Every year the UUA Office of Multicultural Growth and Witness offers a retreat for UU Professionals who identify as People of Color, African American, Afro-Caribbean, Latina/o, Hispanic, Native American/Indigenous, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Middle Easterners, and/or multiracial and multiethnic.

Our retreat is called “Finding Our Way Home” and its purpose is to engage in community building, spiritual reflection, and collegial support while connecting participants with local community organizations as partners in service, witness, and advocacy.

This year we gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and there were approximately 125 of us, including Religious Educators, Musicians, Ministers in fellowship, Ministerial Candidates and Seminarians, Administrators, and UUA Staff.

We received inspiration and support from each other, and from our own UUA President, Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, who stated: “What a joy it was to gather with over 100 fabulous Unitarian Universalist Religious Professions of Color at the annual Finding Our Way Home gathering. I still feel my heart singing and full of prayer and gratitude.” Our Keynote Presenter was Melvin Bray, an Emmy award-winning storyteller, social entrepreneur, and author of the bestselling book “BETTER: Waking Up to Who We Could Be.”

While the topics were deep and sometimes difficult to process, we created brave space ministered to each other, and even had time to explore local museums and go to the movies to see “A Wrinkle in Time” together. I had the privilege and honor of being a Chaplain, which always fills me with gratitude and reaffirms my calling to the Ministry.

I am grateful for all the opportunities to be immersed in the “big picture” of our denomination, to grow as a minister, and to bring back hope and good news to my beloved Starr King community. Our UU movement is growing, being nourished, and experiencing tremendous transformation in order to live into our principles and covenants with each other. I am home in our Unitarian Universalist Faith and in our beloved Starr King congregation.