The following testimony was written as part of a letter Doris Dimpel wrote for her congregation newsletter called "Blueprints".  Doris is a member of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Brookfield, CT.

            According to the website (www.nesynodslm.com) the School of Lay Ministry (SLM) is “an opportunity for spiritual growth, fellowship and learning together.”  However, these words are quite simply not enough to adequately describe what this experience has meant to me.

            I entered the SLM program because I felt I had reached a point in my spiritual journey where God was challenging me to deeper understanding of what it means to be His child and how, at this time in my life, I can better use the gifts and talents he has given me to serve him both in and out of the church.  The SLM program is helping me find the answers to just such questions.  As the SLM community is made up of people from all walks of life, each of us at a different point in our spiritual journey, part of what makes this opportunity so exciting, is the freedom to grow and learn together, each of us bringing our own life experiences to help color the bigger picture of interpretation and understanding. 

            As some of you may know, in my former life, I was a divinity student at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, in the Candidacy Process of the ELCA.  When that door closed, I was at a point perhaps best described by Robert Frost's beloved poem, The Road Not Taken.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

                        I had no idea where God might be calling me next.  It was an unsettling time in my life as I worked through trying to regain my footing.  Then along came the opportunity to attend the School of Lay Ministry.  A little head-shy, I ventured forward, only to discover the grace of God through the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. 

                        SLM has been such a wonderful gift.  The lessons I am learning and the friendships I am forging, will no doubt stay with me long beyond the end of my second year.  I am finding that God is giving me opportunities to share these gifts with others and to fulfill my baptismal call to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”  I therefore close, but do not end, with the words of Mr. Frost:

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Your sister in Christ,

Doris