In The Narthex

In the Narthex started as a Bible study about the Fruits of the Spirit during Lent in 2018.

In my journey of faith, I have visited many places of worship to learn and understand what others believe and hold fast as part of the process of discovering and embracing my own faith and beliefs.

As I was starting out on this path many years ago, I attended a church where they had a weekly bulletin that reminded parishioners to visit the narthex to sign up for various classes, events and activities. I wondered about this mysterious narthex (it was before the Internet!) until I figured out that it was the lobby of the church!

The narthex is the space in a church between the sanctuary and the world. It’s that area, often called the foyer, just between when you enter the church building and before you enter the place of worship. It is a place where all are welcome and it is often bustling with activity, filled with voices and faces, sign up tables and sometimes even coffee and sweets!

What I discovered over time was that the narthex was where people visited and where they caught up with one another. It was a place to catch your breath after the trek from the parking lot before taking a seat, to grab a cup of coffee, to meet and make friends, to get involved with the church’s activities, to warm up or cool down depending on the season and to find your own place in this sacred space. In a sense, the narthex is the front porch of the church, welcoming and inviting, inclusive and gracious.

That is what I hope this blog will be – a welcoming place where all may gather – the churched, the unchurched, the seekers and the finders. A place of grace and mercy, of opportunities to learn and grow and also a place to understand more about the Christian faith. A place for us to seek God together, to better understand one another and to discern God’s purpose for each of us.

We’ll talk faith and politics, doctrine and theology, philosophy and ethics, values, beliefs and ideology.

Just to give you a little background on me, my background is in politics. I studied political science and history in college and have a master’s degree in political management. I have worked in politics and public affairs as a staffer, activist, organizer and volunteer.

I accepted Christ as my Savior more than 30 years ago and I love to study God’s Word and talk about faith with people from all faith traditions. I am especially interested in faith in action – how our theoretical faith meets the real-world aspects of life and how we live out what we believe.

Basically, I love to study and talk about the two things you’re never supposed to talk about in polite society – politics and religion!

I’m glad you’re here and I look forward to walking this journey together, as we seek to understand our own beliefs about God and how we might build each other up and love each other on this challenging and inspiring road of life.

Welcome to the narthex!