9/1/22

I received this email today from Pastor Robyn:

I have been thinking about our conversation a lot. I appreciated your sharing about your spiritual journey and the honesty with which you even shared some of the more challenging aspects of it.

After meeting with you, I thought a lot about my internship supervisor from many years ago named Terry Moe. Terry is a deep, deep soul with a broad passion for community organizing.

Why did I think about Terry when thinking of you? Well, I know many spiritually deep people, but they are not always particularly engaged in works of justice in the world (like Jesus' turning over the tables of the money changers as an indictment of the whole economic system and the way religion colluded with it). And I know lots of people who are engaged in community organizing, even faith based organizing, but they are not always that spiritually deep. In fact, they sometimes burn out in their justice efforts for lack of enough spiritual depth.

You impressed me as somebody who has a real spiritual depth AND you are a systems thinker who can see real injustice in so many systems within the world, including the healthcare system in which you work. You are very appropriately angry at this, and anger, when carefully channeled using our spiritual resources can be a gift God uses to bend the world toward greater justice. (I think that is what was happening the many times that Jesus expressed frustration as he critiqued the power systems of his day... and then he would go off to the mountain by himself to pray that evening or the next morning. It was always this balance back and forth between contemplative prayer and engagement in acts of healing that were often simultaneously critiquing power systems.

I thought of Terry Moe several times after our conversation because Terry is the person I know who, more than any other person I know, has within his being the deep integration of spirituality and organizing for justice. (He remains a good friend of mine who I cherish to this day even though it has been a couple decades since he was my internship supervisor.)

So I had been thinking about all of this. Then Director Vinci mentioned to me that you will be going to the retreat Terry is leading at Mt. Angel. That seemed like as much of a "coincidence" as you meeting Gini Graham the second Sunday you came to Spirit of Grace. Now, you may already know Terry since he has been doing some interim ministry coverage for St. Andrew lately. I am not sure if you have gotten to talk to him much. I have no idea how many people will be attending the retreat but I am going to send Terry an email asking him to make sure to connect with you a bit on the breaks.

Like you, Terry is also more of an introvert and a writer. Just a couple years ago he finished writing his story about the integration of spirituality and organizing within his ministry. With the thought that you may not have seen Terry's book, I was moved to send you a copy of his book to you just now. It should arrive to you on Saturday. Don't feel any pressure to read the whole thing unless it is of interest to you, but I think you will particularly appreciate his story of how spirituality and organizing came to take on such deep meaning in his life and how those two streams came together in his experience as a parish pastor.

Feel free to keep the book (and even have Terry sign it if you want just for fun), or if you come to a point when you do not want it taking up space in your home, feel free to simply give it to the Spirit of Grace library. (No need to feel pressure to keep it forever unless you want to.)

They say in organizing that if somebody has a story with some kind of passion underneath it, they are a good candidate for getting involved in community organizing. You clearly have a work story and you have some appropriate energy behind it. One way you could explore that would be to take the training with Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good that is free to you as a member of Spirit of Grace because we are a dues paying member institution of MACG. I have been to this training at least seven times and learn something new every time. Director Vinci is going to this training later in September for the first time and is welcoming anybody else from Spirit of Grace to join her. The training will take place on two Sunday afternoons from 1 pm to 5 pm September 18 and 25. If you simply register as a member of Spirit of Grace (which you will be by then) the tuition cost is waived. If you want to learn more or consider registering, you could do that at this link: https://www.macg.org/sept22lipl And if it does not work out for you this time, know that it will be offered again in the future.

So where it concerns the above, Jason, as they say in recovery movements, take what you like and leave the rest, 😊

It was a pleasant surprise to say the least. I'm really happy that I decided to start visiting Spirit of Grace, and I really appreciate how much Pastor Robyn tries to reach out and help minister, support, and guide people whenever she can. She's just as incredible as Pastor Amanda.

8/28/22

I completely forgot that the last Sunday of the month at Spirit of Grace is the Zoom-only, lay-led service, so I decided to try and zoom across town to make it for the 10:15am service at Central Lutheran Church. It feels like ages since the last time I was there, and I've missed seeing Pastor Amanda, so it was a nice change. I definitely don't get over here anywhere near as often as I did when I lived downtown. And if I lived closer, this most certainly would be my spiritual home. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that I found Spirit of Grace. Nevertheless, Central Lutheran holds a very special place in my heart. I love the heart and energy of this place, and especially of Pastor Amanda. She's one of the most amazing faith leaders I've ever had the pleasure of knowing personally.

Her sermon was inspired from the day's readings, Prov 25:6-7, Heb 13:1-8, 15-16, and Luke 14:1, 7-14. One of the big themes was humility, not placing yourself into a high seat or station. Another was love, not doing things out of what you think you may get in return, but because you truly love. And together, these themes represent the core of Jesus' message. Pastor Amanda started by offering an alternative and more modern translation of this passage from Luke being discussed by ELCA clergy members, replacing, "when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind" with "when you give a banquet, invite those who struggle under systematic oppression, live with disabilities, and exist along the margins." She also offered a definition of evangelical as someone committed to the good news of the Gospel and elucidated what that meant, that "things don't have to be the way they are." And she made the point that the message isn't to invite these people in as an act of charity, because they can't repay you, but "flip this entire system of seeking privilege and privilege for privilege on its head; spend your time with those outside of the system, break the system; bring it down; and change the world."

So this good news that things don't have to be the way they are, that we can change these systems of oppression and shifting systems of power. And even though we may have this power to shift the system, we should still reflect on the question of is it actually good for us? "How good is it for our souls to actually have power over another human being?" And she stressed that this wasn't a rhetorical question, but something to truly wrestle with. She also stressed that, while the topics of the readings may seem like something out of a 1950s Miss Manners book — don't put yourself in the king's presence, be humble, how to enter a dinner party, etc. — it's not about proper etiquette but the good news. "And we are indeed a people being watched closely," like Jesus at the beginning of Luke's reading. "We are being watched closely by so many who are longing to see people of faith live a life that is a life of good news," watched by people who "have been so hurt by the church, people who have been oppressed by systems, who have been taken advantage of, who have been harmed, who are angry." And even those aren't angry, but "simply watching closely for a sign of people of faith who are living a life that is in keeping with what they long to see as good news of a God that is a God of liberation and hope. A God that wants to flip the tables and change the world. A God that wants to feed people. A God that wants people to experience jubilee and debt forgiveness. A God that wants people to have homes, A God that wants people to have healing and access to healing."

And I'm one of those people as much as it's my job to be a "good news bringer." I want to see such a sign from people of faith and such a God in my midst, because that's the God I see in my heart and in the heart of the Gospels. Pastor Amanda shared with us that this was the basis of her doctoral thesis. And what she learned through her hours upon hours of research and writing is that it all comes down to this: "Let mutual affection continue." These words from Paul at the beginning of Hebrews chapter 13 sum up the entirety of the good news and our jobs in bringing it to the world. "Do not neglect to show love to people because you love them... And if you love people exactly where they are, no matter where you find them..., you never even have to say the word Jesus. Because if they are watching closely, they will see Jesus all over you."

She went on to discuss inviting people to their own upcoming event, God's Work Our Hands and Rally Sunday, and making an "invitation of good news of community, and hope, and joy." And she closed by saying, "if our call is to bring the good news, and people are watching closely to see it, so let's be it." Make the invitation. "Just give it a shot, and we'll take one more step, one step closer to that turned-table kingdom of God where all have enough and no one has too much. And won't that be a beautiful step?" It was a very moving sermon, and the culmination of the proclamation of the good news was accentuated by the following hymn of the day, "Ask the Complicated Questions":

Ask the complicated questions,
do not fear to be found out;
for our God makes strong our weakness,
forging faith in fires of doubt.

Seek the disconcerting answers,
follow where the Spirit blows;
test competing truths for wisdom,
for in tension new life grows.

Knock on doors of new ideas,
test assumptions long grown stale;
for Christ calls from shores of wonder,
daring us to try and fail.

For in struggle we discover
truth both simple and profound;
in the knocking, asking, seeking,
we are opened, answered, found.

I felt the lyrics deeply, as they mirror the nature of my own spiritual journey and appreciation of different Christian denominations and other faith traditions. And it was with all of the above in mind that I sat, after receiving communion, and reflected of the bread and wine and what they embodied: community, sharing, and the living example and teachings of a person who was infused with the spirit of God and one with God, a person whose life and example guides and nourishes us and calls us to love one another (John 13:34-35), bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free (Luke 4:17-21). It was a very moving experience for me, and I was thankful that I was able to be there for it.

As a special treatment, Pastor Amanda gave one of the congregants, Mo, a blessing and the end of the service as they start their seminarian training along with a gift, her copy of Frederick Buechner's Listening to Your Life that she bought during her first year at seminary and which holds a special place in her heart and theology. (It was even more meaningful after listening to her recent podcast episode on Buechner and his works this evening.) It was moving, and I'm sure it meant a lot to Mo. I admittedly felt some jealousy because it's something I want to do if I wasn't so daunted by the amount of time and money it'd require, but I also felt a great deal of sympathetic joy for them and this new and exciting journey they're on. I was doubly thankful for being there.

8/25/22

I met with Pastor Robyn this afternoon to discuss becoming a member of Spirit of Grace. I got there a few minutes before she did, so I sat and waited while I filled out the paperwork the person in the office had for me, mostly things like demographic info, basic religious info like baptism, confirmation, and first communion dates, etc. Once she arrived, I was a little nervous, but she broke the ice by asking me about my job and what I liked about vs. what I didn't. I was honest about liking my job as a medical assistant and caring for patients but not so much the larger company and healthcare system that it's contained within, including my unhappiness with the general corporate structure, the overall focus on money, the lack of voice support positions in healthcare have, the brokenness of our insurance system, etc. She shared with me the experience of a friend of hers who's a chaplain at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center struggling with something similar, and mentioned some of the organizing work done by groups looking to help change things for the better, such as Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good.

We then moved on to other, more positive topics, like my spiritual journey and how I ended up entering the church as an adult after being critical of it for such a long time based on negative experiences I had with self-identified Christians, historical and present day abuses and intolerance, and things of that nature. I noted one major turning point was starting the New Testament and reading about the life of Jesus and my experience with Christian monasticism and contemplative practices. And when she asked about what I get out of it and why I stay rather than walk away, I returned to some of the things I said earlier to her about the spiritual nourishment and inspiration I get from gathering with others of a like mind, sharing in communion, and hearing homilies that motivate me to not give up on trying to better myself and the world around me when it seems like a hopeless crusade. I told her that I occasionally need to be reminded that I'm not alone, and to be given the energy, love, support, and moments of peace I need to carry on. I told her that I go wherever I feel God, which doesn't necessarily mean God isn't present in other places, only that it means it's not the right place for me. And when it's the right place, I just know; and I had the same feeling when the Paulists were at St. Philip as I now have at places like Central Lutheran and Spirit of Grace. I feel closer to God when I'm there.

She shared a lot of her own struggles and experiences as well, and I enjoyed hearing about the silent retreat she did with Thich Nhat Hanh and about 1,000 other people, particularly the sneaking of snacks and discussions with her roommates near the end of the retreat, and the walking meditation that took them through a herd of elk who simply went on grazing, undisturbed by the throng of people radiating harmlessness. There was a powerful lesson there. And I appreciated the humility shown when, after a discussion about the historical abuses and intolerance of the church and oppressive power dynamics in general, she recounted the topic of her last homily and how it was religious leaders in league with the state of Rome went after Jesus for addressing the injustices of the people before the cleansing of the temple and succeeded in having him executed afterwards. She was conscious that it was precisely the religious leaders of the day who were the most antithetical towards Jesus and his mission. She said that she couldn't really lead anyone in the opposite direction, but that she was on the same walkway and that we have to figure out how to turn around and go in the right direction together.

We talked so much about so many things that it's kind of a blur and I can't remember it all, but somehow two hours passed by when I initially thought she'd give me a solid 30 minutes or so knowing how busy she is. I already knew that I wanted to become a member of Spirit of Grace well before she asked what I thought she or the congregation could offer me and what I was looking to get out of it. I'm not sure she realized that I'd found what I needed the moment I walked through the door on my first visit. But the icing on the cake came at the end, when she offered to sit with me in silent prayer/meditation for five minutes, and it was probably the most peaceful five minutes of breathing in and out I've had in months, resting with the name of God while mentally breathing in and releasing the energy of world. The people here have a vision that I share. They are open to and accept differences, making an intentional effort to be a living example of the universal church. They seek to know themselves and their faith better. And they strive to follow Jesus' example and be the change Jesus came to bring to the world. I think I've found a new home.

8/24/22 (2)

Jesus: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free." (Luke 4:18)

Eugene Debs: "While there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free." (Statement to the Court Upon Being Convicted of Violating the Sedition Act, September 18, 1918)

Luke: "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need." (Acts 4:32-35)

Marx: "In a higher phase of communist society, after the enslaving subordination of the individual to the division of labor, and therewith also the antithesis between mental and physical labor, has vanished; after labor has become not only a means of life but life's prime want; after the productive forces have also increased with the all-around development of the individual, and all the springs of co-operative wealth flow more abundantly – only then can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be crossed in its entirety and society inscribe on its banners: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!" (Critique of the Gotha Programme)

8/24/22

I feel like there's been a lot going on in my spiritual life lately, like a fertile rain after a long drought. I've had a few email exchanges with Pastor Robyn and Dir. Vinci the last couple of days regarding membership at Spirit of Grace and an upcoming retreat at Mt. Angel. I'm actually meeting up with Pastor Robyn tomorrow afternoon to discuss possibly becoming a member. And I've secured my spot in a carpool out to Mt. Angel for an upcoming day-long retreat, "Engaged Spirituality: East and West, Meditating with Thich Nhat Hanh and Thomas Merton" presented by Peggy Lindquist and Terry Moe. Definitely something up my alley, and it'll be my first time visiting the Benedictine sisters.

I also heard from Pastor Amanda, who wrote, "I still owe you writing. And haven't forgotten it!" I know she's been busy and also dealing with health issues, so I haven't pestered her about our delayed correspondence. But I'm looking forward to hearing her thoughts and reconnecting at some point.

On top of that, I feel like a lot of the spiritual themes that have been popping up lately are all connecting to one another, from meeting a group of people interested in contemplativism and the upcoming retreat on a topic close to my heart to the topics at church mirroring things in Richard Rohr's daily medications. For example, last Sunday's homily touched on actively going against the flow of oppressive social institutions and mentalities, mentioning Jesus's mission to bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free; and today's reflections from CAC teacher Brian McLaren was very much tapping into the same spirit:

The Spirit leads us downward. To the bottom, to the place of humility, to the position and posture of service . . . that's where the Spirit, like water, flows. . . .

If you listen to the Spirit, here is what will happen to you. You’ll be at a party and you'll notice on one side of the room all the beautiful people laughing and having fun together. In a far corner, you'll notice a person who is alone, feeling awkward, not knowing anyone. The Spirit will draw you to the person in need. You may become the bridge that connects the outsider to the insiders—and in that connection, both will be better off. . . .

Here's what will happen to you if you listen to the Spirit. You will realize that someone is angry at you or resentful toward you . . . or worked behind your back to do you harm. Everything in you will want you to write them off or get them back. But the Spirit will draw you toward them in humility. . . .

Here's what will happen if you listen to the Spirit. You will see a person or a group being vilified or scapegoated. Everyone is blaming them, shaming them, gossiping about them, feeling superior to them, venting their anxieties on them. . . . But the Spirit will draw you to differ courageously and graciously. . . . You will risk your reputation in defending the person or people being scapegoated. And in that risk, both you and they will know that God's Spirit is alive and at work in your midst.

If you listen to the Spirit, here's what will happen to you. It will be late. You will be tired. There will be dishes to do or clothes to pick up or trash to empty. Someone else should have done this, you will think with anger. You will rehearse in your mind the speech you will give them. And then you will think, But I guess they're just as tired and overworked as I am. So maybe I can help. You won’t do this as a manipulative ploy but as a simple act of service. . . .

There is a prison near you. A hospital. A park or a bridge or an alley where homeless people sleep. . . . There's a country in great need or a social problem that few people notice. If you listen to the Spirit, you will be drawn toward an opportunity to serve. At first, the thought will frighten or repel you. But when you let the Spirit guide you, it will be a source of great joy—one of the richest blessings of your life.

It feels kind of exciting having so much going on and so many things to look forward to.

8/21/22

I made the effort to visit Spirit of Grace again this weekend since I enjoyed it so much last time, and my experience this time around was similarly pleasant. Today, Pastor Robyn led the service. The homily was based on Luke 13:22-30, the parable of the narrow door (or narrow gate in some translations):

He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from.' And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where [you] are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

The basic idea I took away from it is that the door you must walk through to be recognized by God, the door to truly joining the righteous community of the faithful and being a good person generally, isn't necessarily easy to walk through. The wider and more easily accessible door is ultimately one that'll tend to leave you out alone in the cold. The more modern-day analogy used by Pastor Robyn was that of a moving walkway, much like the ones you see at airports. And she compared the forward motion of these walkways to the wider door, meaning it's the easier way, the path of least resistance, the way of the world. And why does this door or walkway lead to being cast out? Because this is the way often characterized by evildoing, oppression, and harm, and dominated by institutions of power and control that lead to security and pleasure (at least for those in positions of power and control), perhaps because it's often easier to let ourselves be motivated by greed, anger, and delusion than their counterparts, or else remain complacent out of fear or ignorance. The narrow door, in contrast, is to actively walk in the opposite direction, choosing to act out of nongreed, nonanger, and nondelusion, and to be brave in the face of fear.

One example Pastor Robyn gave is when Jesus drives out the merchants and money changers from the temple and overturns their tables, saying that these people were exploiting the poor who were obligated to make ritual sacrifices at the temple and profiting off of them, that the economics of the temple was harmful to them. But this was a commonly accepted situation, and most went along with it whether they saw it as just or otherwise. And certainly the merchants, money changers, and religious leaders were benefiting from it. So when Jesus overturned their tables and drove them out of the temple, he was striking at the economic heart of his society and religion out of love for the people and walking in the opposite direction of the proverbial moving walkway.

Another example was how most of the professed Christians in Nazi Germany, millions of both Catholics and Protestants, went along with, or even supported, the Third Reich. And some even went so far as to develop their own brand on Christian nationalism that consciously incorporated the racist, white supremacist ideology of the Third Reich into their own theology. It was something supported by both the political and religious leaders of Germany. Some were seduced into believing in the correctness of this ideology. Some saw how they would benefit. And some just followed the walkway because that was the easiest thing to do as they themselves were out of harm's way. But some spoke out. Some worked to undermine the Third Reich. And some tried to save the victims of their policies and intolerance, especially the Jewish targets of their violence. Essentially, the two kinds of doors represent two kinds of Christianity or approaches to religion in general. Pastor Robyn illustrated this with a quote from Fredrick Douglas:

I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial, and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels.

Pastor Robyn then used as a third example the long history of slavery and racism in the US, which many accepted because they were seduced into believing in the ideology of white supremacy, benefited from it directly, or simply went along with it because it was just the reality of how things were. And many Christians went so far as to take quotes from the Bible to justify it on a religious basis as well as economic and racist ones. But there were also those who spoke out against slavery, and some even willing to help slaves escape to free territories. And while Pastor Robyn focused on racism and the perpetuation of white supremacy within the makeup up of our thought and material structure of our institutions, I think it's possible to extend this idea to the broadest possible struggles against any form of harmful, oppressive, and exploitative ideologies, economic systems, and social institutions. But to go against the flow of the walkway is often difficult and dangerous. For one, you have to put in a lot more energy to walk in the other direction and not be passively carried towards an arguably undesirable destination, which would make you in some sense complicit. And doing so means that you'll likely not share in the comfort or security that simply going with the flow provides. You may stumble and fall and not be accepted by those around you, like Jesus' rejection in his own hometown of Nazareth. And worse, it can be dangerous because it can put you into conflict with worldly powers, and there are many guarding the walkway and willing to protect it and the status quo. Walking in the opposite direction or trying to stop the walkway entirely is to challenge the power and privilege of those on the walkway, and especially those who created and own it, illustrated by Jesus' execution in Jerusalem by the political and religious elites of his time.

Pastor Robyn referenced something Jesus says earlier in Luke, when he's reading a scroll from the prophet Isaiah and essentially summarizing his own spiritual mission, near the end of her homily:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."

And she more or less explained that when Jesus says things like "some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last," it can be understood to mean some who are first — i.e., political and religious leaders in positions of power who use that power to exploit, harm, and oppress others — will find themselves last and left outside. Conversely, some who are last — i.e., those who suffer under that exploitation, harm, and oppression or fight against it and are in turn harmed — will find themselves first and reclining at table in the kin-dom of God to the anguish of those who are cast out. There are so many morals and warnings here that I could spend hours reflecting on them, but a big one is that: just because you find yourself in a position of power and privilege doesn't mean that you're worthy of it and in a position to judge others; and just because you find yourself in the position of being poor, marginalized, or oppressed doesn't mean that you deserve it or that you're unworthy of justice or love. And in the words of Pastor Robyn, our duty as followers of Christ is to walk as fast as we can in the opposite direction, holding the hands of others, and being the change Christ came to bring to the world. Which is why being a follower of Christ to me means often being rebellious and radical and standing on the side of the poor, the incarcerated, and the oppressed.

After the service, the person sitting behind me, Gini, introduced herself and asked me what brought me to Spirit of Grace and if it has what I'm looking for. I said that I wasn't sure yet as it was only my second time visiting and that some of the things I'm looking for aren't typical. She asked what those were, and I mentioned that the church seems great but I also have a very contemplative aspect to my spirituality that isn't as prevalent in most places I visit, whereupon she proceeded to explain she's a teacher of centering prayer and has been deeply involved with it since learning it from the modern-day pioneers like Bede Griffiths and Thomas Keating, and there are others here who have a similar interest in contemplation. It was kind of a crazy coincidence and did seem a little like fate or the holy spirit at work. I also spent a bit of time talking to Rachel a little more and met a few other members/visitors before heading home. It definitely feels like I'm being called to spend more time here.

8/14/22

I finally had a chance to visit Spirit of Grace today. I read about them a while ago while searching for churches in my area and had planned on checking them out at some point. At the time, I was mainly looking for local Catholic and Reconciling in Christ ELCA churches, and Spirit of Grace caught my eye because they're an intentional community of Catholics and Lutherans who worship together, with alternating celebrants. Today happened to be the first time Patrick Hannon, C.S.C joined them for their hybrid service. He's a Catholic priest out of the University of Portland. Next week, Pastor Robyn, who I met at St. Andrew Lutheran years ago, will offer communion. The homily was given by a Vinci, Director of Catholic Ministries at Spirit of Grace, and it was based on the day's readings (Jer 38:4-6, 8-10 and Luke 12:49-53) and inspiration from the series Little Fires Everywhere. It was mainly about the little fires that our faith ignites within us and encourages us to be brave and speak and act even when doing so is difficult or puts us in harm's way. Doing what's right isn't always easy and sometimes puts us in difficult situations or in conflict with others.

It was really interesting to see an entire community intentionally doing what I've been doing on my own the last couple of years. While I'm sure the local Catholic Bishop would frown upon it, I'm happy I'm not the only one straddling these two traditions. I see my Catholic and Lutheran double-belonging similarly to how I do my Buddhist and Christian double-belonging. For me, it's very much in line with the universality of Christ and the open arms of the church I find within the New Testament (e.g., Gal 3:28, Mt 22:1-10 and Luke 14:15-24, Romans 15:1-7, etc.), as well as my own perennialist leanings. After the service, one of the parishioners, Marcia, introduced herself and started a conversation with me about what brought me to Spirit of Grace and my spiritual background. She also introduced me to Pastor Robyn, who in turn introduced me to April, who delivered the children's sermon, and Rachel, a seminary student in her final year (although she'll have to take one more in an ELCA affiliated program to be ordained within the ELCA). They were all nice and patiently listened as I awkwardly rambled on about my spiritual interests in monasticism and background in both Buddhism and Christianity and how I saw them complementing one another, balancing the contemplative confrontation with internal suffering with the active confrontation of external suffering in the world. They seemed to understand where I was coming from at least, and were all very welcoming. All in all, I had a pretty positive experience and I definitely think that I'll visit again.