share your spiritual biography in 10 words, or less: I love Spirit. I love myself. I love my neighbors. where are you turning for soul nourishment / joy / aliveness? Joy for me is found in music, cooking, my loved ones, affirmations, ice cream, and my spouse. what is a text you hold sacred? The Color Purple by Alice Walker what is a spiritual practice currently sustaining you? Journaling helps me to remain grateful no matter how good or how bad my day is going. how would you describe the work you feel called to do in this world (even if it is not the work you get paid for)? I feel called to...

Eleven years ago today, my oldest nibling was born. It is one of my greatest joys in life, witnessing this human’s being, and becoming. She is funny and creative and caring, and wants, always, to have a good book within reach. One of her first words was “bug;” she taught me about fairy slipper orchids and has kissed no small number of worms. Each time I see her, these days, we stand back to back to see who is taller; one of these days, but not quite yet, she will be. I delight in her delight. I wonder at her capacity for wonder. I am fascinated by her fascination with the world. I encounter...

share your spiritual biography in 10 words, or less: Queer, disabled, womanist, pastor. Equally Assata, Audre, Baldwin & Butler. where are you turning for soul nourishment / joy / aliveness? For nourishment these days I am turning to love. Friendships, relationships, new connections are nourishing my heart in this ever changing world. what is a text you hold sacred? Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler what is a spiritual practice currently sustaining you? Lectio Divina is a prayer, meditation, scripture reading practice that feeds my contemplative soul. [Learn about enfleshed's take...

My scriptural canon includes lines of poetry, refrains from songs, bits of phrasing that I encounter in books, conversations, fragments of memory, manifestors, stories told and retold. One piece of scripture I turn to almost daily comes from the poem “The Summer Day,” by Mary Oliver. “I don’t know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention…” Years ago a dear friend shared a bit of wisdom her therapist had shared with her: If you find yourself awash in the phrase “I don’t know,” shift your attention toward what you do know. Last month, in the company of my middle and youngest...

share your spiritual biography in 10 words, or less: You are worthy of love. Embrace it and share it. where are you turning for soul nourishment / joy / aliveness? The water. I walk to the beach everyday, it's cold and windy, and incredibly peaceful. My thoughts get lost in the waves and I can rest. what is a text you hold sacred? So many texts have been meaningful and are meaningful for me in different seasons. Currently: All about love by bell hooks. what is a spiritual practice currently sustaining you? Doing nothing. I'm trying to take at least 10 minutes during my day, to just sit or...

“If you look at the field beside the road and you see merely the generic ‘meadow,’ you’re less likely to care if it’s bulldozed for a strip mall than you are if you know that those tall, flat-leaved spires are milkweed, upon which the monarchs have flown two thousand miles to feed, or if you can name sailer's breaches and purslane, lamb’s-quarter, or the big umbrels of wild carrot feeding the small multitudes. Isn't the world larger and more valuable, if you know what an umbel is?” –Mark Doty Do you know what an umbel is? A cluster of blooms, sprouting from a common center. A collection of...