How is my call shaping itself now that
I am in school?
School has perhaps only made me more
committed to the work I do on the anti racism commission. School has
made me more keenly aware of just how stacked the deck is against
people who do not fit a very narrow model of behavior.
Example: Overheard in the cafeteria
between the admissions officer and a student. “We have someone from
the Gulf Coast looking at the school today.” To which the student
replied, “Great, that will really add to our diversity.” I don’t
even know what to do with that. School is overwhelmingly white and
middle class. I am really glad that John and Ellen introduced us to
gin and tonics before we got there because we are pretty outclassed
in the socializing department.
Altogether, I still feel called to the
sacraments. I still feel called to facilitate radical welcome and
communication between people. I summed this up for a fellow student
the other day in this way, so I will just share that. We in the
church are pretty guilty of having a relationship with God that
happens 2/3 up the nave. Which in a decent sized church means you
have to step on a lot of people in your reach for God. Jesus called
us to have a relationship with God that is about 2 feet in front of
us, placing another individual right at arms length. I really feel
called to bring about that change in distance in people’s lives.
A very wise mentor said to me awhile
back that I need to look at those places where I am most angry and
most raw in order to find my ministry. And I am most angry in the way
that we are so unintentional in our welcome to people. We say
inclusive, but that is really, especially in the Bay Area a code word
for gblt friendly. I am, but not at the expense of all the other
people who make church.
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