New York, NY

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Rev. Dr. Rosemary C. Hyde,

It has been a long time since I've come here to play. In fact, I think this may be the first time since last summer. Whenever I came for a seminary weekend, I'd add a few extra delightful days to the stay to visit with friends, see a museum, attend a show, walk, reflect, enjoy a park, write…. I owe my friend Harry a huge debt of gratitude for having generously invited me to stay with him while I was here.

A year ago this week, I was ordained as an interfaith minister and graduated from seminary at majestic Riverside Church. I'm happy to be able to come back to attend graduation as an already ordained minister and to participate in graduation for several of my friends who are taking that huge step this year. As I do, I'll be rejoicing over an amazing year in which I've felt fortunate to feel I 've been making a difference in the lives of community members at Unity Center of Peace in Chapel Hill. Being in a One Spirit Interfaith Seminary class was awesome, and being a graduate is equally amazing.

I will feel proud to wear my ministerial robes (Nancy calls it “wearing drag;”)

As I was riding in the car from LaGuardia Airport toward the majestic buildings of Manhattan, I felt joy in my spirit to be here again. It's a place that's been a magical adventure all my life, from the stories my relatives told of visiting the New York World's Fair in 1939, the year I was born, to the moment of my graduation the first Sunday in June of 2012. Although I grew up on the widest fringe of New York influence, in Rhode Island, New York always called to me. When Ellen and I got together in 1999, I was thrilled that she was a New Yorker, and loved the time we spent together in her beautiful loft in her home town. It was then that I adopted New York as my home town, as well.

This week, I plan to do all the things I enjoyed doing while I was in seminary — as I honor the first anniversary of my ordination in prayer and reflection as well as gourmandise and fellowship. It's a fantastic combination of ways to celebrate!

About Rev. Dr. Rosemary C. Hyde,

I am a grandmother, a classical homeopath, a mystical poet, and an interfaith minister. I also have a large, enduring place in my heart for Paris. I first spent time in Paris in 1961, as a Fulbright scholar. I remained in France for three years, living also in Toulouse and in Nancy. I have revisited France and Paris multiple times since then, and have come to know The city and surroundings quite well. I grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where there were many Franco-Americans, and their language fascinated me. I was fortunate in 6th grade, when my family moved, to find myself in a Catholic French speaking girls' school, where I had the wonderful fortune of becoming bilingual. It still feeds my soul deeply, to visit Paris, speak French, and reconnect with the little French girl in me. I am serving presently as President of the global online Peace Initiative called LivingPeaceNow.Org. We are bringing together worldwide in 3 languages — English, French, and Spanish— small groups of Connected Peacemakers to help deepen and hold Peace globally with their thoughts, words, and actions. My goal as a minister is to add richness to life for those who resonate to more than one religious tradition or to none -- those with mixed religions as well as the unchurched, untempled, and unmosqued. All of us, whatever our cultural allegiances, hunger for and need support in finding the transcendent joy that's ours to find in this earthly life. All of us need and want to celebrate beautifully the great and small milemarker moments. All of us crave the beauty of prayer as an expression of our participation in universal love. All of us wish to learn a greater vision, to see our lives opening to the Divine. All of us desire deeply to find serenity and peace that lasts no matter what happens today and tomorrow. This is the meaning of Transcendessence. We find the essence of spirit and transcend the narrow constraints of our bodies and egos. Join us today by subscribing, so you won't miss a single poem, message, prayer, or meditation. And for more varied and beautiful spiritual resources check out the Living Peace Now Facebook page and our website: http://LivingPeaceNow.Org.
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