A Faith-Full Zone

After being introduced to the church late in high school (my parents didn't practice any religion), I really came of faith through active participation in a Christian fellowship at Penn. Some of my closest friends date back to those exciting years of mission and friendship in a college setting.

In that phase of my life, for better or worse, most of my closest people, who I spent most of my time with, were devoted believers. But for a long time since then, that hasn't been the case. My faith is still real and strong and important. But I've been more "in the world" in my adult years, which is not unusual since the university environment is bit of a bubble from the real world but also reflects my own personal intentions to exercise influence and walk my journey in a way that is different from the more sheltered Christian circle that I ran with in my late teens and early twenties. Practically, this also means that while I go to church, I can't say I'm super involved, and the vast majority of my friends are not people that I know through some covert faith-based setting.

But that does not mean that spirituality is not thriving all around me. Indeed, a blessing of my strong friendships in my adult years is the willingness to speak candidly about our personal and corporate faith journeys. I maintain a particular faith perspective but have learned greatly from those who are more involved than I am and less involved, those of different persuasions within the Christian umbrella and those outside that particular faith family (particularly Jewish and Muslim around here). Deep discussions with my barber, life stories shared over a round of golf or a heartfelt morning coffee, even nakedly vulnerable moments where people have been broken down and lives have been changed.

In the very secular and even actively godless circles I often run in, it can be uncouth to mention God or religion or faith or spirituality. But that seems unnecessarily limiting to me. Some of my most meaningful interactions and deepest friendships have been speaking openly about the divine and its intersection with our frail existences. I hope that, if you know me or we otherwise have occasion to interact, you will find me to be an open, accepting, and curious person as it relates to your own spiritual journey. It has meant a lot to be a fellow traveler, so won't you join me?