Erik Solberg

Erik Solberg

I started coming to Beacon because of the community of people here, the wonderful music, and the thought-provoking sermons. Several congregants have become close friends. I have stayed for over 20 years for these same things but even more so for the opportunities to be involved in rich, meaningful ways that are the mission of Beacon.

Although retired now, my career was in educating children and adolescents with intensive special needs. The Beacon RE director at the time I joined spoke to me about being an advisor to an RE class where the teachers needed help in meeting the needs of a student with special needs. I did so. The following September, I was asked to teach the newly formed “Coming of Age” class for 7th graders with two other Beacon members. These experiences were engaging and personally fulfilling opportunities to work with the youth of our congregation whom I found to be well spoken, caring, and engaged. I was hooked on volunteering.

Following this teaching, I volunteered as a facilitator in the RE program “Our Whole Lives” (OWL). The OWL curriculum structures an environment where our 2nd, 5th or 8th graders can make informed and responsible decisions about their relationships, sexual health, and behavior. Engagement with the young people at Beacon have given me experiences that were richly rewarding and memorable for the nine years that I participated.

There are many other activities at Beacon that have been meaningful and life-changing for me. For over seven years now, participating in Community Groups have given me many occasions to reflect, contemplate, share, and grow. I’m glad that we continued to meet regularly over Zoom for the past year and a half when the pandemic stopped so many other relationships. Our small group discusses topics such as integrity, balance, risk, play, commitment, and many others.

I have also benefited from the Black Lives Matters training to make me much more aware of our nation’s history and our ongoing institutional racism. I have also been a part of our outreach to Chancellor School in Irvington, and the Warm Hearts ministry, which have helped so many in our community.