Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Today and Tomorrow
Affirming the Spirit that connects us all.
Celebrating life’s joys and honoring its complexities.
Embracing wonder and life-long faith formation.
Working towards Justice in this world with aspirational joy for the Beloved Community of our future.
Choosing to side with love, every day.
Congregational Voices
“After spending a month working with Omega as Intern Minister, I was able to depart for a sabbatical, during a pandemic, knowing the congregation was in good hands. And it was! Her steady, warm, pastoral presence was a blessing to the congregation. Without a doubt, she knows what the minister's job is, and how to do it well."
— Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson, Senior Minister, The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, Illinois
“Omega has been able to craft a total Sunday service and give a meaningful sermon while mastering the computer skills to conduct these on-line during COVID. She shows poise, interest and empathy with people, along with knowledge and respect of how committees and a church work.”
— D.W., Chair of Ministerial Internship Committee, The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, Illinois
Uniting Heart and Mind
Many of us for whom Unitarian Universalism was not the religion of our childhoods has said (or heard said), "I was a Unitarian Universalist and I didn't even know it!" What would our world look like if more people knew about Unitarian Universalism? What would our communities look like if we weren't shy about participating as a religious and moral body in politics, government, and our society as a whole? What would our spaces and congregations look like if we were to embrace anti-oppression work and create spaces and sacred experiences that intentionally centered historically marginalized voices? What if we balance the academic and cerebral with heart-centered intuitive openness to the unknown? What if we lived into our faith with vibrancy and wonder?
The Rehnberg Memorial Window (left) is located in the narthex on the west side of The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, Illinois. Created by local glass artist, Frank Houtkamp in 1975, this window has come to symbolize Unitarian Universalism’s principles of the free and responsible search for truth and meaning and the encouragement of spiritual growth in our congregations.
Education
M.Div. (2021)
Meadville Lombard Theological School
Chicago, Illinois
Ph.D. (2009)
University of Kansas
Latin American Literature
20th Century Poetry of the Southern Cone
Dissertation: Paradictatorial Nostalgia
M.A. (1999)
University of Kansas
Hispanic Literature
B.A. (1996)
Washington University in St. Louis
Major: Spanish and Fine Arts