(This is the second in a short series written by Françoise Dutil, of Whittier First Friends Church, about her journey to Quakerism, and to the Earlham School of Religion. Part 1 was published on November 12.)
All my life I have been led by God. Some of those “leadings” have been some of the most devastating times of my life, but I still moved forward surrounded by God’s love.
There was a series of events that led me to Richmond, Indiana, to attend the Earlham School of Religion (ESR) for my Masters of Divinity. I will try and give you the short version.
It was about two years before my daughter was going to graduate from high school, in June 2025. The most important calling that God ever placed before me is being her mama, and it is my honor every day to be gifted by her presence. I was standing in the kitchen of my home while my family was away, wondering who I had become, who I was, and what was I going to do once my daughter left to go to college and pursue her own callings. I started having a conversation with God, as I do multiple times a day. The Spirit led me to what I felt passionate about as a child. When I was a little girl, I was raised Catholic and fell in love with the stories of the angels and I thought I could be an angel on Earth, but as I got older, I figured out you can’t get paid for that. Well, you can, just not with money. In my teenage years I had volunteered as a candy striper at Long Beach Memorial Hospital in the children’s ward. Again, I thought, I could get a job visiting people in the hospital—but then realized that’s why they have candy stripers that are volunteers.
The more I engaged with the Spirit, the more I was remembering how I feel most alive while caring for others. Not only caring for others, but bringing care to others in situations that are tremendously difficult to travel through. I realized that, through all my years of being in out of the hospital since I was eighteen months old, I could bring a deeper understanding to people in the hospital, drawing from my own experiences. I understood that I was being called to become a hospital chaplain.
Now fast forward to April, 2025, to the day when Gretchen Castle, Dean of ESR, and Jim Higginbotham, Associate Academic Dean of ESR, came to visit Whittier’s First Friends Church, my Quaker family. They gave a presentation on the Earlham School of Religion. Spirit said, “This is your chance, this is your time, this is where I need you to go,” while they were giving their presentation. My reply was, “Are you crazy, I’m fifty-four, my brain is older, and you want me to get a Master’s Degree?” … and God’s reply was, “Yes, I do.”
So, by the grace of God and my hard work in answering six essay questions (that took me days to answer, not to mention actually sending in the application, I was accepted as a special admission, and hopefully have now started my journey to fulfill my calling. But I have to remind myself to give myself grace, that sometimes callings lead you to your next calling, and just because you do not complete the task at hand the way you thought you would, DOES NOT mean you didn’t fulfill the original call.
Thank you for taking the time to read my words. Please know that wherever you are, wherever you go, whoever you are, whatever you believe, you are loved, cared for, and never alone.
Love & Light,
Françoise
Your Novice Quaker
