 This is a monthly column helping us to get to know our friends and members in a deeper way. We thank Monte High for taking the time to do these in-depth interviews for us every month.
As she was in the beginning (of time), is now, and forever shall be. Muse over all the begetting and circumstance, the improbable possibility. She was, she is, she shall be the twinkle in her parents eyes. Her father Jim, her mother Kathie, meeting on a blind date – a sparkle that is the precious jewel Elizabeth High, becoming. Elizabeth was born beneath the Flatirons in Boulder, Colorado. She was born on a New Moon (the phase of the moon when it is in conjunction with the sun) on the first day of the Lunar New Year, 1973, the year of the ox. She is (in accordance with pseudo-Chinese lore) a stabilizing force that perpetuates the cycle of life. She stands immobile against the test of adversity. She seeks to serve integrity. Elizabeth’s childhood was full of music. She began taking piano lessons at age 5 and flute lessons in fifth grade. She played flute in the junior high and high school orchestra. The Dewey family – Kathie and Jim, Elizabeth and her older brother Nick – spent many weekends exploring the Colorado high country, backpacking trips in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. In the spring of 1979, when Elizabeth was in kindergarten, the Dewey family visited the Soviet Union for about two months. Jim worked for the US Geological Survey. The trip was conducted as part of a scientific exchange on earthquake studies, yet they were able to get in a good bit of sightseeing. The Soviet trip roused in Kathie a passion for Russian culture that lasted her entire life. Kathie poured over Russian literature, attended classes at the University of Colorado, and engaged with the local Russian immigrant community. She was involved in the Boulder-Dushanbe Sister City project, which helped establish the landmark teahouse that was gifted by Dushanbe. The teahouse was disassembled piece by piece in Dushanbe and then reassembled in downtown Boulder. Dushanbe, Tajikistan was one of the places the Dewey family visited on their trip to the USSR. Elizabeth attended Grinnell College. At first she didn’t know what she wanted to study. She discovered that the Russian studies professors were extraordinary. She loved to study languages, even though the pronunciation of foreign languages is difficult for her. And, she found out that Russian majors also studied Russian history and literature. What decision was there to make, really? Elizabeth also played flute in the Grinnell orchestra and performed a senior flute recital. After a 2 ½ year struggle with ovarian cancer, during Elizabeth’s sophomore year at Grinnell, her mother, Kathie, passed away while Elizabeth was home for Thanksgiving break. Kathie was much beloved. Her death sent waves of pain surging through the Dewey family. (Jim later married a wonderfully kind, loving and inspiring woman – Selena – who has been a blessing to the family.) In 1993 Elizabeth ventured to Krasnodar Russia for a semester abroad, and in 1994 to St. Petersburg, Russia for a summer internship at a seed bank. After Grinnell, Elizabeth worked for a year at a plant nursery while taking botany classes at CU. In 1996 she went on to work at a supported-employment service for adults with developmental disabilities, where she first considered a career in occupational therapy. Elizabeth took night classes at Front Range Community College for two years while working full time, in order to get her prerequisites for OT school. In 2001 she took the short trip north to Fort Collins to attend the occupational therapy graduate school at Colorado State University. Despite the demanding curriculum, Elizabeth began to notice a prodigiously peculiar man gliding around her periphery. His feet seldom touched the ground. One day, out of the blue, she tripped and fell flat-on-her-face in love with him. In 2003 Elizabeth Dewey put on her walking shoes. She walked through graduation and walked down The Aisle to become Elizabeth High. In 2005 the Highs headed up, up and over the continental divide and gravitated into the Grand Valley. A while later they found the UUCGV and Grand Junction began to feel more like home. Elizabeth works as a home health occupational therapist for Home Care of the Grand Valley. She finds her job challenging, yet she finds many rewards. Elizabeth feels a meaningful connection to the UUCGV community, which in turn helps her to feel more connected to the community at large, the universe and beyond. Her spiritual community helps to keep her awake and aware. Her daily spiritual practice drives a deeper connection. Elizabeth practices the teachings of Eknath Easwaran, through the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation – an eight point program of daily meditation and mindfulness training. Let Elizabeth be; let her be what she is becoming. Life goes on... In endless song... [If you want to feel more connected to the UUCGV community – check out the covenant groups that are starting up in September – led by Elizabeth High and Martha House.] Yes on T During the election this November you will notice a ballot measure called No Exception to Involuntary Servitude Prohibition Amendment. It will appear as Amendment T. As the Unitarian Universalist ministers in Colorado, we urge you to vote YES on this measure. We know that slavery is not a Colorado value. But for more than a century our state constitution has preserved the right of the state to enslave people as punishment for a crime. This archaic and hurtful language must be removed. You may be asking yourself, what impact might this have on people who are currently incarcerated? The measure will not end prison terms as punishment for crimes committed in our state, but it will help us move forward the conversation about what justice truly looks like in our communities. There are many conversations to be had about what justice looks like, but we believe that we can all agree, that no matter what conclusion we come to about the appropriate measures to address crimes, our response should never include slavery. As Unitarian Universalists we hold dear our heritage of abolitionists who fought to end slavery in the 19th century. Ministers like Theodore Parker who is reputed to have kept a pistol in his desk to protect runaway slaves. We are called to continue his heroic work by standing against slavery today. We believe that by changing the way we talk about what prison is, and why people are there, we can begin to change the conversations and outcomes and move toward right relationship in our communities. The measure would amend Section 26 of Article II of the Colorado Constitution. The following struck-through text would be deleted- Amending Section 26 of Article II Section 26. Slavery prohibited. There shall never be in this state either slavery or involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. Yours in faith, Rev. Keith Arnold, Jefferson Unitarian Church; Rev. Eric Banner, Jefferson Unitarian Church; Rev. Barry Bloom, Unitarian Universalist Church of Greeley; Rev. Kelly Dignan, Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder; Rev. Lydia Ferrante-Roseberry, Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship; Rev. Shawna Foster, Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist; Rev. Gretchen Haley, Foothills Unitarian Church; Rev. Jann Halloran, Prairie Unitarian Universalist Church; Rev. Wendy Jones, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Grand Valley; Rev. Katie Kandarian, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango; Rev. Laurel Liefert, Namaqua Unitarian Universalist Congregation; Rev. Dana Lightsey, High Plains Church, Unitarian Universalist; Rev Julia McKay, Columbine Unitarian Universalist Church; Rev. Mike Morran, First Unitarian Society of Denver; Sean Neil-Barron, Assistant Minister, Foothills Unitarian Church; Aaron Norris, Ministerial Resident, First Universalist Church of Denver; Rev. Nori Rost, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church; Rev. Jeannie Shero, First Universalist Church of Denver; Rev. Wendy Williams, Jefferson Unitarian Church Comments are closed.
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