When a group of young adults asked me to become their next leader, I quickly blurted out, “I can’t, I’m a woman.” Everyone was surprised, most of all myself. I’m usually bold and outspoken; in what cave of my soul had this patriarchy been hiding? Members of the group discussed and discerned with me; books […]
Recently, someone asked me what books have shaped my life. I rattled off what came to my head, but the question has stayed with me. This person wasn’t interested in simply what I liked; this wasn’t a question about preferences. She was asking what was important to me—what had influenced me—but I don’t really think […]
We started The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology for one reason: to start an MDiv program. One evening, I sat around the kitchen table, reminiscing with friends and colleagues about our time in seminary. All of us, except one, had received an MDiv and found it equally life-changing and profoundly frustrating. We all found […]
I can’t help but smile when I see the remnant of luggage decorating the spaces in our building. It is a reminder of the history that inhabits these walls. And before the luggage factory, back when the Puget waters met the western wall, a fisherman’s wharf greeted the day’s catch with open arms. This is […]
My sunrise service on Easter Sunday took place at The Seattle School. With more impending due dates than I could keep track of, I chose to write papers instead of attending a morning church service. Let’s not judge here. The decision to do homework on Easter wasn’t exactly an arduous one, anyway. I have been […]
Earlier this year, a memorial to rape survivors was temporarily in place in the reflection pool of the Washington Monument. The letters floated in blood red on the water’s surface, reading “I CAN’T FORGET WHAT HAPPENED BUT NO ONE ELSE REMEMBERS.” Upon encountering the image, my first thought was “Of course, that’s why we have […]
“Fiction is rooted in an act of faith: a presumption of an inherent significance in human activity that makes daily life worth dramatizing and particularizing.” – John Updike, speaking on religion and literature, 1994 I have this photo on my phone that I flip to often, probably more than I am comfortable admitting. It’s a […]
Can I be honest? The nativity story has grown a little stale for me. Those of us raised in the Church, at least, have heard the story multiple times each December for every December of our lives. For evidence that the store is tired is easily found at many Christmas services: it seems every year […]
Our stories are like a book unfolding, pages worn and marked, dog-eared to recall at a later time. Sometimes the page turns and we do not love what the next chapter holds. I thought my chapter of graduate school would go a certain way. I entered it with a grand naiveté and glamour around the […]
This year, I had the privilege of taking a course from Tom Cashman during his last semester at The Seattle School. The course was Celtic Spirituality, and I take away far more than knowledge of celtic culture and history and the feud between Augustine and Pelagius. What lives with me most is an appreciation for […]
I used to be a violinist. I had wanted to play professionally with orchestras and small ensembles, perhaps doing movie soundtracks. Those are always the best pieces – the narrative lays the groundwork, but it’s the music that really conjures emotions in the audience. Requiem for a Dream and Schindler’s List both rely on the intensity of a […]
I wandered away from The Seattle School, my face red and tears still lingering in my beard. I found my way to a small rocky beach in the sculpture park that overlooked the choppy water toward West Seattle. The sky was nearly pure grey everywhere like it had been for weeks, but over the water […]