House O' Kathleen

Hi, I'm Kathleen, I'm a writer and educator in Portland, Oregon. I have a husband (Steven McDade, who's also here) and three children, and we're trying to figure out how to BE the church instead of attend a church.

What I Believe

I believe in God (otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this blog). I don’t believe in a white guy with a white beard and a white robe sitting on a white cloud (although I do usually refer to him with the masculine pronoun). When I think of God, or when I purposefully open myself to God, I feel him surrounding me; he is part of all that is. Or, I see myself seated on the bare earth, under trees and sky, and I know that he is under me, supporting me. He is the “ground of all being,” as Paul Tillich said.

I believe in Jesus Christ, son of God, who lived as the man Jesus of Nazareth, who taught how to live in the kingdom of God, and how to have life to fullest, the life of the ages. I believe he died to reconcile us to God through love, and was resurrected. I believe that someday, after death, we will be fully reunited with God.

I believe that God created all things and all people — including gay and lesbian people, Muslims, illegal immigrants, and everyone else. I believe that Jesus told us to love all people.

I believe the Bible is the word of God, and the history of God’s people. I don’t believe in taking every verse of the Bible literally. I believe the Bible is a combination of myth, history, prophecy, wisdom and poetry. I still believe it is God’s word for us, even if not literal fact.

I believe that many people have got mistaken ideas about Christianity. We’re not all fundamentalists or evangelicals. Not even all evangelicals are alike!

I belong to the United Methodist denomination, but I don’t speak for it. My views are my own.