Tania Dozeman shares some “random thoughts about the experience of a second career person’s journey toward ordination at the end of a pandemic as the UMC faces a split.”
TANIA DOZEMAN
2021 Elder Candidate for Ordination
2015
A call
surfaced
I danced
around it
Before
surrendering
all that
I knew
It was in
the awkward
pause
It was behind
“Best wishes!”
But I knew
the question
“Had I lost my mind?”
2016
I walked away
I stepped
into school
always
trying
to be
in two
places
at once
I stumbled around
I ran
into
the Spirit
and
She
filled
me
2017
Rome
Beautiful churches
Beautiful like museums
Ropes
Guards
“Silencio!”
They did not
speak Life
I kept searching
In the depths of
San Clemente al Laterano
a secret
1st-century Christian
worship space
unadorned
dimly lit
void of
pomp
and
circumstance
water
pulsating
through
an ancient
aqueduct
Revealed
She was
there
And this
is where
to stay
2018
I slipped
a symbol
of the
Trinity
on my
finger
A reminder
of this
new
commitment
2019
The clouds
parted
The Son
behind us
Love
in the
form of a
rainbow
appeared
2020
Cancer came
to my family
I had a lot of questions
There were complex answers
and a new language
I did what I had to do
When I got weary
God sent messengers
with love to putty the cracks
Then Covid came
to everyone
There were a lot of questions
There were complex answers
and a new way of being
I did what I had to do
When I got weary
God sent messengers
with love to putty the cracks
Ordination 2021
When I pause
And listen
to the earth
She whispers
Resurrection
In the unfolding
of each new green leaf
In the rhythm
of the tide
In me
When I pause
I am reminded
of my calling
to tend
and nurture
what is waiting
to be born
of God
with
faithfulness
curiosity
and
grit
~ Tania Dozeman is a provisional elder in the United Methodist Church and received her Master’s of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical in May of 2018. She has an undergraduate degree from Hope College and a master’s degree in counseling education/counseling psychology from Western Michigan University. She currently serves as the Pastor of Engagement at Holland First United Methodist Church. Prior to the unearthing of a call to ministry, she worked in public education as a teacher and as a school counselor. Tania is married to Ted and has four kids, two of whom have four legs. Inspired by a preaching professor who encouraged her to find the art form that would ground her preaching, she plays with words as a way to connect more intimately with the Spirit of God.
Last Updated on May 25, 2021