share your spiritual biography in 10 words, or less:
Methodist striving for / learning from the liberation of all oppressed
where are you turning for soul nourishment / joy / aliveness?
I find joy in learning about Creation – animals, plants, birds, bugs, and especially our non-human siblings of the seas and oceans. They challenge any notion I was taught that there’s only one way to survive or thrive.
I also really love being with my chosen family, those with whom I can be my full, authentic self without judgment, yet with healthy accountability, witness, and learning. Journeying through life with them is nothing less than nourishing and joyful.
And the historic and ongoing movements for liberation and sovereignty in the global south and diasporic folks who find their grounding in transnational solidarity very much make me feel alive, bring me joy, and nourish my spirit.
what is a text you hold sacred?
Keeping it simple, Matthew 10:16 and Micah 6:8 are full of reminders and the plumbline I need.
what is a spiritual practice currently sustaining you?
Adapted from Jersey Shore: GPL – Gym, Plants, Laundry. Other than that, I do my best to make space for a (power) nap every day and I’ve been bullet journaling for about 10 years now – some seasons more actively than others.
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 accompany individuals, particularly people of faith, in deepening their praxis as intentional participants in our collective liberation. I invite people to go on solidarity visits to the Philippines, in partnership with NCCP (National Council of Churches in the Philippines), to immerse with the struggling masses – farmers, peasants, women, workers, students, other people of faith – who have less but continue to resist. I support folks in seeing Christ in the Other or, in Filipinx terms, living into kapwa – a sense of shared identity in which we are agents of care for the wellbeing of the whole. I also feel called to remind folks of how crucial transnational / international solidarity is in our liberation here in the US.
knowing that none of us “has it all together,” what is one question you are wrestling with, or bit of wisdom you are struggling to enflesh in your daily life?
I struggle with the wisdom that letting people in helps to cultivate belonging. I also struggle with the wisdom that I’m not going to feel like I belong in all spaces and that’s okay or, in some cases, even empowering – I will find (and have found) my people and they will find (and have found) me and we may be blessed with an even deeper sense of unity and resonance.
who is one elder / ancestor / mentor whose guidance you draw from? what is one piece of wisdom they have offered?
My mom who worked hard as a nurse, joined my dad in janitorial work in addition to their full time jobs, and raised me off of Filipino food and the graciousness she experienced and practiced in United Methodism. Our moms who immigrated were/are so courageous. I also draw wisdom from Rev. Ruth Ocera Cortez who invited me into this movement for human rights in the Philippines. She also trusted me with this work and taught me the importance of accountability for the wellbeing of our organizations. Both my mom and Pastor Ruth made me laugh, were UMs committed to loving and serving, and were the only people to call me anak (child).
what’s one oppressive untruth you are practicing unlearning / divesting from?
That I don’t have my s**t together and, therefore, will never be understood or seen.
what is one thing you wish were required listening / viewing? (please link to the song, poem, art piece, podcast, etc.)
Xena: Warrior Princess. The whole series has stuff there about spirituality, religion, belief, forgiveness, repentance, principles, and includes the characters working out tactics of resistance, peace, and justice. It’s from the 90s, so some of it hasn’t aged well, but it’s a good watch for deeper conversation.
any of your website and/or social media handles you’d like us to include / highlight?
GomBurZa for the Masses Podcast;
jeanelleablola.com;
Instagram @jeanelleablola