Point #1

I hate religious poetry.

With its pointy points
wrapped up with a bow
for a decorative god
who means nothing for those
of us who stutter to believe.

I hate religious poetry.

Always right and always clean
forever sitting on shelves
as if it could assure sanctimonious
art could lead to some beautiful
god that I wish I could believe.

I hate religious poetry.

It’s rarely read in church
as anything more than a sermon
illustration to highlight one of the
three points about a god in which
I cannot unjustly believe.

I hate religious poetry.

It reminds me too much of myself
because I can’t write until I eat
doubt for sustenance and have agnostic
drinks at the bar with friends who
live with me in the shadow of belief.

I am in the process of becoming a community chaplain with The Order of Hildegard. This program is designed to help form people into spiritual leaders that lead and serve from the margins. It’s for the people who don’t quite fit with the traditional church because of trauma, disability, or identity. If you, as my community, would like to help me fulfill the financial obligation this chaplaincy program has, you can give at the link below. Thank you for the myriad ways you support me.

If you’re aching to listen for God in the real stuff of life—grief, wonder, doubt, desire—I offer spiritual direction as a space to breathe and be heard. We listen together for the Spirit moving in the ordinary, the hidden, the in-between. No fixing. No formulas. Just presence, honesty, and room to be fully human before God. If that sounds like what your soul needs, I’d love to walk with you