I returned looking for community.
A little over two years ago, I returned to First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa because I needed a spiritual community beyond recovery. The senior minister, Rev. Julie Sheridan-Smith, had also been my mentor during an earlier season in the Congregational Foundation for Theological Studies.
Over coffee, I told her she should hire me as an associate minister. Instead, she encouraged me to consider finishing the Master of Divinity I had left incomplete. I did not want to go back to school. After reflection and counsel, I decided it was the next right thing.
The call became tangible.
For the next sixteen months, I completed my M.Div. while interning at the church. I took part in men’s ministry and the high-school covenant class, preached, led services at a retirement community, and officiated funerals. Ministry became less about a title and more about being present with people in the actual moments of their lives.
Then the path changed.
I hoped FCC Wauwatosa would eventually be able to support a part-time associate position. Julie shared that she sensed my call might be different—perhaps more closely connected to recovery.
During a silent retreat in late 2025, I met Allison. Our relationship brought me to Northern Virginia, where my first prayer in her sanctuary was for the strength to love her to the best of my ability. The Wisconsin position I had hoped for later became possible, and other church openings appeared. By then, I understood that my life and calling were taking shape somewhere new. Julie married us on May 16, 2026, before family and friends.
An unfinished future.
I was ordained in April 2026 and moved to Springfield soon afterward. I arrived without a guaranteed church position or a finished blueprint. I have spent this season building a home with Allison, completing The Book of Firsts, writing, and discerning what a Luke 10 church harvest might look like in Northern Virginia.
My life has taught me that grace is not a reward for getting everything right. It is the love that meets us when we finally tell the truth and become willing to begin again.
Those experiences shape how I approach ministry today. I want to make room for people whose lives and beliefs do not fit into neat categories—for those in recovery, those carrying questions, couples learning to choose one another again, and anyone looking for a community where honesty is not a liability.