So where's the Rev.?

I have been an ordained Minister or High Priestess for over 10 years now. I do not use the title Rev. before my name. I will admit that my Bible does say Rev. Heather Christensen on it. That is because it was an ordination gift from my father and I cherish it to this day.

Let me clear, it is not that I believe that I do not live the life that deserves the title Rev or Lady, far from it. I make sure that the path I am on is very inline with my beliefs on how the clergy should live.

When I introduce myself as Rev. Heather or Lady Heather I put myself into a box if you will. Some people are off put by Rev.'s or Lady's because they have had bad experiences (read : "I know better than you do I am a HPs") with them in the past. In that moment of introduction I am setting up the framework of our whole interaction. The message that I want to convey is one of Empathy, Compassion understanding and help. I find that sometimes it is hard to do that when I have Rev. or Lady hanging over my head. The saying that you only have one chance to make a good impression very much rings true here. When setting up that framework that we will build our relationship on it is important to me not to imprint the person with a sense that I am coming to them from a a belief that I am better than they are because I have titles.

In the end I walk the walk, so whether I use it or not I am always Rev. Heather