let’s get together
I am here to listen, bear witness to, and meet you in the stuff that matters.
dear students,
I believe all of us have three core spiritual needs: the need to love and be loved; the need for meaning and direction in life; the need to belong in community. I believe that spiritual community, at its best, is where and how we creatively engage and meet these needs. Doing so means lingering in “the stuff” of life–especially the stuff that is messy, painful, or complicated. You do not need to do this alone; sharing in vulnerability is such a brave and courageous act, and sacred, healing practice. I believe your story always intersects with my story, and our stories intersect with our larger stories, when we linger long enough in the telling of truths that matter. I am here to listen, bear witness to, and meet you in the stuff that matters.
Perhaps you’re questioning or growing beyond the identities and beliefs you grew up with. Perhaps you’re encountering religious traditions or political frameworks that are transforming your own. Perhaps you’re reconsidering your vocational dreams, or career goals. Perhaps you’ve had a spiritual experience that has you asking big questions about God, life, and what it all means. Perhaps you’re struggling in a relationship with a parent, a friend, a roommate, a significant other. Perhaps you’re deepening into social justice activism, and wondering how spiritual practices can sustain your activist engagement. Perhaps you’ve had your heart broken, and need to cry in the company of a compassionate, nonjudgmental presence. Perhaps you’ve experienced a life-rupture or traumatic event, and need support connecting with a variety of resources. Perhaps you’re struggling to bring into alignment your faith with your feminism, your queerness, your transness, your commitment to intersectional justice, your passion for climate justice, your commitments to eradicating antisemitism and advocating for free Palestine. Perhaps you’re disgusted by religious hypocrisy, but also inspired by radical lineages which draw from religious teachings and spiritual practices to nourish their movements for liberation. Perhaps you’re just feeling lonely, or scared, or excited to make new connections.
Whatever the case, I’d love to buy you a cup of coffee, and hear more… You can trust that your laughter, your tears, and your questions are honored and held sacred by me.
with fierce and tender care,
chaplain anna