Authors Note: One of the things I’ve wanted to be more brave about is sharing my faith. I know that I have friends that don’t neseccarily think well of “the church,” and Christians, but I do self identify as a Christian and it is a part of who I am. So tonight I am choosing to be brave and to share a little bit about what I believe.

I believe 

I believe in God the Father almighty Maker of Heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord.  I believe in the Virgin Mary.  I believe. I believe that there is still good in the world.  I believe that there are courageous leaders in the church willing to speak up for what is right and working to help the institution that is the United Methodist Church truly be the church of Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors.  I believe that Y’all means ALL, not just those that look like us, act like us, love like us, live like us.  I believe. I read the bible which is full of flawed people picked by God to change the world.  God loves imperfect people and while I can only speak for myself I am definitely an imperfect person; I believe that I am a child of God and that God loves me. 

I was born and raised in the United Methodist Church, worse than that I am the child of a United Methodist Minister.  I’ve survived the crisis of faith that can occur when one learns first hand that their Minister (ie Dad) is not a perfect person either.  I had a brief stint as an ordained elder in the Presbyterina Church, but always seemed to find my way back home to the UMC despite its many flaws.   I still believe.  I have a 90 day streak going in the Bible App, my record being 390 days, and I am proud. I pray, I pray hard, I pray for miracles and fully expect them to happen.  I keep a Virgin of Guadalupe candle to burn, next to my Buddah and Krishna candle holders.  I believe in the power of Holy Water and the intercession of the Saints.  I believe I can make my own choices, and sometimes I make choices that aren’t as good as others; but somehow I always find my way back to where I belong.  I believe. 

I love Christmas music; hymns and carols, songs of joy and hope, the promise of peace on earth and good will to men.  I love the story these songs tell and the message that has been passed down for centuries.  I believe that Christmas is not over until the wise men come.  I believe.  I believe that it is my job to figure out how to share a message of love, of light and hope.  To feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give to the poor, heal the sick.  I can’t profess that I do any of this well, more often than naught I fall very short.  I am not well connected to my professed church home, probably miss virtual church more than I attend, and I haven’t done much to help the poor, sick, naked, and hungry people in my community.  I also believe that God is not always found in the walls of a church, that God is in us and with us and that worship, true worship can occur wherever you are. Some of my favorite “churches,” do not have walls. I believe. I believe that I will find my way, that we are all children of God and that we will find our way through the wilderness.  I believe that there should and can be room at the table for all and I want to speak up and move my chair over to help create that space. I believe.