OUR SACRED CALLINGS: Inspirational One Spirit Alumni Stories
By Rev. Terica Dion Scott
Called to Care
Long before she called it ministry, Rev. Alfreida Sanders lived her sacred calling.
At just ten years old, when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, Rev. Alfreida knew: a nurse. But she didn’t yet know how deeply caring for others would become woven throughout her life.
Now, she has woven a path of care that connects her professional life, service, relationships, and ministry—each an expression of her sacred calling.
A 2026 graduate of One Spirit, Rev. Alfreida describes a journey in which Spirit ordered her steps long before she fully understood where they would lead.
A Wider View of Spirit
Raised in Christianity, Rev. Alfreida came to One Spirit with an established relationship with God. Her experience opened the door to something broader.
One Spirit gave her the opportunity to explore spiritual traditions beyond Christianity while remaining grounded in her own faith. Rather than replacing what she believed, the experience expanded what she could see.
Today, Rev. Alfreida describes herself as a firm believer in a power greater than herself, whom she calls God, while embracing the wisdom she has encountered through the interfaith and interspiritual community.
When Caring Becomes Ministry
For Rev. Alfreida, ministry does not require a pulpit.
It looks like preparing meals for homebound residents throughout New York City. It means answering the phone when someone needs support, listening when someone needs to be heard, offering guidance when asked, and praying with someone who needs comfort.
It also continues the calling that first led her into nursing.
“Caring for others did not only show up at my workplace. I was touching the lives of others, even when I didn’t understand it. Spirit was ordering my steps.”
Learning to Include Herself
A life devoted to caring for others also taught Rev. Alfreida that she needed to extend that same care to herself.
“I had to stop putting everything and everyone before me in order to be my true authentic self. I had to learn how to put myself first.”
Reclaiming herself became part of her spiritual formation. Her sacred calling did not ask her to disappear in service to others. It invited her to become more fully herself.
When Faith Becomes a Ministry
Three years ago, Rev. Alfreida faced unimaginable grief. She lost her brother, then just two weeks later, her father. The losses shook the very foundation of the faith that had carried her.
“I almost lost my faith.”
But grief did not have the final word. Rev. Alfreida reached for the God who had carried her before and discovered that even when her faith trembled, it did not disappear.
“I remembered the God I serve was right there to carry me through that season just like He has done in the past.”
Now, as a newly ordained minister, Rev. Alfreida carries that hard-earned faith into her calling. She knows what it means to need someone to sit beside you in the darkness, to listen, to pray, and simply to remain present.
Her own battles with grief have deepened the care she now offers others. She walks forward not with a faith untouched by hardship, but with a faith tested by it—and a sacred calling to extend that same presence and care to those she encounters along the way.
A Calling That Continues
Today, Rev. Alfreida continues doing what Spirit placed in her heart from the beginning: caring for people.
Her calling has taken many forms—from nursing and healthcare to service, spiritual companionship, and now ordained ministry. Through each chapter, the thread remains the same: showing up for others with compassion, prayer, presence, and care.
“I’m so grateful Spirit has and continues to use me to be of service in the world. I will continue to be of presence with all those who will come before me.”
Rev. Alfreida has also recently volunteered for the One Spirit Community Care Call Team, which will be making phone calls to check in, update, and care for our collective spiritual community.
As she begins this new chapter of ministry, Rev. Alfreida carries forward more than what she learned at One Spirit. She carries the wisdom of a life spent caring, the compassion born from her own losses, and a faith that endured when life gave her every reason to question it.
Share your sacred calling…
If you are a graduate of One Spirit who wants to share your inspirational alumni story, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Rev. Terica at terica@1spirit.org, so we can discuss featuring your sacred calling in a future Alumni Spotlight.
