Tonight I participated in what in our denomination is called an Ecclesiastical Council, the step that enables one, when they have completed the arduous process, to be “Ordainable Pending Call.” Tonight the woman I had mentored for several years, whom I had watched blossom, became “Ordainable Pending Call.”
I don’t write a lot about matters pertaining to religion because I wanted this blog to be something that anyone regardless of background might find worth their time to read. But this is not really about religion anyway. This is about what it means to be a mentor.
“The greatest gift you can give someone is not just to share your riches but to reveal to them their own,” wrote Benjamin Disreali. What amazed me over the time we worked together was how much a gift it was to me to be involved in the process. Whatever I may have contributed to her process was enabled by my own mentoring through the years, going all the way back to grade school when Ms. Ada Tenney encouraged me to write and followed my life over decades, always impressing on me that writing would evolve out of “paying attention” to people, to life, to my experiences.
Thinking back, including Ms. Tenney, I can count thirteen people who in one capacity or another, served as mentors. A few examples:
The college advisor my sophomore year who “talked me off the ledge” of jumping ship in the middle of a semester.
The advisor my senior year who, when I was afraid to go out into the big wide world on my own, and wanted to stay to do a graduate degree that wouldn’t take me towards my career goal, said “You can do that if you want, but a Family Relations and Child Development degree will not give you the same opportunities as a Master in Social Work,” which was not available at my school. (Thank you, thank you, thank you for that nudge that made all the difference!)
My first boss at the Oklahoma Department of Public Welfare who wrote in my evaluation something to the effect that my soft, gentle demeanor belied a tougher, more substantial character, something that startled me. I began to see myself differently.
I could go on….supervisors who helped me hone my therapy skills…..mentors as I began on a path to ministry who made immense impact in my development. Think of your own. Whose gifts are you grateful for? Whose efforts helped you learn and grow? Think of those people who are thankful for your contributions to their development. Think of the benefits they will pass on to others.
May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter. Shalom, Kate “
Hope’s Café Bonus: “A mentor is someone who helps you see the hope inside yourself.” — Oprah Winfrey
Hope's Cafe 