Personal Theology

I am called by love. The kind of love tied to a belief in shared humanity and a deep sense of interconnection. The kind of love that pushes us to consider our neighbor and the state of the world, that pushes us to feel deeply about the plight of another. The kind of love that knows no boundaries, that sees difference as an asset—an opportunity for transformation—which allows for a wide understanding of truth and meaning and is transformed by the exchange with others. The kind of love Rev. Thandeka would claim as “Love beyond belief,” love rooted in personal experience and relationship such that when I feel filled up by love I am compelled to send it outward into the world.

Inspired by Process Theology’s understanding that we are each co-creators of our world together, I believe in an inherent interconnection and interdependence. For me, the questions of who or what God is or whether or not God exists do not require a specific answer. Instead, I see a divine spark in every being. And because we are ever changing and becoming, we cannot help but be impacted by our connections to one another, both seen and unseen. Episcopalian priest, Rev. Ed Bacon says full, unconditional love is the essence of spirituality. "It's that experience of love that connects you with everyone, connects you with your past, connects you with your future, gives you hope and excitement about going into the next day, going into the next moment."[2] When I honor those connections, when I tap into the love in which they are rooted, that next day and next moment become ripe with creative potential where great joy and transformation become possible. Additionally, anchoring my theology in love allows—even encourages me—to continue work in a pluralistic, interfaith context where reaching out in love becomes the bridge builder that connects us across our differences. In the words of the beautiful Jason Shelton hymn, “Love Calls Us On.”

My theological calling rests on the holy nature of life—of everything in us and among us (the good and the bad). All of life reflects something of its holy nature. As I minister I see my role in naming and claiming the holy around us, in our relationships, community, worship, education, families and so much more. Our faith pushes us to be radically inclusive, to make room for everyone at the table so that no one is left in the margins. This is what I dream for my own family. That commitment to love allows me to dream it and feel it for all of humanity and for the planet. As Rev. Nancy Shaffer writes, “The work of our faith is the naming of the holy—by all its many names: Life that cares, Life that enlarges life, Life that holds us even when we cannot see it, even when we do not yet know it. Rearranging, making manifest, naming the Holy: this is the work of our faith. Gladly we enter it again and again and again.” Can I, as minister, seek to create the container that holds us, to name the holy in our lives, to reach out in love and to pick us up knowing doing so is not a one-time endeavor? I hope my personal theology sustains this vision and makes it so.