Rev. Vanessa Titang

  • Mirror Ritual

    Fragile, human soul,
    Prepare the glass altar
    For your love,
    With love,
    Impeccably,
    Arrange the ornate items
    For this ritual,
    Delicately,
    Here,
    In this sacred space you occupy
    In flesh,
    Conjure your essence forth,
    To be present here to see,
    To gaze upon,
    To experience,
    To honor,
    Beauty and divinity in its true form,
    Staring back at you in the mirror.

  • Prayer for an Angry Soul

    Angry soul
    may your poison be released,
    Let go,
    May peace wash over and soothe the aching,
    May the burning anguish in your core
    Be made cool,
    May pains in your heart be calmed
    Immerse your being in the safe still waters of peace,
    “Comfort me!” you cry,
    To open loving spirit
    May your anger subside.

  • To Grow a Minister

    So far,
    In such a short duration,
    Growth measured in moments not meters
    Who will I be
    When I reach this my formation,
    I’ll learn in the words and faces,
    Nods of encouragement from the congregation,
    Ministerial poise,
    I am learning
    Growing the muscle of a human heart
    In ways I never knew possible,
    Stretching and strengthening the tissue and sinew
    To engulf the needs of others,
    The tears and fears,
    Joys and triumphs,
    Bittersweet memories

  • Pews

    Hard wood,
    A stern reminder of penance,
    But a view of trees,
    Blowing,
    Serenaded by breeze
    Framed above my head,
    As patients pass,
    Bowed head,
    Convent for confusion,
    A sacred space to heal
    The mind, spirit, and
    Soul to first,
    Or once again find,
    Here on this pew,
    I see their dance
    And chants,
    A longing for belonging,
    A need to find self and security,
    And I am here,
    Upon my pew,
    Watching, waiting
    A patient,
    Listening, loving ear
    To not just observe,
    but to genuinely hear.

  • WorshipWeb: “Dear Divine Spirit”

    I received exciting news earlier this week that a piece I wrote for CPE (clinical pastoral education) was selected to be posted on the Unitarian Universalist Association’s WorshipWeb. (This site is a great resource for UUs to share their writing/music/art for worship and to just connect with what others are doing in worship.

    It had to be edited a teeny bit to remove some ableist wording (glad this was brought to my attention!)

    Anyway, I’m sharing the piece as a link here, enjoy!:

    “Dear Divine Spirit”

  • Formation

    Formation is being the adult you always admired, but never thought you could be .

    It is developing figurative muscles you didn’t know lay under your skin.

    It is grasping a colleagues hand in solidarity,  knowing you are both invested in this same,  shared process.

    It is singing Woyaya and understanding the meaning,  despite not knowing the language. 

    Formation is bringing the you,  that was always meant to be into fruition.

    Baby steps that climb you up the mountain.

    One foot at a time.

    This is Formation,  left, right left.

  • Back in the Pulpit

    Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Castine

    Or I was, for a moment.

    After a year of it being zoom church only I finally had the honor of participating in and/or conducting service 3 times in person! (At Ferry Beach, in Belfast and Castine).

    Unfortunately though, the Covid-19 uptick with the Delta variant has us all concerned, And thus has us opting for virtual service again.

    C’est la vie.

    But before this there were some great in person moments…

  • 1s and 0s

    If I could show you God,
    I’d show you in 1s and 0s,
    I’d evoke the divine
    In binary,
    I’d show you how the great machine,
    That is itself a contradiction,
    Is itself a part of the unknowable,
    Infinite,  infinity that is,
    That realistically should not even be,
    The holy is all that is,
    In,  of and composing existence,
    And you are
    holy,
    Made of,
    and in the everything
    And made even more sacred
    By being the only 1 of you,
    Too made of 1s  and 0s of the divine,
    The holy, holy,
    H01y

  • Coastal Wedding Bliss

    I conducted my 1st wedding!

    The wedding was held at the Wilson Museum, Castine, ME, on July 10th, 2021.

    It went wonderfully! The rehearsal was a bit chaotic with the downpour on Friday, July 9th,  but we completed a run-through without sound tech.  Fortunately the wedding planner was there,  and between the two of us we were able to coordinate everyone.


    For the wedding, I arrived 30 minutes early to the ceremony on Saturday,   in regular dress clothes. I spoke with and coordinated with the wedding planner and sound crew. Fortunately the weather was perfect, and only the damp lawn was of any concern (they used sawdust/ wood shavings to soak up the grounds). 


    I robed, and we were lined up by 3:55pm and began proceeding once the “bride” was present a little after 4pm.
    I was confident in my presentation, and honestly not anxious at all! I think I missed a word twice, but effectively reworded so it was not obvious.The audience was receptive to the ceremony,  and some laughs were included. The “groom” teared up (maybe allergies?). There was much “cheering and whooping” at the end. 

    Afterward I spoke with the musicians and complimented them on a beautiful accompaniment. I was approached by a few attendees; and I spoke with the mother of the bride and father of the groom afterward–all had only positive things to say about the ceremony,  and seemed very happy.


    I must say I felt very comfortable and confident in my ministerial role. This has been an affirming event in my formation. 

    In ministry I am sure I am where I was meant to be.

  • My UU Elevator Speech

    I am attending a family gathering.  A memorial/ independence day gathering of my maternal side. Of all the things running through my mind,  one that has  popped up a number of times is how to describe my UU faith and ministry to my largely Lutheran family.

    I need an elevator speech of sorts. I’ve been saying that I’ll get to coming up with one for some time now,  but never get around to doing it.

    I’ve been in the car for hours and hours on the road trip from Maine to Ohio and now to western Pennsylvania. I’m a passenger,  and I see no time but now to do it!

    I think first about all the things that I believe…..

    I believe in a universal, neutral force that one might call God,  or my preferred  “Spirit”.

    I believe in panentheism,  this Spirit is, is in, and is greater than all.

    I believe in God’s love for all.

    I believe in the inherent worth and dignity of all.

    I believe in the interconnection of all things.

    I believe in an interwoven web of life.

    I believe God’s intervening force in our lives,  but not that all is preordained.

    I believe in the continuation of spirit after death,  in a cycle as part of the Divine Spirit.

    I believe…

    I believe a lot things that are a lot to explain.  I believe things that not all Unitarian Universalists believe. But my faith has belief that we can hold these views and seek out truth and meaning.

    I struggle with how to describe this all succinctly.

    Then I saw a description someone else did,  that was a one liner. I can’t even recall what it was, but it made sense. And suddenly I came up with it:

    “I believe in 1 God that connects and fills all, and in which all are saved.”

    From this description, Unitarian and Universalists views are both expressed. Unitarian: all in one God. Universalist: Never mind the name given,  the language or faith praised with,  all for this one whole God.

     

    There is much more that could be expressed about my faith,  and own spirituality. But this short statement captures the crux of the faith.  I can then expand, and talk about the non-creedal nature,  the 7 (8) Principles that help to guide and explain our beliefs.

    I’m sure I will tweak my elevator statement over time and with use.  But for now I’m satisfied with this.  I think being able to come up with such a statement is a Testament to how much I’ve grown in my faith and ministry.

    I also think I’m ready for the family….