Theology and Spirituality
“We come to a time when we realize that the faith we have inherited is inadequate for what we are facing...at such moments we have three choices: We can hold to our religious beliefs and deny our experience, we can hold to our experience and walk away from our religious tradition,
or we can become theologians.”
- Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker
My Theological Approach
“God,” writes James Luther Adams, “is the Power that forms community.” I believe this and thus, all of my theology is, in a way, ecclesiology. What holds us together? What tears us apart? What is the work we are called to together? What do we owe each other? Where are we going? How do we ensure we all get there? These are the questions that drive me. And this is why I remain so hopelessly devoted to church life, as imperfect as it can be at times, I believe deep down in my bones that our salvation really is dependent on multi-generational potlucks. We worship God, the grounding of creation, by figuring out how to stay in community together. I see theology playing two important and complementary roles in my life and the life of a congregation: grounding and imagination. Theology can help ground and center us in our beings and values. When we are faced with conflicts, questions, and challenges, it provides a place to begin working through them. It ensures that our work for justice is coming from a place of deep conviction. For example, the belief that each of us has a divine spark within us can be a powerful starting place for the work of anti-racism or LGBTQ+ equality. When our work to build the beloved community is grounded in deep, sacred values, it is more sustainable, more committed, and more joyful. I also make it a practice to try and spark my theological imagination regularly and see this being an important part of my role as a minister. I enjoy reading new theological ideas and scholarship, including from theologians whose beliefs differ from my own, and introducing those ideas to congregations. We can have fun “playing” with theology together, trying on new ideas to see if they inform our work for justice or reawaken our senses to the beauty of the world. We live in challenging and uncertain times that require creative solutions for how we move forward towards liberation and justice together. We need to practice keeping our minds and hearts open to new ideas that might inform this journey. Theology helps us to stay grounded in our deepest, most sacred values and it helps us explore new ideas and expansive ways of thinking that can lead us towards liberation, flourishing, and joy. My role as a minister is not to ask congregants to accept my own theology, but rather to impart a sense of the importance of theology and introduce new ideas and tools for theological discernment and discovery.
Spiritual Practices
Spiritual practices are an important part of my own life. They are how I stay connected to the sacred and make space to listen to the still small voice inside. I practice regular prayer, devotional reading, and meditative walking. I also make space periodically for spiritual retreats and walking pilgrimages.
In the congregations I serve, I regulalry introduce new practices, incorporate spiritual practices into workshops and meetings, and lead classes and discussions that provide folks with space to discuss, discern, and experiment.
A few examples of ways I have enjoyed incorporating spiritual practices into congregational life include :
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Facilitating labyrinth walks and workshops
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Co-leading group walking pilgrimage trips along trails in Spain and Scotland, as well as a Unitarian history pilgrimage to Boston and Concord
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Teaching Unitarian Universalists about the Examen, a Jesuit prayer practice that is helpful for self-reflection and regular discernment (see an example here).
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Leading local "pilgrim for a day" spiritual retreats
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Incorporating spiritual practices, such as devotional poetry reading, into social justice workshops and planning meetings
A Prayer For Our Faith Communities
Spirit of Life, Divine manifestation of love,
Help us stay connected to the wonder and awe and mystery of this life.
Help us to sit in stillness so we might grow in our consciousness of what is asked of us, so that we might listen for where you are calling us.
May we not be afraid of what we hear.
May we allow that divine voice to follow us and prod us as we go out into the world, allowing our hearts, in the words of activist Dorothy Day to become “God-haunted.”
And may we bring our God-haunted hearts into the embrace of this community.
Let us greet each other in welcome, offering support and accountability as we gather together to make meaning of our lives and to make manifest our sacred callings.
Let us be a people of faith, spiritually grounded and religiously active, who understand the importance of listening to the divine, listening to our own inner voice, and listening to each other in service of building the beloved community.
May it be so. And Amen.