Have you always been religious?
As a child, I really imagined myself becoming a priest or becoming some kind of spiritual leader in the Catholic church.
Probably up to around 14, I stayed active. I read the readings and the gospel in the mass. I served as an altar boy.
But I also knew, without really having the words for it, I didn’t fit. I became aware that the church didn’t have room for someone like me and all that I was. I just couldn’t stay with it. And I started feeling that distance. No religion at that time, that I know of anyway, was welcoming or inclusive to queer or trans folks.
Is spirituality a defining feature for you?
From my teen years I started calling myself everything from “fallen Catholic” to “atheist” to “agnostic” or simply pushed thoughts of religion away. By the time I was in my 30s, I was beginning to call myself spiritual. Even though I’m entering the Lutheran tradition, the core of that work is spiritual, above everything else.
And when I proceed to become a pastor, I really want a world where it’s just, “We’re here to worship and love together.”