I have recently been asked about my beliefs since the quotes I post come from various faith perspectives.  Let me tell you about my faith:

I am an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. I am a follower of the way of Jesus.  By that I mean I am a follower of the way of love and inclusion. I believe there are many paths to grow in our relationship with the Ground of all Being (who I call God) .  I honor all religious paths that are rooted in love.  I believe that is what Jesus would do if he were physically alive in our time.  Since my personal destiny led me to Christianity I attempt to live what Douglas John Hall calls “The representative life of Christ” by following Jesus’ commandment, “That you have love for one another”. In that commandment I don’t see anything that excludes any one for any reason such as faith, race, class, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, or any of the socially constructed walls of division.  My attempt is to live my life in a way that models and teaches a love that is lived out through compassion and social justice.

Marcus Borg, in his book “Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time” highlights how Jesus followed a radical alternative social vision of compassion in the time when the law based purity system dominated the culture.  Borg states, “To sum it up, the effect of the purity system was to create a world with sharp social boundaries: between pure and impure, righteous and sinner, whole and not whole, male and female, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile.”  In contrast, “For Jesus, compassion was the central quality of God and central quality of a life centered in God.”  Jesus’ inclusive movement was rooted in a love that was based on “feeling the suffering of somebody else and being moved by that suffering to do something.”   That is the model I follow.

Beyond the theoretical understanding of my faith there is an experiential reality.  I believe in a Creator who “Makes a way out of no way” (see the book by that name written by Monica Coleman). There is a Spirit within us that helps us to see and follow a new vision.  I had a vision of wholeness when my body was attacked by Multiple Sclerosis, hence I am walking today through faith and good health care.  I knew there was something better for me when I found myself overcome by depression.  A combination of faith, counseling, and medication restored my mental health.  I revitalized and started churches when many said a woman (particularly a black lesbian) could not make a difference.  Many lives were changed and persons were helped through those ministries.

To sum up it up my faith perspective it is rooted and fueled by love, compassion, and inclusion.

Namaste,

Dr. Kathi

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