It was a Ministry...
I just checked the dictionary (Webster's Desk Dictionary of the English Language). The eighth definition down, termed obselete, mentions service, and damn it, that's what we did. We served people. We served each other. We served God. We served ourselves. Back in the dictionary, under minister, fifth definition down, I read "to give care or aid," and sixth, "to contribute, as to comfort or happiness." Yes, yes and yes.

This was in some ways a loosely held group, and in other ways almost too tightly bound. In our structure and practices, we followed some conventions of the mainstream religions, but only to a point. We were constantly working to redefine ourselves.

We traveled together...
Sometimes as many as 70, sometimes alone. By choice, we had no sponsoring church or synagogue. In many ways this freed us, although in other ways it made things difficult. We could go wherever we felt led, but were sometimes treated with suspicion and fear.

We weren't above error. In fact, we were good friends with it. Once, a woman in a church gave me $40 to fix my car, but when another ministry member -- a mother with children -- asked to use it for food, I gave it to her and went back to ask for another contribution. In the end, I managed to alienate the entire church. Well, yeah... stupidity and I were also on a first-name-basis.

What was the point?
First and fundamentally, the point was prayer. You can call it that, or meditation, or communion: It was to speak to and listen to God's voice within ourselves. As a Jew I had learned two ways to pray. First, I knew the pre-written Jewish liturgy that governs what we say when we wake up and go to sleep, when we eat, see a beautiful sunset, and honor a Holy day. Second, I knew the ongoing internal Conversation modeled for us by our scholars and ancestors.

As I traveled with the ministry, I learned about asking for guidance, I learned about listening, I learned about writing and drawing as prayer, and I learned about movement and dance as prayer. I learned to pray with increasing feeling, conviction and honesty.

Most of the time, we prayed for others, and so the second point was intercession. We prayed for healing, truth, revelation... and we asked sincerely -- not for what we thought was best, but for what the spiritual universe, what All That Is, knew was best.

I speak for myself, and believe other members would speak differently, when I describe the value and the focus of what I did between the years of 1984 - 1989. One of my main focuses was to strengthen the chord between myself and the voice of God. In the process, I met my Shadow and learned to discern its many faces and voices, both dark and light.

How often did I succeed in hearing God's voice directly?
To this day, I go back and forth about it. Ultimately, I think we hear God's voice often, and with little struggle. It's the stopping to listen... the hearkening... that we are wrestling with as we explore our spirituality.

How shall I define God? and Goddess?
I would prefer to leave it open for the reader. We found that what we learned in our travels was of value to people of many faiths. I learned from fundamentalist Christians, I learned from staunch atheists (sometimes the staunchest seemed the most spiritual). I learned from Rabbis and from children. And with all I was able to share something meaningful, something learned across so-called enemy borders, something that enriched us as individuals who were seeking, praying, meditating and exploring.

Was there a leader? a founder?
This ministry was founded in 1983 by Rannette Nicholas, a most astounding woman of vision, integrity and courage. A passionate human being. Wherever she goes exploring, she steps boldly with both feet. I don't always agree with her, but I consider her a mentor, and will always be grateful for the many, many ways she has enriched my life. See her website and read her books!

As to leaders, there were different leaders -- and different forms of leadership -- at different times. In rare and precious instances, leadership became a thing that was at once both individual and shared.

Where are they now?
As others from Obedience Intercessory Ministry begin to publish their experiences and stories, I will post information and links to this page.

Sue Hecht has begun writing down her experiences traveling with OIM. Here's a link to her India Stories.