Yesterday I had one of those full circle moments in ministry. I was asked to do a presentation at Yale Divinity School about church conflict and how clergy can navigate conflict. For students who are just beginning to serve in churches and discern if this is actually what they want to do with their lives, it’s a tender time. It’s the third or fourth time I’ve done the presentation, and I always hope that something I share helps those students on their paths.

But here’s the thing… I was speaking to students from my Alma Mater too, with Andover Newton Seminary now being part of Yale Divinity School. More than that, my Conflict Mediation Training through the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center was completed because of funding I received as part of the UCC’s Next Generation Leadership Initiative (NGLI). It hit me as I was walking to my car parked at the Betts House on Yale’s campus, no one is an island. There are SO many people and institutions that help form us. And it’s amazing when it all comes together. Thanks be to God!

Photo by Rev. Lauren Ostrout