Living an Interfaith Life

Rev. Cindy Greb
Ordained Interfaith Minister
School of Sacred Ministries
Ordination Class of 2002

After having spent the first twenty years of my life being raised in one faith, I confess I still occasionally feel odd having such a hodgepodge of beliefs and practices in my current spiritual basket. However, I can no longer embrace any other way of life.

I was raised a generic Protestant Christian. By high school, my belief in God was quite fervent. I was not a proselytizing in-your-face kind of Christian, however I was sufficiently enamored of my faith to initiate a prayer group at my high school to meet prior to the first morning classes. (One by one, ten to twenty of us would slip into an out-of-the-way conference kind of room, sit around a table with our eyes closed and our hands held, and take turns, when the spirit moved, offering heartfelt prayers.) I also went to a Bible study group for high school students held at a couple different private homes, and in addition to my "regular" church, I attended a song-filled, praising kind of worship service on Friday nights in a church that held what seemed like a thousand worshippers.

Then came college. It is a supreme irony that it was the required religion course which caused my faith to flounder. I was taught to ask critical questions and I found myself unable to answer those nagging questions, which have perhaps plagued many an honest seeker. Why are not all prayers answered? Why is there suffering? Is the Bible really God's word, because I don't always like the God I read about - especially in the Old Testament? And why would a loving God cast people into hell for the simple act of not believing when belief is not an act of will? In fact, why would he cast people into hell at all - we are His children!!!

So mid-college, I found myself spiritually adrift. I no longer knew what to believe. I still believed in a Creator. That was all I knew. If pressed, I would have called myself a theist.

Gradually over the next couple of decades, one by one, new beliefs would begin to settle into my being. These were not things I was told to believe. These were not creeds I was asked to recite. They were, rather, ideas introduced to me by speakers or books. If they began to make sense to me, if they began to feel right within my heart and soul, then eventually they became a part of me.

The same thing happened with rituals and practices. If I was introduced to a new ceremony or practice and my spirit soared or was comforted, or if I felt a sense of connection with the Divine, then I would do more of those practices. It was as simple as that.

Although I have not yet come to a place of peace around my religion of origin, I do feel a connection with and deep respect for the Essenes. I was once told that I lived during the time of Jesus and was a gentle and humble follower. I apparently had been friends with Mary. I have long felt a connection with Mary Magdalene. So, it seems those parts of Christianity which intersect with healing, gentle living, respect for the Earth and respect for Female Divinity, those parts I can embrace.

I have come to celebrate that aspect of Divinity which is female. I am not a militant feminist who believes only in the Goddess, but I resonate very strongly with the Earth, who is undoubtedly female. And I feel a strong connection with ancient temple priestesses who worshipped Isis.

When I think of God as male, which I still often do, I do not get the same feeling as I do when I think of God as female. I can relax more into the Female Presence. There are not as many "shoulds" for me when I think of God as Mother. There is more joy and dance and love when I think of the Goddess. There is more duty and reverence and solemnity when I think of God. That's not His fault, though, I know. It stems from my conditioning and upbringing.

About fifteen years ago I was introduced to my first sweat lodge. I love sweat lodges. Sitting upon the Earth Mother is one of my favorite ways to pray. When I am praying with others in that sacred container, the world feels right. When I immerse myself in Native American practices, I begin to gain a greater sense of the mystery and the power of those forces which remain unseen and unheard when I am in my white person, left-brained, analytical, mind-centered space. Indigenous, Earth-centered practices from Africa, the Celts, Australia and New Zealand, the Mayans... all of these resonate with me. The "newer" religions don't have the same zest and power. They have become too dry and dogmatic. And there is too much hierarchy. With Earth-based and Goddess-based faiths, the focus is on me and my relationship with Spirit. No other authority is telling me what to do. I have learned that I have access to information within my own Self, where God/Goddess/Spirit speaks to me when I have the good sense to still myself enough to listen.

Life has certainly been a wondrous journey so far. I am so grateful to all those who have helped show me the ways (plural!) to connect with All that is sacred and Divine. I have been and continue to be greatly blessed on this interfaith path.

Blessings to each one of you on your multitude of paths. We are all One.


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