SPIRITUALITY WITH RELIGION: 1-15-2012

14 Jan SPIRITUALITY WITH RELIGION: 1-15-2012

I have been working on a doctoral degree for nine years.  This is in addition to my three years of study in a different doctoral program in the early 90’s, a program I had to abandon due to the demands of my ministry at that time.  In between the two programs, I earned a second master’s degree.  I guess you could say that I have been a life-time learner.  I would not presume that learning is only done academically or institutionally, but the degree programs have been a way of pushing myself forward and enlarging my capacity for service to our world.

My current program began in 2003 with course work in Spiritual Direction at San Francisco Theological Seminary.  For three years thereafter I attended January terms, and during the rest of each year I conducted spiritual direction under supervision and completed academic assignments by correspondence.  I then completed a summer term in 2008 and began work on my dissertation.  Of course, life has a way of asserting its own agenda; that same year I retired from the Army chaplaincy, dropped our daughter off at college, moved from Alaska to Telluride, and began a whole new ministry and lifestyle.

I am now in the final months of writing, and I propose that in upcoming postings I share with you something of my journey, my angst, my hopes and fears around thinking about our post-modern religious setting, our experiences of Spirit in nature, and the daunting task of doing theology in a post-metaphysical world.  I hope that you will at least be curious enough to join me for the journey.

Peace,
Pat Bailey
Pastor, Telluride’s Christ Church

(ed. note: Telluride Inside… and Out is introducing a new series of articles by Pastor Pat Bailey of Christ Church in Telluride. We anticipate that this will be a regular feature on TIO.)