Merari Fernandez

Wicker Park Grace has been a vehicle to reconnect with my spirituality. I left a traditional Presbyterian church in Puerto Rico after finding my values were different from what was taught there and the pastor telling me before leaving I should suscribe to God values and not my values.

I left disappointed with the work the church was doing in our society. It seemed to me church existed to impose traditional values on the name of God. After I visited other Presbyterian churches in Chicago, I came to the conclusion that church was not the place for me. I was continually struggling with singing hymns, listening to a pastor doing the sermon for an hour, carrying the Bible to church, sharing with people who did not understand I have a different way to see God and what spirituality was for me.

Before going to Wicker Park Grace, I went to a church I liked that was open to the gay community, but practiced all these rituals I was struggling with. I decided instead to stay at Wicker Park Grace because these rituals were not present. Wicker Park Grace was open to the gay community, something very important to me to find in a place as a straight person. I did not feel anybody was imposing on me what to believe or to think, and the community welcomed all.

I did not feel I had to join the community in a formal way by becoming a member in front of the congregation in order to feel part of the community, nobody was asking me why I did not come last week, there was not a preecher in front of the community telling me how to live my spirituality.

I shared with people who were open about their sexual orientation. The use of the art and talents of people as a way to practice spirituality was a strong component, and the community was oriented toward taking action in regard to social issues.

I was impressed about an image Wicker Park Grace had of Jesus with dark skin in the middle of the room. I have felt as part of the community every time I have been invited to read a portion of a poem in Spanish or when Nanette read something in Spanish herself.

I liked the time we had an art piece of a woman in blue in the middle of the room and we talked about women's bodies and sexuality, a topic barely talked in a traditional church. I love how other people with different beliefs are invited to the community.

I like the fact that yoga is part of the services of the week because this shows that there are other ways to worship God, nature and honor ourselves. I always like that Nanette is always trying new things to approach people like me, who are struggling with the traditional idea of God.

Many of us grew up in church, were leaders in church, but after a transformation in our lives feel a traditional church is not the place for us. I am very happy Wicker Park Grace exists since I feel now that people like me are also people of God and have important things to say.