration was a stand out experience in getting me to where I am now.
A junior at Ohio Northern University, I journeyed to Tampa in 2006 to hang out with my friends and hopefully try to piece together an identity which would carry me after college. What I got was so much more...
There I met a (now dear) friend who shared with me what it was like to enroll in seminary, have a partner who stood by her but understood that her calling was her own, and what calling looked like in her life.
Three years later, I went to Dallas as a second year seminarian, clear of my calling to the order of elder in the United Methodist Church. I served as a small group leader to eight smart, gifted, and called young adults (with whom I still talk today). I kept in my head the experience I had in Tampa, hoping to be the person who shaped the life of a young person in a way that was meaningful. All eight young adults in my small group are living God's call in their lives in ways that a powerful. Few are pursuing ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church.
I know that as I attend Exploration 2011 I will be the one being blessed. There are few things more sacred than to live among the questions. Young adults from across the country will come together to explore, question, form, talk, laugh, sing, worship and pray together. Of all the ways in which God is calling me to ministry, I am blessed to witness Passion and Possibility.
A junior at Ohio Northern University, I journeyed to Tampa in 2006 to hang out with my friends and hopefully try to piece together an identity which would carry me after college. What I got was so much more...
There I met a (now dear) friend who shared with me what it was like to enroll in seminary, have a partner who stood by her but understood that her calling was her own, and what calling looked like in her life.
Three years later, I went to Dallas as a second year seminarian, clear of my calling to the order of elder in the United Methodist Church. I served as a small group leader to eight smart, gifted, and called young adults (with whom I still talk today). I kept in my head the experience I had in Tampa, hoping to be the person who shaped the life of a young person in a way that was meaningful. All eight young adults in my small group are living God's call in their lives in ways that a powerful. Few are pursuing ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church.
I know that as I attend Exploration 2011 I will be the one being blessed. There are few things more sacred than to live among the questions. Young adults from across the country will come together to explore, question, form, talk, laugh, sing, worship and pray together. Of all the ways in which God is calling me to ministry, I am blessed to witness Passion and Possibility.
I ask that you pray with me. Pray for the young adults attending. Pray for those who will travel to support them in understanding calling. Pray that God will open their hearts to a great calling, unique to each young person. Pray that the young adults leave the event not with answers, but equipped to ask the challenging questions.
What are the meaningful experiences of call in your life? What questions are you still in the midst of asking?
What are the meaningful experiences of call in your life? What questions are you still in the midst of asking?
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1 comment:
Hey Anna! Wish we had been able to cross paths at Explo last weekend as fellow bloggers! So glad to read your stuff, though!
One random thing, though, since I was there too ... Explo 2006 (where I solidified my call to Deacon's orders!) was actually in Jacksonville, FL.
Extra weird for me, though, because five years later I'm serving in the FL conference! Blessings on your ministry!!
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