Where is the place that you call “home”? For the past 40 years, Dallas. For the past 26 years, on Tophill Lane, about 5 minutes from my church home, Transfiguration.
How long have you been Episcopalian?
Since I was 8 years old, when my parents became Episcopalians.
Who would you call your greatest “teacher” of the Christian faith and life?
There are too many to name, but I’ll list the major ones: C.S. Lewis, my professors at The University of Dallas and Perkins School of Theology, and our Rector Emeritus.
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Ghent, Belgium, to see the Ghent altarpiece, “The Adoration of the Lamb.”
What is your favorite book about spirituality?
Anything by C.S. Lewis, and The Genessee Diary by Henri Nouwen.
What is something we might be surprised to know about you?
I’m a great-grandmother. My husband’s daughter married a man with two adult sons, one of whom married last year. His wife gave birth to an adorable little girl last October.
Who in your life is important to you?
My family, which is still expanding. We’re expecting another grandchild in August. Also, my Transfiguration family, which is also expanding.
What is a risk that you would like to one day take?
I wish that I could have gone on the pilgrimage to the Holy Land this past spring. If there’s another in a couple of years, I’d like to go. The political situation there will always pose a risk, but everyone who has taken the trip and told me about it has said that the risk is well worth the reward.
What’s your favorite word?
In Spanish, murcielago (bat); in Hebrew, chesed (Covenant loyalty, and it’s pronounced with a guttural ch. You have to spit.)
What is your favorite memory?
One of them is the summer I spent in Mexico City between high school and college. I stayed in a house in San Angel, near the National University, which was once a suburb and site of summer homes. There was a flower market less than a block from the house, and the church was next door. The clanging bells woke me up every morning.
Why do you serve on the Adult Formation Committee?
Growing up in the Bible Belt, I heard quite a lot of fire and brimstone, designed to induce fear and guilt. I learned first hand the harm that bad theology can do. Over the years I’ve also learned the good that sound theology can do, and it’s my vocation and joy to share what I’ve learned from wise and holy people.