Missy Rogers

Missy Rogers

I came to Unitarian Universalism in 2014 in California.  It had been decades since I had given any consideration to my own spiritual life, and it seemed like the right time to re-engage that part of my life. From the very first UU service I attended, I knew that was the place for me to discover what a spiritual life might look like at that stage of my life.

In 2016, I moved from California to New Jersey, knowing only one person and a couple of her friends. Top priority was finding a UU church that would be my new spiritual home. Beacon was it. I needed care and Beacon was the place that felt like there was enough…enough community and enough love. It felt like I could take what I needed from this community without draining it.

However, I knew the best way for me to connect with others was through volunteering and working side-by-side with folks.  I’m one of those people who tend to avoid things like coffee hour! So I reached out to Emilie and shared my story and my desire to get involved in small ways. Little did I know at the time that I played into one of her great strengths….connecting people!

It takes time, of course, rooting yourself in relationships. It takes intention and attention. The Beacon community and I…we gave those. 

Beacon is for me a cornerstone. A place that is solid enough to allow me to learn, make mistakes, repair mistakes, grow, heal, be challenged, be vulnerable, be bold. There are not a lot of places in this world that allow for all that.