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April-June, 2022

The First Tuesday of the Month

by Rev. Larry Glenz, Ordained Ministerial Counselor

I am very grateful for the Minister Touch-in call on the first Tuesday of the month at 11am ET. It is an opportunity for Pathways ministers to share how their ministry and their spiritual life is unfolding. It just feels good for me to share my gratitude for the program in my life that focuses me on Holy Spirit and the book that speaks God’s Word to me.

I am in my 28th year as a Course student and my 14th year as an Ordained Ministerial Counselor (O.M.C.) for my global church, Pathways of Light. I had no desire to take on a title such as Reverend or Minister. I did, however, want to take the Course deeper. Although I considered ACIM to be a self-study path of mind training, I wanted to share it with other Course students.

I explored quite a few organizations that studied the Course. They had websites and sent emails about the Workbook lessons. They hosted conferences with the most well-known authors of A Course of Miracles based literature. They published monthly or bi-monthly or quarterly magazines that gave a wealth of information for those hungry for explanations.

I do not remember what it was that most attracted me to Pathways of Light. Robert and Mary Stoelting had developed more than a global church. They had a spiritual college with both courses in Minister training and ACIM Practitioner courses for those who just wanted to take the Course deeper.

Although the ACIM Practitioner courses seemed to fit my needs and desires, I somehow ordered the first binders of the minister training courses. It seems to me now that Holy Spirit’s plan was for me to be ordained at the same time that I was retiring from my 36 years as a high school social studies teacher.

When my friends and colleagues asked me what I planned to do with my retirement at age 58, I had no answer. I knew I was passionate about the study of ACIM but I never saw myself as a reverend. I kept it quiet, however, that I had received my ordination just five months before my days in the classroom were over.

Looking back now I have to smile. I had been taught for many years to let go of my plans and listen to the Voice for God. I was lucky enough to have a nice teaching pension, a part-time job as a bartender, and a working wife. I could let the ministry unfold according the Holy Spirit’s plan. I was not to lead but merely follow.

Then my son Kevin died suddenly from a heroin overdose. Kevin had struggled for seven years of opiate addiction. He had several periods of recovery, followed by eventual relapses. But a year before his fatal relapse, he had recovered in a rehab in Iowa, lived with loving cousins in Iowa, fell in love with a beautiful woman and had a baby girl, Olivia. He looked like he was doing well.

The tragedy of losing my son sent me deeply into the arms of the Holy Spirit. I asked for strength to help me and my family to heal from the unimaginable pain from this loss. I wanted to be strong for Kevin’s only brother, for his mom, for my wife Laura, and all those who loved Kevin.

And God gave me the strength I asked for. I wrote and published the book Forgiving Kevin in less than two years from the time of his passing. I receive many invitations to speak to middle school, high school, and college students. I greatly enjoyed that.

I council parents of addicted kids and console those that have lost their child to opioid overdoses. I attend Al-Anon meetings and have coffee or lunch with those people who want to talk about their difficulty in experiencing addiction in a loved one.

During all these years I have had people reach out to me in different ways.. The only professional training I had was my devotion to Holy Spirit through my Minister Training and ACIM Practitioner courses of Pathways of Light.

I continue to coach the same lacrosse team for the past 50 years; the last 14 as a volunteer assistant. I feel like I am the unofficial team chaplain. I focus on the brotherhood and the loving connection we are developing — a deep friendship that lasts a lifetime.

I put the Holy Spirit in charge of my ministry. People and opportunities just seem to show up. I receive invitations to speak publicly and also meet individually. Nothing seems to heal me more than speaking with others who are suffering and letting God’s Voice guide me. My favorite function as a Reverend, however, is to officiate the weddings of my family, friends, and former students and athletes. It is a great joy.

My ministry has developed on its own with Spirit in charge. It is an unconventional ministry but it seems to have been given to me. I have a weekly ACIM group and work individually as a mind healing partner with students studying the ACIM Practitioner courses from Pathways of Light. I also participate weekly on the Pathways Sunday service teleconference and develop friendships with Pathways ministers.

On the first Tuesday of the month, I enjoy speaking and listening to the Minister Touch-in call. The ministers share how their spiritual journey fulfills them despite the challenges and lessons learned from both enjoyable and unenjoyable circumstances.

The Minister Touch-in has become a favorite space to express and share my experiences as a minister. I feel the gratitude that the ministers express for the Guidance they have been given. And I am grateful for my ministry every day.

© 2022, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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