One unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, (CPE) is required by the UUA for aspiring ministers, and I chose to do my ten week CPE in Greenville, South Carolina so I could be near my fily that summer. I had been working with life threatened people for over a year during seminary and felt that I wa better prepared than most for this experience. Less than one week into my training at Greenville Hospial System, the major ruma center for the Upstate of South Carolina, and the only chaplain on call, I responded to a terrible tragedy that would leave me dazed for weeks and that challenged everything I believed in. I even considered leaving seminary, but instead I began a desperate search for answers that led me to a new understanding of pryer and a deep respect for the work of chaplaincy.

 My wareness of injustice and gross human error came at age six when I witnessed the almost daily paddling of a mentally handicapped child in my first grade class. It was this haunting memory, I believe, that led me to seek solutions to the inequities of life and finally to the ministry over forty yers later. I will share my spiritual journey an what I learned about facing fears and finding the healing power of love amid the turmoil.