Sojourn Grace Collective: A Church, and Yet

REFLECTIVE MEMO: For this essay, I was asked to profile a place of refuge .Sojourn Grace Collective stood out to me as both the most important and the most unique place of refuge in my life .As a member of the LGBTQ+ community who is at least spiritual-if not necessarily religious-a church where I am welcomed and celebrated just as I am, and a church where no specific religious beliefs are required, is a very special thing .I find it a deeply needed refuge from a world where my existence is not usually welcomed .For my essay, I conducted interviews with several members of the church, trying to choose people who reflected Sojourn's diversity; the material I gathered in the interviews was amazing, and I had a hard time choosing what to include and what to leave out .I think my peer review group's feedback helped me a lot in making wise decisions about what material belonged in my essay and what was holding it back .Ultimately, I'm pleased with how this essay turned out, and was proud to share it with my class and with people from Sojourn itself ."Oh!I love this question!"Pastor Kate exclaims, her wide brown eyes lighting up.I've just asked her to choose a metaphor to describe Sojourn Grace Collective, the church she copastors.She thinks for only a few heartbeats before declaring with utter certainty, "A garden.Garden.Absolutely a garden."She elaborates: