I’ve had a long and difficult relationship with the church. As a kid I couldn’t bring myself to honestly accept what I was being taught in Sunday school. Then when it became clear to me I was gay—and thereby an abomination—I began to develop a deep resentment fueled by the pain of rejection and shame. So, it comes as a bigger surprise to me than anyone that I’m locating my yoga shala in, of all places, a church.

My yoga path has led me to a peaceful and loving place with God and Jesus. I have developed what feels to me to be a positive and healthy relationship with God and a deep love, appreciation and respect for Jesus and his teachings. I see strong and important interconnectedness amongst the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, and more. I focus my own spiritual development on their overlaps and see no value in taking up their supposed differences (which seem to me to be man-made and unnecessary for spiritual growth).

And so, at this point in my life I can’t think of a better place to create a shala—back to my Presbyterian roots no less. A big supportive sign that I was moving in the right direction came when I opened Woodland’s website to see that they pride themselves on inclusivity. And then upon digging further I found these statements made by the former minister and gay rights advocate, Pastor John McCollough:

“A phrase I use quite often in sermons is, ‘We’re not called to worship Jesus; we’re called to follow Jesus.’ I point to the character of Jesus as being four things — feeding the hungry, healing the sick, liberating folks who are oppressed by social forces or their own inner psychic forces, and welcoming everyone. That’s what we tried do as a church.”

“Part of my becoming a Presbyterian was having my perspective on how things shift from a belief in sudden, dramatic events to a belief in a gradual process. It was at that point I began to look at the Gospel of Jesus as not a way to save your soul so you could go to heaven, but as a way to change the world for the better. And that’s what I still believe.”

Thank you Pastor John 🙏🏽 And thank you to Woodland Presbyterian Church for giving me this opportunity!

*And special thanks to my little brother Andrew, a Nashville resident for more than 10 years, who sketched the church back in 2010. Coincidence? ;-)