I am not a minister. However, I was privileged to be able to attend this morning’s Celebration of Ministry service as a member of the choir. Scheduled toward the end of Ministry Days (right before GA), this service honors those who have celebrated 25 and 50 years as ministers.

There were familiar faces there, from a seminarian who is a member of our church, to a beloved interim minister who has just announced her retirement. So many wonderful people, so much humor and wisdom.

And so much history! The twenty-five year speaker, Rev. Lindi Ramsden, remembered the mid-1980s, when LBGT ministers met in secret. Dick Gilbert, looking back on his fifty years, recalled serving at the 1970 Cornell commencement, shortly after Kent State, and the contentious and troubled times of the 1960s.

Most of all, I came away filled with gratitude for all the people who answer the call to ministry.