The word ‘ordinary’ became important to me when I realized that the root of ‘ordinary’ and ‘ordination’ were the same. 'Ord’ means ‘regular’.
Ordination to me is about celebrating my regular self and my innate abilities. My work as a minister is to help people celebrate their ordinary selves and things that happen to them in their ordinary life cycles.
In my ordinary life, I am an artist. This is where my passion lies, and art is one of my innate gifts.
I started this painting after finishing my last class at ChI, 3 months ago. I have worked on it every day since then. It contains images that reflect on my vocation, my identity, my spirituality and my theology.
I did this painting to stay connected to the school, to my peers and to my ordination buddies. It is my way of understanding what my experience was like at the Chaplaincy Institute, and a way to prepare myself for this day.
I have used only my hands to paint. No brush has touched this canvas. This has been a way of staying as close to the process as possible. I use my hands to bless my art piece as I work the paint deeply into the places that call to me.
There are many images in this painting. Some are visible, but many are imbedded and buried, creating layers of textures. These layers created mountains and crevices. They formed as my feelings and emotions of the past year unfolded into my work.
I cannot say that this painting is all pretty and beautiful, because my work here, at this school, was not all pretty and clean and neat. My work here was hard and difficult, and I can say that this process of becoming a minister was not so ordinary for me, But this school certainly opened me up to a deeper understanding of others’ religious lives. I am also now beginning to understand my own spiritual life as one of knowing and seeing and celebrating the ordinary in myself and in all people at a deeper level.
This is my work. I am now going to finish my painting as I stand here on this beema, this stage of honor, as an interfaith minister and celebrate my out-of-the-ordinary accomplishment.
Rev. Patti Goldstein was ordained in September 2006.
