It is a whirlwind getting on the Notre Dame campus, getting set up in our rooms and beginning classes but it is so wonderful to be on campus!

Of course I get challenged right off the bat when we were asked to introduce ourselves. It was a conscience effort to identify myself not by a job or parish because at this point I had neither. I shared I had been at Vision for the past four years and this was my fifth time attending the leadership conference. Then I shared that I was unemployed, though I had worked in ministry for just over 14 years and that this week was about me discerning my next step.

Later in the day as we were transitioning to another space, a woman I’d met approached me to ask me what had happened. Another person whom I’d met through attending the conference in previous years inquired about the situation which I shared the cliff notes version with him. I became aware that this is part of the healing process for me and an opportunity for me to share my faith with others. It was nice to have the support of people who did similar work as I did show me compassion. I didn’t have to share the whole story but they new I was hurting and had been treated in an “unchristian” manner.