TransFORMing

A few weeks ago...I was enticed to attend the TransFORM east coast conference...a gathering for the missional/incarnational minded. Everything about this conference excited me, starting with the cost...which was FREE, thanks to Wesley Theological Seminary! I'm not gonna lie...a free missional conference with a lot of other possible freebie options (plane ticket, transportation from Dulles to Arlington VA...and a place to crash for the duration) made this conference completely irresistible. But, before I ever knew how financially accessible TransFORM would become for me...I was consumed with the desire to get there. I can't say for sure what the allure was for the other 200-300 people who somehow made their way to DC from all over the USA and Canada...But for me it had much less to do with the A-list speakers, smorgasbord of workshops or even the FREE part...and everything to do with a LOVE...and a compulsion for community and connection with my extended family in the Kingdom of God.

From the moment I set one foot on the Wesley campus I noticed a palpable energy...the vibe was a little like a gigantic long anticipated family reunion... We became instant cousins, nieces, nephews, aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters...through our spiritual DNA. Introductions seemed to be mere formalities because so many of us already knew the other thru social media and the blogosphere. Usually limited to virtual community (#twitter and facebook)...this gathering was a tangible opportunity for 'facetime' and hugging necks! LOVE pulsated and spilled out all over the place...It was truly beautiful. The overwhelming feeling of inter-connectivity never dissipated once for me and...and as I surveyed this unlikely family of mine...I surmised "I could *almost* imagine myself participating in 'real' church if it looked like 'this'... (o;

As much as I appreciate the 'powerhouse' keynote speakers scheduled at this FREE conference...(read: Brian McLaren and Peter Rollins) I was actually more stirred-up by the fact that the background voices in the vast arena of emergence/incarnational/missional Christianity were featured on the same platform, sharing their realities from the front lines. Though I usually devour the controversial books and provocative theological conversations the BIGGER names bring...I can honestly say I didn't come for that. I came to hear from people like Kathy Escobar of the Refuge, Anthony Smith aka Postmodernegro, Tim Condor of Emmaus Way, Phil Shepherd of The Eucatastrophy...not to mention Eliacin Rosario-Cruz, Jonathan Brink and Mark Scandrette to name a few...people I can truly relate to...some I call true friends and mentors. These are the people who are living daily this thing we call missional/incarnational...for-reals. This is what ultimately drew me to the conference and it's what inspired me. It whet my appetite for something more...even though I'm not quite sure what that is just yet.

Despite an ongoing storm of doubt and uncertainty in my mind...along with the subsequent spiritual deconstruction I 've been walking through for the past couple years, I hesitantly admit that I've recently felt pangs and provocations equally terrifying for me. I'm still standing in a heap of smoldering ashes of my past systematic theology and churchianity...but I'm compelled to excavate what's left of my core beliefs and best dreams in hopes that I might have the courage to eventually begin a creative process of rebuilding and reconstructing spiritual praxis in the context my own community of sojourners. What's the fear in it all? It's that it will never materialize or that I'll have to do it alone. One of the the greatest things about the TransFORM community in general is that it was populated with a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before me in this process...Experiencing that up close breathed life into what is for me too often a deflated and defeated hope when it comes to me and my relationship to 'the church'.

It's not so difficult to re-imagine vibrant faith, spirituality and community in a "liberated space" ripe with diversity, creativity, love...and unconditional acceptance. It was so easy for me to relax in this safe 'Hush Harbor' ( thanks Anthony for the great analogy) with people who understand what it feels like to be rejected and held in contempt by some evangelical communities today, like the one I came from. I could see the out working of the gifts within the body and the leveling of the playing field...the humility of them all...just doing their own unique thing in the context of togetherness...it manifested like a great orchestra with every instrument playing...creating a magnificent overture. It was, I think THE WAY it's all supposed to be. Most of the time I sat and soaked in it...and dreamed about there being similar communities all over the world for people who wanted to be a part of something like that.

I heard some pretty powerful messages too...my little composition book of notes is now like a sacred text. Truth and Hope were communicated to me in so many ways and by so many prophets...I certainly feel TransFORMed by much of it. I believe the experience has and will continue to shape my spiritual future...yet I have a long way to go and a lot to still overcome. But alas...those thoughts and epiphanies will have to wait for another post to them any justice! To be continued...

WHY CONVERGENCE ?

There was a time in my former life, that I anxiously awaited the tour dates of a few ‘brand-name’ annual women’s conference events that made stops in Phoenix, where I live..I attended one or two of these events every single year without exception for probably an entire decade...In those days...descriptive words like ‘Virtue’, ‘Purpose-Driven’, ‘Extravagant’ or ‘Proverbs 31' coupled in some manner with the word “ WOMAN” captivated me... motivating me to rally my girlfriends to accompany me to these intentional and highly stylized events...

Right now I confess...as meaningful and engaging as those conferences were for me at the time...it’s extremely hard for me to be excited...let alone generous, when it comes to celebrating my ‘previous’ life as a compulsive evangelical Christian woman...I do not doubt that my attitude in this regard is unattractive...but the truth is, at this moment I struggle to connect meaning to most things that once were the highlight of my spiritual practice. The fact that my life today has completely derailed from the conservative evangelical tracks and looks absolutely nothing like it once did, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the messages and ideals celebrated and projected from the name-brand conference circuit or the elite women on the platform...is identifiably one of my greatest sources of pain and confusion.

It’s a long story...alluded to in past blog posts...but in a nutshell revolves around dashed expectations and painful breakups between the church and I. I don’t really understand it all myself...I am embarrassed to admit it but the key-note speakers of those past conferences and retreats once represented everything I longed for and thought I was called to be and have...Besides a ‘fuller’ relationship with God, achieving eventual impeccable spiritual maturity and moral character...I looked forward to becoming more polished and confident in myself and protecting, at all costs, an unwavering belief that God would eventually unfurl a BIG purpose and plan for my future at any moment...I held my breath. I believed. I waited and waited and waited.....

Five years and a crushing spiritual crisis later can have a profound affect on perspective...in fact, from my current vantage point, it seems impossible to me now that those women’s events (or any women’s event for that matter)...in all of their celebrated pageantry, could ever become catalysts for life altering spiritual experiences, buoying faith during the most challenging seasons of life for a single, a young married, a mother or church leader...but they do for so many women and they did for me too long ago..and I need to acknowledge that.

Even on a good day it's painfully obvious to me (and others)...that I am barely on the healthier side of what has been a debilitating crisis of faith...My evangelical-spirit-filled-purpose-driven-bubble was blown to freaking bits...leaving virtually nothing in tact...except for maybe a very teeny-tiny-barely-breathing desire to follow Jesus and also to be in relationship with and inspired by a community of strong faithful women. Sometimes even now, I almost believe I can feel a thready pulse on a few of my old dreams of purpose...but finding opportunities or outlets to experience this beyond the traditional institutional church is damn near impossible for me, not only logistically here in Phoenix...but also because of my cynical/heretical condition...I don't believe much anymore.. Nothing about those ‘other' on-going women’s conferences feels authentic or enticing to me in this place...and until recently, I’ve never come across any good alternatives.

A few months ago, I was invited to attend an obscure event for women interested Leadership...'Christian Leadership'...happening in the Portland area in March...I was immediately intrigued and repelled by the idea at the same time. All my fear of encountering anything remotely similar to my former 'church-y' conference experiences (especially involving THE "L"-WORD) was panic inducing...and *almost* won out over my curiosity and desire to reestablish new practice and tradition in my life. Fortunately, a couple of my lovely trusted women friends and virtual acquaintances assured me that if I was brave enough to go...I would appreciate, grow and even ENJOY my time there in the company of powerful yet unconventional women who are leading in the Way of Jesus...I conceded and secured my registration.

The event was in Portland making it an instant hit for a lifelong desert dweller like me. I could go on and on about the venue...the nearly 100 year old, 73 acre rambling property bursting with all varieties of flowering trees, shrubs and quaint gardens, Once a poor-farm during the depression...the main structure now flaunts beautiful yet gaudy 'Monte Python-esque' art work on walls, niches and every guest room door...mostly portraits of the previous residents and scenic Oregon country side. So creative and odd...but absolutely stunning; perfect imagery for this unique Convergence of women.

Unlike so many of my previous experiences with events specifically marketed towards ‘women’...I couldn’t help but notice there was NO fluff...or froof...or wedding-y-princess-y, dainty tea party-ish...or diva themed decorations
...anywhere...PRAISEGOD!
The conference room itself was brilliant without much fuss. Art-deco in design and boasting the most glorious mural that spanned an entire wall, floor to ceiling...depicting the simple unhindered life on the 'poor-farm' during the depression...The dozen or so tables were adorned with unassuming artifacts and antiques stuffed to over-flowing with all varieties of live plants...An old boot with a fern inside...a miniature herb garden inside an old dresser drawer; it was clever...but beyond that...it communicated to me an absolute truth that life is incorrigible and beauty and growth can come from or be contained in the most ‘unexpected’ things and places (and people)...a powerful theme for the weekend!

The most obvious and refreshing difference between Convergence and countless other women's LEADERSHIP events I’ve attended personally...was the women themselves. Diverse...unassuming...free...natural...make-up was optional for sure...What Liberty! Many women nonchalantly exposed their elaborate, colorful artistic tattoo's that told stories of transformation...there were some with body piercings...gauged ears...dreads...bandanas...and creatively-layered-recycled- clothing...A couple of artsy women furiously knitted socks, scarves and the like practically non-stop throughout the entire weekend. Some pretty pedestrian ladies were representing too. There were the more blendy P.T.O mom-types (like me) and of course the beautiful sage grammas exuding their wisdom, all equally valuable pieces of the mosaic...I felt completely comfortable and welcome..like I really belonged.

I don't want to go off on a tangent about appearances but...I have to qualify why this is significant to me...Having spent over 25 years in a homogeneous upper-end Christian fellowship...I can say beyond-a-shadow-of-doubt that 97% of the women who attended Convergence would have NEVER...EVER...in a million years have been chosen for positions of leadership...or given a 'visible' platform of any kind in past churches I’ve been affiliated with...based almost exclusively on their 'appearance'...and what that might infer about their character. It was immediately clear that the convergence women obviously didn't get the memo about tatts, piercings...and business casual...(or liberal use of the 'swears')as possibly being deterrents for leadership.(o: I know that a few...like me...were once told

..."it's not that you aren't capable...it's just you don't have the 'character"

...read: you don't dress and talk like we need you to...you're a little too real and rough around the edges...YOU are a Leadership liability...too risky.

I love that they LEAD ANYWAY...with or without approval or permission!

Lastly I was struck and challenged by the theme explored at Convergence 2010..."Women Leading in the Way of Jesus". Leadership is an extremely uncomfortable topic for me lately...so much so that I nearly chose not to attend the conference and once there and seriously debated if I could even participate in one specific break-out group where the topic was exclusively related to personal experience with leadership. (This may be a WHOLE blog post in itself) It was obvious from the first 5 minutes of the conference, that Convergence would be very different in it's approach to leadership and the whole conference mentality...In fact, unlike the pop-culture model I am used to...the leadership at Convergence was understated, most notably...there were NO key-note speakers or celebrity personalities that the whole gig hinged on! Instead...several very humble and diverse wise women directed our discussions...handing it over to the participants almost exclusively...allowing us to interact with each other...to discover, minister to and support our sisters in and through our unique journey's of faith...it left so much 'room' for the spirit of God to be present and to speak...I LEARNED SO MUCH and I am still processing.

There is so much more I could expound on here about my experience at Convergence...I could ramble on for at least 7 more paragraphs...I want to talk about the ladies I met...their stories of physical, emotional and spiritual healing and survival...about their effervescent spirits...about their incredible personal accomplishments and ministries many 'obscure' by old standards...I want to expound on their sobriety...their innate strength and the power they possess and willingly give away...I want to talk more about their empathy and ability to love. This after all...is what qualifies them to be "Women Leading in The Way of Jesus!"
More to come...

LENT... and the Labyrinth

Last year (2009) I became more aware of and interested in committing myself to the observance of Lent. After a previous Emerging Desert cohort discussion, I became even more compelled to find a place to officially begin the Lenten season. My friend Jamie knew I was interested in exploring the Labyrinth as a symbol of the Lenten journey. So, upon her suggestion, she and I and my pal Frances... went to the Episcopal Cathedral of Phoenix to participate in the Mass and imposition of ashes there...primarily because they have a ‘life-size’ replica of the Labyrinth from the Cathedral in Chartes France in their court yard. After arriving at the church, finding the Labyrinth was first on our agenda for the morning. Located in the courtyard, surrounded by a serene desert garden punctuated by simplistic modern glass and metal sculptures depicting traditional stations of the cross, the Labyrinth was almost unnoticeable until standing right on top of it.

I tend to have ‘romantic spiritual ideas"...like walking’ a labyrinth during Lent...Initially it’s easy for me to plan what I imagine will be ground-breaking spiritual learning opportunities I ‘need’ to have...until I am actually faced with the reality of doing it...then I panic or struggle with apathy. Standing at the entrance of the labyrinth, I felt both. I instantly became distracted by traffic noise, the light-rail coming and going...even the proximity of my friends who came to make the pilgrimage as well. But, the most invasive thought was that ‘someone’ might be ‘watching me’and maybe I’d mess up and do the Labyrinth ‘ass-backward’...so typical for me. For a moment, I didn’t know what to do or how to begin...? I felt awkward and silly. I had zero information on proper protocol involved with ‘labyrinth -walking’ if there even is such a thing ?!

After several minutes, I thought to open the book of common prayer I brought along, to the ‘Ash Wednesday’ entry; reading the meditation for the day out loud, I hesitantly stepped onto the brick pathway and cautiously began my Lenten journey. Now...the process of walking a labyrinth is in theory...really simple; follow a clearly marked path that meanders some what unpredictably towards the center. There is no way to get lost or stuck as long as you keep moving in a forward direction, you will eventually reach the destination. Easy! Yet somehow...only a few paces onto the winding pathway...I became panicked that I was NOT doing ‘it’ correctly. I worried that I had inadvertently missed a step or perhaps even retraced my steps unnecessarily. I imagined church staff or priests watching me from inside the Cathedral...shaking their heads in disdain. Several neurotic, unwelcome and what seemed to be random scattered thoughts cluttered my mind.

At some point along the way...I stopped to contemplate my surroundings...to ponder the process. When I resumed walking, I noticed both of my fellow Lenten sojourners had somehow stealthily passed me by, each on their own quest. For some weird reason this made me feel kind of frustrated and anxious...it bothered me that though I had initiated the process...somehow they were no doubt going to get to ‘the destination’ ahead of me! Interestingly, only a few minutes later...I was surprised to see those same friends walking towards me, but on what appeared to be a different path. We exchanged smiles and hugs as we passed. I noticed how closely I and my companions were to each other inside the Labyrinth at times and how difficult it was in those moments to discern who was ahead...and who was behind...Sometimes it seemed our paths would collide, then at that moment someone would come to one of the many internal hairpin turns and we’d instantly be traveling away from each other towards distant sides of the Labyrinth, making me wonder when we'd encounter one another while on this pilgrimage again?

More often though... I remember being extremely sensitive to the various times when ‘I’ came especially close to the center of the labyrinth, hugging the ‘outside edge’ of the inner most point of the destination...but at the same time...not really quite ‘there’. A few times...just when it seemed from my perspective I would momentarily reach the end of the journey...a 180-degree turn would take me all the way back to the outer most perimeter of the Labyrinth once again...with no way of discerning when I’d really truly arrive at the center.

The process of walking the Labyrinth took an unexpected amount of time...quickening my pace seemed to defeat the purpose of undergoing the journey to start with. Stopping along the way seemed counter productive as well, however, doing so offered opportunities to reflect and meditate...and to sort through all of those seemingly random and pesky thoughts I encountered throughout much of my experience. Quietly aware that my fellow pilgrims had reached the coveted destination in the very center of the Labyrinth,I began to wonder about the many invasive thoughts and ideas and their significance, if any, to what I was experiencing inside the Lenten Labyrinth. One-at-a-time the girls entered inward...each then sitting or kneeling in silence, reflecting on their own unique experiences no doubt. There was no cheering, high fives or knuckle bumps. Just quiet, humble contemplation.

Finally and almost by accident, I noticed that I too was nearing the end of my pilgrimage that dat... heading towards the very heart of the Labyrinth (a good few minutes behind the others that I had initially preceded) It was at that moment that I felt an illumination...an epiphany of sorts...deep in my spirit. I realized how obvious it all was. The confusing thoughts and images I encountered, struggled against and then dismissed as bizarre or disconnected were anything but random or lacking in meaning, instead, they were more like mile markers and road signs characterizing my real-life spiritual journey. They represented the exact issues and hang-ups I have encountered and continued to carry as baggage for legitimate reasons...or not, for most of my life as a Christian.

I started to understand quite well, how much the Labyrinth adventure that day mirrored my life and spiritual journey with Jesus up to that point. Not a linear trajectory of maturation always held up and esteemed in church institutions I was most familiar with...but a winding, complicated back and forth process that moved me (and others) towards deeper relationship with God at the center of all things. As I stepped into the middle rosette of the labyrinth...and rejoined my friends, I knelt, embracing my own journey and my own revelation in that place. My overwhelming sense at that moment was the need to repent of my self preoccupation, the obsession of measuring my performance and my distructive grasp for controling my circumstances and also, my compulsion to carry heavy unhelpful baggage with me for so long. I wondered if the Labyrinth had accomplished in me what it was designed to...despite my lack of understanding and expertise in it?

Later, at home, I researched The labyrinth...finding out only then it was ( and is still in some traditions) considered a compelling ancient symbol long used in the observation of the season of Lent. Ironically, one of its original intended purposes was to offer pilgrims who travel it, the opportunity to contemplate their lives and to repent of sinful and harmful self-focus. Following the twisting, turning paths, the pilgrim is constantly provided an actualization of making literal and symbolic changes in their life’s direction...turning them away from the old ways of thinking and functioning...sending them a whole new way. In so doing those on the labyrinth journey are drawn closer to the healer and center of all...GOD. This is the very nature of repentance. I certainly had no idea what to expect in this labyrinth exercise.I had no idea where to focus my eyes, ears, racing thoughts and heart. Yet. Despite that, I experienced revelation so unique, my personal issues and sickness became obvious to me by the end presenting an opportunity for me to change directions...to repent...and to embrace a new way of looking at my faith and myself while on my journey with Jesus.

WORD

I am continuing to expand on a few of the 5 spiritual "KEEPERS", or spiritual by-products I inherited from the institutional church of my past. These are specific truths I feel I can claim as having legitimate life giving and eternal value...even now, living as a sort of self-imposed exile on the ‘outside'. Each foundational truth has weathered a rather bitter divorce from my ‘traditional church’ days yet has resurfaced a little tattered and torn...but maybe more mature, humble and even more multidimensional as well...or at least I'd like to think so!

Previously in the blog “Re-Jesus”, I identified the most valuable truth I gained via the institution as "Jesus" Himself...but at the same time, I had to admit that the Jesus I came to know over the years seemed a little flat and one dimensional, nothing like the radical subversive Jesus I am becoming acquainted with today. And, to be authentic...I felt I had to expose some of the accompanying fluff that He previously came packaged with that I could no longer ascribe to. Some of those ideologies even became road-blocks that I believe kept me from truly knowing and following Jesus where he seemed to be going...beyond the walls of the church.

Next, in Community-Communitas...I shared the deep on-going feelings I have regarding community life within the context of the I.C. and beyond. I emphatically confess that my desire to be connected and committed to the people of God was first developed and nurtured in the Mega church I attended for 23 years...and for that I am forever grateful. My perspective about what community is and is not...has expanded and evolved into something similar but also entirely ‘other’ than before. This phenomenon is better understood by me today as "Communitas" which can be loosely defined as a conjoined life of mission going beyond creating community for community sake and is truly far more difficult and infinitely more rewarding.

In this blog titled WORD...I want to explore the Bible. However, this is where my journey becomes more precarious and the deconstruction of my past starts to get really messy and makes my head spin. Because of that, and the fact that I fear the fall-out of what I am about to say, I have been procrastinating. I have tried to just ignore the topic, pushing it out of my mind. But, I keep being drawn back, I start to write and then...I stop. Perplexed. Scared. Indifferent. Before I began this internal assignment, I surmised that what I would eventually produce here, wouldn’t amount to any more than incoherent yammerings which would probably not accurately represent my understanding or feelings on the same topic, even 6 months from now.

It's become obvious to me that one of the greatest obstacles for me to overcome while writing this piece in particular, is that nothing is really settled for me right now. I am still in a free fall of sorts even a whole year later. Lots of things are up for debate and redefining...nothing is totally concrete...not even my grasp of the BIBLE.At the moment, my entire life is a paradigm shift! I think it’s worthwhile to mention, the current religious and political climate pervasive in our country right now, adds to my disconnect and overall lack of desire to maintain or protect what I once thought I knew for sure and treasured above all, my certainty about my Christian faith and my “Biblical World view.”

For some, that kind of ambiguity, confusion and flat out blasphemy is probably setting off all kinds of internal evangelical heresy alarms... believe me, I know! I grimace, remembering what I used to think and say about ‘people like me’ too. I remember the judgements and allegations I handed out with such conviction and superiority. However, the truth is, today...right this minute... I am deeply bothered by the Bible on so many levels. Bothered by how easy it is for debased people (wolves in sheep’s clothing I suppose)to arrive at zealous and dangerous Biblical interpretations and applications like this jackass(http://www.faithfulwordbaptist.org/page5.html) I’m bothered when I am emphatically told that The Word of God ‘clearly says’ this or that...when it isn’t especially clear to me at all (at least in ways it once was) I’m bothered by the contextual complexities, bothered by the problem of trying to read the Bible for personal revelation without having a tremendous amount of back knowledge to allow for “rightly dividing the truth’...and more than ever...I am bothered by being expected to receive as inerrant and infallible, the popular ‘orthodox theology’ of boisterous ultra conservative Christianity as it pertains to the Holy Bible Ironically none of this bothered me when I was a self-imposed expert on all things “Biblical” but...that has all since changed out here on the slippery slope.

At some point in my life, the Bible became a bunch of tidy and trite cliches,...a text book, a blue print, a 'prescription’ for moral living, an owner’s manual, a road map and the Holy CC&R's if you will, easily providing me with just the 'right' answers for any given situation. Beyond being used for personal guidance and enrichment...it often became something that I could use to serve myself, proving my theological estuteness and undermining the ideas and convictions of others. It kills me to admit now that during my most unbending conservative season of life inside the I.C...I used the Bible to fuel heated debates as well as a weapon to help me win arguments regarding complex moral and theological quandaries. SIDE NOTE: I absolve the church of imputing to me such a disdainful character flaw; I confess that I quite likely found my way into that pit on my very own volition...call it a symptom of modernism...dualistic thinking ...or just plain ol’sin...I cannot hold the church accountable for any of that crap ...for sure!

Right this moment...the idea of the Bible as infallible and inerrant, especially as interpreted by fragile humans with finite minds like my own or by those in positions of power...has suffered the greatest degree of scrutiny in my struggle to properly reposition the Bible in my life. Again...I digress, I am fully aware of how bad this all sounds...and frankly...I am pretty sure it is as bad as it sounds. But, despite no longer being confident in a particular set of standardized statements that have been slated to define scriptural absolutes for all time...(ironically set forth by men who believed the earth was the center of the universe and flat as a flannel-board)...the Bible remains for me foundationally unique...and inescapably necessary...although much more mysterious and frustrating than ever before.


"It could be said that each reader of the Bible reads with personal blinders...Too often the Bible is simpley a tool we use to confirm ideas we already hold. There's scarcely a more theologically distructive habit." ~Brian Sanders, Life After Church


Believing the above statement to be fundamentally true does make me more cynical and perhaps more skeptical over all. But...it has also liberated me and provided me freedom to wrestle with my Biblical uncertainties in ways I was never encouraged to before, without pressure to arrive at the exact same conclusions as the masses . Irefutable ideologies crafted by seminarians that I would at one time swallow whole...I am now chewing on for a hell of a lot longer and spitting out a lot more bones. I have had no shortage of people warning me that I will eventually find the Bible of little value and view it as a mere fairytale. Yet interestingly, unlike the warnings I received, I'm noticing that rather than conclude the Bible to be irrelivant and unimportant, I have developed a new passion for many aspects of it that went largely undeveloped or minimized before...like the Gospels of Jesus and the writings of some of the more obscure minor prophets.

Reading the Bible today is an etirely differnt experience for me. My motivation is not the same. Rather than using it to prove to myself and others that I am ultimately correct in my understanding of it, I find myself more willing to go to scripture for personal inspiration, in a posture to learn and with a lot more humility. I have delighted in reading old stories, especially the Jesus stories in brand new and fresh ways...made alive by their cultural and historical contexts and much less baggage. And, I am fortunate to be a part of a collective of people who are embarking on a similar journey. Together we are reorienting ourselves to the WORD of God and rediscovering the timeless wisdom, inspired truth and the mystery that deepens our individual and collective faith.