Daily Inspiration: Meet Rev. Dr. Omega S. Burckhardt

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rev. Dr. Omega S. Burckhardt.

Hi Rev. Dr. Omega S., so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My parents were hippies who were founding a Utopian community in the Costa Rican jungle when I was conceived. They were spiritual but not religious. In fact, they were rejecting the formal religions of their upbringings. I grew up traveling between the US and southern Mexico, being homeschooled for short periods. I always found a lot of meaning in sacred spaces, either in traveling or in my grandmother’s church, where she was an organist.

In college, I continued studying Spanish, which I had learned as a child. And later, I earned a Masters and P.H.D. in Latin American Literature with a focus on Poetry. It was partially because of those studies that a draw towards the intersection of religion, culture, language, and community was sparked in me. I taught at Marquette University in Milwaukee for 10 years, where I focused on intercultural communication, language acquisition, and literature. It was during that time when I became a Unitarian Universalist and joined the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee. There, I became a lay leader and discovered my calling to ministry. After leaving academia, I returned to the beer industry (where I worked previously in college), and focused on beer history and the connection between brewing and religion. I attended seminary at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago and received a Masters of Divinity. My work in racial justice, immigration reform, and LGBTQ+ human rights has formed a large part of my theological understanding of myself as a minister. After serving congregations in Wisconsin and Illinois, I was called to serve a bilingual congregation in SoCal. I first served in San Diego, before taking on my role here at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in 2023.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I use all of my life experiences every day to serve this church, the greater community, and to continue my own spiritual development. It hasn’t necessarily been an easy path, but every step was important. I had multiple career changes that, at the time, felt abrupt, but now make sense. Building community as a transplant is challenging, and I have done that multiple times- as making community is very central to my path. Ministry is the greatest privilege I have had in my life, and also a very challenging one, as it is my job to serve people at their very best and their very worst.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a Unitarian Universalist minister, I believe in the interdependence of everyone and everything. Like other progressive liberal faith leaders, we believe that religion is an act of coming together in intentional community for shared spiritual work. What sets UUs apart from other faith practices is that we do this work in community even though our individual paths might take different shapes. My role is to help people discover what path suits them best according to the season of their life at any given time.

I am a religious naturalist, meaning that I find what some people would call God in that which is greater than ourselves. I find deep meaning in the infinitesimal and the infinite, and I believe that we are connected to the cycles of the natural world. I believe that the power of the community rests in the accountability of healthy relationships with each other and with the natural world. We are all in the process of making ourselves and our world healthy for everyone. Our liberation from oppression is tied to everyone’s liberation and freedom.

Any big plans?
I believe that we are at a cultural tipping point, brought about by the abuses by our government and other power structures. The people are demanding a more just and loving world. As a Unitarian Universalist, we center Love in our values and actions. I can see how many people are inspired to action right now because they understand what’s at stake for ourselves and for our neighbors. I look forward to continuing to unapologetically and publicly recenter love in a world that seeks to divide rather than nourish us.

This work is only done in community, and I will continue to put myself on the line alongside other co-conspirators to affect change in this way—groups like CLUE (Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice), Immigrant Defenders, LA vs Hate, and others advocating for economic and climate justice.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://neighborhooduu.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neighborhooduu
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nuucpasadena
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHkn51d-pLMP36QE6cTWj4g