Mark 5: Engaging in Sacred Stories and Traditions

Practicing theological engagement and reflection is one of my favorite parts of ministry. I feel alive and connected to God and my community when I am able to nurture an environment where people can encounter God and religion in a new, refreshing, and even challenging way. We practiced theological engagement at First Congregational UCC when we organized our children and youth to advocate around Black Lives Matter, anti-racism, and racial equality centered around the Imago Dei. I developed and implemented my thesis project, “Encountering Her: Reclaiming, Revisioning, Reforming” as an experiential retreat where individuals encountered God as Women of Color, reflected upon their experience, and discerned new theological perspectives. More recently, I have had the pleasure of developing two theological practices in campus ministry that illustrate my love for theological engagement and reflection.  “Queer Theology” is a six-week series offered to the students of UNM and “Refractions” is our dialogical approach to preaching in local churches.

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In campus ministry, I am expected to engage theologically with the students, faculty, and staff of UNM as well as share our theological experiences and insights with our wider community. Traditionally this has been accomplished by the Pastor of Luther House preaching at local supporting churches. I was not entirely comfortable preaching on behalf of the Luther House community, so I met with the community and we developed a fish-bowl approach to preaching that allowed for multiple perspectives to be communicated about Luther House from the perspective of the individuals. When asked what we should call our communal approach to preaching, community member Karla Eickoff responded “When one person offers their perspective, it’s a reflection. When multiple people, in their different facets, offer different aspects of the Gospel’s light, it’s a Refraction!” “Refractions” was born.

 

When we preach at local churches we gather together for text study and then I write up a theological reflection and include insightful questions for my co-preachers, which I send to them ahead of time to meditate and pray upon. During our sermon, I serve as the facilitator of our sacred conversation and invite my co-preachers to share their unique experiences, perspectives, and wisdom with our wider community. This approach to preaching not only bridges the gap between academic knowledge and spiritual experience, it also provides a platform for young adults and marginalized communities to share their own theological reflections and wisdom. 

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“Refractions” has had an overwhelming response from both members of Luther House and the churches where we preach. Members of Luther House enjoy participating in the theologizing around creating sermons and appreciate using their own voice and experience to share about our community and their connection with God. They are able to practice preaching in a supportive and communal environment as well as gain valuable leadership skills. Although we outline what we will discuss in our sermons, I always stray just a bit from our outlines to make room for the Holy Spirit to be active in our conversations.

 

Our sermons are frequently emotional experiences that allow the congregation to not only witness the relationships at Luther House but to participate in our community as well. Congregations consistently communicate their joy in being able to get to know our community better and to hear about their experiences and development at Luther House. 

I look forward to developing and nurturing more theological reflection and engagement in my community. It is my deep joy to accompany my community on their spiritual journeys and to create and hold sacred space for all of us to share our wisdom together. It is my hope that our many sacred stories will illuminate the love of God for all creation and that we will be a rainbow prism of hope for our community and the universal church.