Journey

copyright Tracy Webster

My journey to the ministry has been and will continue to be a long and winding road. I was born and raised a Unitarian Universalist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My Dedication was at First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, where I attended church there until the age of four. My family then moved to Unitarian Universalist Church West located just outside of Milwaukee, where I remain a relatively active member. Journeying through my childhood and adolescent years at these churches, I gradually realized how inherently spiritual I was and interested in the very large and mysterious questions I was being introduced to during Religious Education classes and services. My interests in church leadership and volunteerism also grew during my high school years.

It was upon graduating high school and entering college, however, that I truly began to realize my call to ministry. It came when I sat down with the Chair of the Religious Studies Department at DePaul University. Ft. Jim Halstead O.S.A., a progressive Augustinian priest with over 20 years of experience at DePaul, explained to me the beauty and complexity of religious studies. He explained the study of religion in a way that was poetic, timely, and fulfilling. I knew at that moment that I was meant to learn under this highly regarded academic program. With every class I took, religious studies or otherwise, my worldview became continually challenged, broadened, and therefore enhanced as I began to see more and more the beauty of this world and of humanity.

All of these experiences have brought me here, to seminary, to this next era in my life. I feel excited and blessed to be on this wonderful journey. These next few years will be very formative and I look forward to sharing my thoughts and reflections about these experiences with all of you.