Presidential Ponderings: 9-16
But what about Jesus?
El Gordo was passionate about Jesus. After his brief stint as a fancy business executive in the 80's, he ran Christian organizations that were explicitly motivated by members' faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as a demonstration God's love.
He was deeply involved at his church, The First Presbyterian Church of Glen Ellyn. He died fully convinced that he would see his mother Margaret in heaven.
But El Gordo's beautiful princess daughter converted to Judaism after a life similarly devoted to Jesus, God's son.
How are we to reconcile this while building an interfaith spiritual retreat as his legacy?
A smiling woman with short dark hair and glasses wears a colorful paisley blouse in the foreground, with a blurred outdoor background of trees and a railing.
I suppose the other question is why do we need to reconcile this?
Simply put, folks that also want to walk alongside my dad's legacy with me need to be able to trust me as a leader.
Often, Christians in America are encouraged to work only with people who share their beliefs. To do otherwise is to pull focus from the Gospel and possibly condone bad theology, which would be a millstone around their necks.
Additionally, as humans, we often worry that folks who change will be hostile to those who make more traditional decisions. Or look down on us. Or challenge us to give up our beliefs like they did.
I get it. And I assure you, Christians have nothing to fear from me.
In 2011, I married practicing Jewish man with the intent of building an interfaith family. My kids have always been exposed to my Christian practices in our home and in my parents' home. They attended Vacation Bible School in the summers and SPARK on Wednesdays. The picture at the top of this email is from one of the church directories. El Gordo adored his Hindu grandchildren, his Catholic granddaughter, and his Jewish grandkids. In a lifetime of faith, he and I had both heard so many testimonies of folks who witnessed that they never would have made it without their grandparents' faith and prayer. He lived into that hope for the salvation and happiness of his grandkids.
In 2018, I heard God ask me, "What if you have been Jewish all along? That would explain a lot of the conflict and loneliness you experience in Christian spaces." So I met with so many pastors and engaged in a pretty intense discernment process with one of the rabbis at my family's synagogue. Rev. Nanette Sawyer encouraged me to see this transition as God opening the door from the Christian covenant to the deep fulfillment that was beckoning me to join the earlier covenant that God made with the Jewish people at Mount Sinai.
I continue to respect Christians and their faith. And personally, I love so many of you guys! At funerals, I sing the hymns and at prayer breakfasts, I don't freak out when the leader prays in the precious name of Christ. Jews wait for the Moshiach and Christians wait for the second coming. Working together in the meantime to free the captives, feed the hungry, and provide rest for the weary is righteous and necessary.
I have been receiving great email responses to these newsletters. I will receive your questions, thoughts and admonitions with grace, I promise. Please tell me what's in your heart as you read. If we do this work together, you will change me. I'm open to it.
If you are interested in learning more about my conversion, I kept an audio diary for the Unorthodox Podcast. The entire episode is good but my bit comes around minute 45. The Conversion Episode, 2019 - Unorthodox - Tablet Magazine If you listen carefully during the opening chatter before my immersion in the mikveh, the ritual bath, you'll hear my youngest child declare, "I'm a penguin!"
Sincerely,
Rebecca