I am excited to be facilitating my first inclusivity workshop this weekend in Southern California at Unity of the Oaks, Sunday, February 19, 2017, 12 to 2 p.m. See attached flyer. If ever there was a time to engage and heal our world, it is now!
Bye-Bye, Summer!
Greetings! As you probably recall, I graduated with a Masters of Divinity from Unity Institute and Seminary and was ordained as a Unity Minister June 9th at Unity Village. It was a joyous occasion! I am so grateful for all the support, encouragement, and prayers as I followed my heart and answered the call to ministry. Thank you to all who attended the ceremony and celebrations and to those who showed their love by sending cards and gifts! I am grateful and I know that I am blessed by your outpouring of true, genuine support.
I am currently working at my home church Unity Church of San Leandro in the northern California Bay Area as Associate Minister. Many have asked if I will continue singing. The answer is “Yes!” As a matter of fact, feedback from so many of you re-confirms for me that music is foundational for my ministry and most likely always will be. I am still available for singing engagements as well as speaking engagements.
Music is such a great part of how I express God’s gifts and the message of love and Oneness. I feel like my creativity is waking up from a long hiatus, which probably has to do with the right-brain research part of me working on overtime through school. Now, that the program is complete, there’s some blossoming and re-surfacing of my imagination faculty going on. HeartMath – TM experts say that when we are stressed our creative side shuts down. So I am doing a lot of walking and contemplating. When we access our hearts, our creative side blossoms!
I feel the joy rising!
So, …the eagle (me) has finally landed…I had to massage my cheeks from smiling so much. OH THE JOY! Again, I am so very grateful for all the outpouring of love. Already, I’ve had several opportunities to speak and sing. It is truly a blessing! Life is good!
The Birdie on the Beach
On my birthday last year, I sat on the beach watching the waves roll in and out across the white sands of Bermuda. I wanted go some place special for my birthday, and so I did. I have been divorced for over 20 years, and strangely, I don’t feel lonely. There is a difference between “lonely” and “alone.” I believe life is what you make it, and if we don’t learn to celebrate what’s good in our lives we humans can end up “lonely.”
I don’t have to worry about outrunning “lonely” when I know that I can never really be alone. Everyone who crosses my path, I consider to be some unique manifestation of God’s love. The Presence of God is always surrounding, enfolding, and indwelling me. I did not always feel this way. I had to put some time into developing this awareness – – it took practice, practice, and more practice spending time getting still and quiet enough to receive the love that was pouring into my life. Nowadays, there is so much help to get us spiritually in tune and out of the reactionary, emotionally hijacked states with which we might have been conditioned as we were coming along in our childhoods. For me, spiritual growth has come in many ways and not always in a straight-line progression all the time, but perhaps a curvy line.
So as I took my Bermuda birthday beach walk, I had time to sit and just look at the ocean and the sky. I looked out as far to the horizon as I could, and I felt swallowed up in the vastness of space. I felt so tiny. I felt like I had the whole beach to myself and loved every minute of it. Gratitude welled up in me as I reflected on all the decades of my life, each decade was a huge leap in the right direction with many turns and missteps along the way. But overall, forward progress.
Actually, I spotted about eight of us on the beach that day; I remember two couples and a couple of joggers, and me. And then…I spotted this bird, undaunted by my presence and unmoved by the waves. I watched the bird. The bird seemed very focused on looking for the tiniest bit of seafood in the sand. This led me to focus on God as Infinite Source of everything and Jesus’ words about considering the lilies of the field and how they neither toil nor spin. This bird seemed so unconcerned about the possibility of a wave spla
shing upon it, or about any joggers coming toward it. Just as a wave would roll in, the bird quickly hopped up just in the nick of time and never got close to being splashed by a wave. “Good instincts!” I thought. Then I thought again, “noooo, it’s more than that; when you know how to fly, you don’t WORRY about the waves!”
I think I’ll take a lesson from this little bird and rise up and live as if I have the whole beach of life to myself in joyful freedom and not be worried about the waves of drama, despair, or loneliness. Wow!…all this from a little birdie on the beach. I was in good company that day on the beach.
Classes finished!
It was three years ago, I left my job. My sister and I drove to Missouri so that I could start seminary. Stopping at the Grand Canyon seemed to signal to me the vastness of the experience into which I was about to leap. My faith said “You got this!” Holding to that faith and that initial still small voice carried me through all the way. And now…
I am happy to announce as of March 10, I have finished all coursework for my Masters of Divinity at Unity Institute and Seminary! When I returned to California in December, I went to work right away part-time at Unity Church of San Leandro as Assistant to the Minister. It has been a joy to work in this loving spiritual community. Now, the countdown has begun. Graduation is approaching fast on June 9th, and I will be flying back to Unity Village for the ceremony and celebration. I am also anticipating ordination at that time. My heart is full of so much gratitude for the past three years of my seminary experience. I stand on the shoulders of so many great, wise spiritual teachers! So many prayers and words of encouragement kept me marching to the finish line. Thank you, all! I have come to realize, a finish line is always the start of something new! I’m excited to see what is unfolding in my life as God continues to reveal each step of the way!
-DC
Summer 2015 Update – Another Church Internship Completed!
I hope you had a wonderful, restful Labor Day weekend!It’s been a great summer! I really wanted to update my webpage more often, but by now I’ve learned that seminary takes a lot of my time. For 10 weeks, I was doing my church internship at Unity of Washington, DC. It was an amazing experience to shadow my mentoring minister, Rev. Sylvia Sumter, a visionary, who has had over 30 years experience in ministry to share with me. Rev. Sylvia opened the door and let me come right on in! Anything can arise on a given day that call upon her pastoral skills, administrative and financial, or community interfacing. The church is about to celebrate its 95th anniversary as well as Rev. Sylvia’s 30 years in ministry.
It was so valuable seeing their Love-In-Action teams, ministerial support, media team, usher/greeters, music ministry, bookstore operations, youth education, Next Generation Unity, Board of Trustees, and hospitality teams in action. There is truly a sense of community that is woven into the culture of this vibrant, giving community. I could feel their loving, prosperous, joyous, and spirit-filled passion and their belief in their mission. I had the opportunity to hold sacred space and participate in memorials, christenings, prayer and healing services, and give the Sunday morning message on July 12. I also got a chance to sing a couple of times. I will always treasure their warm, welcoming embrace and the encouragement they gave me all along the way! Unity of Washington, DC – you rock!!! Thank you for the flowers, and THANK YOU, AGAIN and AGAIN!
Spring 2015 – Update
Greetings from Tulsa, Oklahoma – Church Internship – April 28, 2015
This is a long overdue update! I am happy to report that I arrived in Tulsa on March 21 for a 10-week church internship as part of my required course work toward my Masters of Divinity. My host church is Unity Church of Christianity (UCoC) where Rev. Mary Anne Harris is the spiritual leader. I had the pleasure of traveling to Italy with Rev. Mary Anne and several of her congregants in October 2012. 
But we go further back than that! I became acquainted with her in 2001 in northern California at Tri-Valley Unity. So we’ve both moved around a bit but stayed connected. It has been a great learning experience here and I’m sure this stay in Tulsa will serve me well in the years ahead as I launch my own ministry.
The first few months of this year have flown by. Not only was I busy in January with co-chairing the Martin Luther King, Jr. event at Unity Institute and Seminary, but I also went through a series of interviews for the Licensing and Ordination (L&O) process in late January. I am two/thirds of the way to completion of the educational and ordination process. My anticipated graduated date is June 2016 (next year). It was two years ago that I left my corporate
job and drove to Unity Village, Missouri, to start the ministerial program. I am still happy with my decision!
I did a little singing for Rev. Sandra Campbell at Unity Temple on the Plaza, in Kansas City, MO on February 15, for her Black History Month sermon. Rev. Sandra did an excellent job describing the history of gospel music, and I had a chance to bring out my gospel roots on “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” The fine musical staff, Jerome Johnson, and the choir at Unity Temple of the Plaza rounded out the morning of jubilant musical renditions. 
I was also invited to be the guest speaker at Unity Spiritual Center in Springfield, MO, on February 22. For the most part, seminary has kept me very busy!
So far during my church
internship, I have been greeted and surrounded by this warm, generous, loving faith community at UCoC who’s had my back and is loving me right where I am. I sang on Easter Sunday, gave the Sunday morning talk on April 19, and was worship leader on April 26. They’re keeping me hoppin’. I love it! I am so very grateful to be staying with one of the congregants in a comfy little room overlooking a pond with a fountain (ducks and all); yay for my room, my bed, and my own little desk to study. (Thank you to my gracious host – Ms. Diane Pinsart and her dog Bailey…for sharing their space with me.)
I do miss singing – – so, every now and then when I feel a song coming on, I just let it come on out (LOL). By trusting the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, I am finding the right and perfect balance of my gifts in ministry. THANK YOU GOD!
ALSO, THANK YOU for your love, support, encouragement, and prayers as I continue to shape, hone, and cultivate the ministry to which I believe I have been called. I am in high gratitude! Have a blessed day all day!
More later….
Love & blessings,
Dinah
Happy Thanksgiving!
Greetings,
Wherever you are, please know that I am wishing you the very best throughout Thanksgiving Day and the weekend and sending you love and peace.
Thank you for being a magnificent part of my life’s journey! May you live well, enjoy laughter, and be fulfilled with your heart’s your most earnest desires and dreams. Be blessed. If you are traveling, safe journey!
In deep appreciation and love,
Dinah Chapman
Summer’s Flying!
I’m excited to be singing again:
Women’s Empowerment Body & Soul Conference, Sat. July 26, 2014, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Unity Southeast in Kansas City, 3421 East Meyer Blvd., Kansas City, MO (816) 841-1402 – Donation 12.00 – Brunch, Free Health Screenings, Chair Massages, Natural Hair Care – How to be fabulous at any age and much more! Program honoring Dr. Maya Angelou.
Glad to be part of the program (I’m singing).
There have been some exciting happenings!
– I attended the Unity Convention in Overland Park June 9 – 12
– Fun Family Time at my sister’s retirement party (Congratulations, Ruth!) in California
– Enjoyed speaking and singing at Unity of San Leandro and Unity of the Valley (Vacaville, CA)
– Taking one summer class – Ministry Development – online
– Catching up and connecting with friends and family
– Summer leisure reading – Embracing Cultural Competency (St. Onge et al), The Seat of the Soul (Zukav), The Heart of a Woman, Singin’ & Swingin’ & Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas (Angelou)
– Just ordered my Greek English Interlinear New Testament! (becoming a Bible geek)
– Working on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee for UISA (student body) for January 2015 events.
I hope you’re enjoying your summer, too! Stay cool and easy breezy.
Blessings & Love,
Dinah
School’s Out for Summer
It’s been a great school year…another year of seminary under my belt. I did my first chapel service on April 30, 2014. I am looking forward to doing another one in about a year. I will keep you posted. I am off for some summer fun now! Enjoy your summer, too!
Blessings,
Dinah
Ministerial School – I’m Making Progress!
Greetings!
Well, after 4 months, I think I’ve adjusted to the life of being a “student.” We’re all students of life, yes. But I mean, REALLY being a student, like taking classes, doing homework, terms papers (oh my!). For many years, I thought I’d never go back to ANY kind of school. However, it began to dawn on me that if I ever did, it would be something along a spiritual nature. This is where I’ve found the most fulfillment, joy, and valuable tools for life.
I’ve completed some great coursework already during the spring term – – History of Christianity, Pastoral Counseling, Spiritual Intelligence, and Homiletics – – and two courses just completed during the first summer session: The Peace Seminar with Dr. Sharif Abdullah, author of Creating a World That Works for All and global peace negotiator; and Advanced Homiletics with Dr. Robert Fish (who I had known years ago when I sang at Unity of Fremont).
So, HERE I AM, loving it! I’ve finished my second term and I’m now taking summer courses. Oh, and yes, I have had a chance to sing here at a Vespers service in the Fillmore Chapel for the graduating S.E.E. class back in April. I sang “Touching the Stillness” from my CD. They liked it so much they invited me back to sing for their graduation ceremony on Thursday evening! Their theme was “Welcome to Your Awakening.” It was beautiful. So, things are moving along nicely.
It’s funny, in the mid- or late-80s, I had considered getting a Masters of Divinity (M.Div.) when my brother was pursuing his M.Div. at Howard University, but I dismissed it, thinking…now, what would I do with that? At the time, I guess I was mostly concerned with “survival.” Following 11 years of marriage and then a divorce, I went on to carve out a career in Information Technology in the 90s to support myself; but simultaneously, I continued my passion of singing and connecting in a spiritual community so that I could continue to grow and evolve spiritually. I spent many years trying to put my life back together again, that is trying to put together a life – – period. Taking several baby steps in personal transformation, I grew and found a spiritual path that worked for my life, which helped me get back on track and be on my way to expressing more of myself and trusting myself. So, really I have come full circle with an idea that was dropped into my mind over 20 years ago.
Well, it’s been 4 months since I’ve landed at Unity Institute and Seminary. My life took yet another exciting turn when I finally answered the call to ministry. I’ve always believed we are all called; however, it is up to us to answer and determine what that means for us and how we can best express it. I believed I had answered “the call” in various ways throughout my life, or so I thought, by being more dedicated to my church, or being more loving and serving in my community and family, even by singing. I understood my calling was to accept, live, and be all that Jesus taught us to be… and to be about my purpose. Many of us spend a lifetime figuring out and finding a way to articulate exactly what that is all about. I know it’s a very personal thing.
It was so easy for me to sit back in a conditioned, pre-conceived, packaged form of what my role was supposed to be…afraid to live out loud. But now I’ve come to realize even more of what I sing in my song “Greater Things.” We WILL do greater things when we awaken to our true spiritual identity. We all must find a way to release the imprisoned splendor inside and bring to the world our own unique gifts, which will awaken everyone around us to their divine purpose.
This summer, may you have all the fun and excitement, joy and relaxation that brings a smile to your face and satisfaction to your soul…as your spirit continues to soar!
Love & infinite blessings,
Dinah
