Meet Lake, new Beloved

Learn more about future Beloved Lake below! Please hold them in prayer as they prepare to venture forth to Tucson! For more information on Beloved in the Desert, click here.

Lake Ersek (they/them)

Hi there! My name is Lake and I use they/them pronouns. I am new to living in Arizona and the city of Tucson. I am originally from Maine (aka unceded Wabanaki confederacy lands) and have spent much of my life there. I come from a Quaker and Methodist background. Most recently, I have found a strong sense of community amongst Quakers, especially the Young Adult Friends community in New England. I am looking forward to learning more about the Episcopal traditions this year, as well as bringing a bit of the silent worship traditions from Quakerism. I feel I am sort of a perpetual traveler, though I am looking forward to being more planted for the year! I love traveling around North America by train, bus and boat and I enjoy staying in hostels! I hope to do more of this once our people and our society are more recovered from the pandemic. 

I graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 2018. Mount Holyoke is a small liberal arts college in Western Massachusetts. I studied Design, Art, and Performing Arts. Mount Holyoke is a historically women’s college, but nowadays, it’s a school for women, LGBTQ+ folks, and gender minorities. I am happy I chose that school because of how open-minded and supportive it was for me in my process of discovering my identity. I am grateful for experiences I had while in college, like study abroad, as well as for opportunities to practice critical thinking.

It’s important to me that we create distinct cultural spaces where we can each find belonging, support and resources. I have a specific interest in Design + Wellness in society, public transportation infrastructure, and creating more awareness and conversations around racial and gender inequities. I am non-binary, genderfluid and queer, so I am working and thinking about these issues from that perspective. As far as my hobbies, I enjoy time spent outdoors, particularly swimming, tennis, hiking, dance, and meditation. I am interested in herbalism and homeopathic remedies. I enjoy philosophical discussions and reading poetry by religious mystics such as Rumi, Hafiz, Mirabai, St. Teresa of Ávila and others. One thing I have been meditating on lately is how change starts from within.

I am excited about living in a community with the other Beloveds, and to meeting new people from different backgrounds and from many walks of life. I am looking forward to practicing humbleness and listening as well as sharing my perspectives. I would like to meet God through other people, as well as tuning into the wisdom of the Spirit, and the Universe through time spent in silent reflection and meditation. I hope that this year I can better understand my gifts and skills, and use them confidently in a way that allows me to serve others.