Wayside Pulpit

About the Author

I am so many things from mother to musician. I have always been a sojourner and never a settler. I think if I had lived back in the Gold Rush days of the United States I would have been on a wagon train to the west, preaching and writing about some kind of spiritually for anyone who might listen.

I do currently live in California but came here by way of a 1982 white Subaru sometime in the early 1990’s. After serving as an interfaith chaplain in a small community hospital, I started working on my PhD in 2007. I am drawn to the work I do, but I'm awed by it at the same time. There is something both magical and tragic about walking the path of the academic study of religion.

I know that I am called to live a creative life, but I still have not figured out exactly what that means. I do know that there is something that draws me toward wanting to be creative and equally strong force that draws me away from it. Somewhere in that push and pull is an anxiety that often overwhelms me.

If I have one goal in life, it is to find a balm for that anxiety. I know that writing, meditation, and prayer are some of its ingredients, but I am far from finding the full formula.

About

contextual

In 1919 Rev. Henry Saunderson decided to use the large bulletin board outside of the First Parish Church in Brighton, Massachusetts to display inspirational religious messages to those passing by. Though Rev. Saunderson was Unitarian, his idea of the Wayside Pulpit has influenced churches of many denominations to use their outside message boards as a place to express ideas of faith.

This particular space is inspired by Saunderson’s idea of having a place, outside of a church, where ideas of faith can be expressed and shared with those passing by. My hope is that this particular Wayside Pulpit will share a Christianity with the world that is deeply grounded in the divine filled acts of questioning, wondering and, most importantly, discovering what it means to be human.

theological

This wayside pulpit is not a space for traditional Christian beliefs and theologies, rather it is a place to press beyond these traditional views. This is a space of both play and radical exploration. It is a place to throw faith against the wall and see what sort of ink blot is left behind. You won't like all the twisted and strange shapes that emerge, neither will I, but together they'll form their own unique graffiti.

Therefore, if you are looking for a place that will reinforce what you already know about Christianity, you might be happier somewhere else. There are many spaces on the net that work diligently to maintain the long standing frameworks of the Christian faith. If, however, you wonder about a different way to understand Christianity, or are just curious about spirituality in general, I welcome you to the Wayside.