Winston Salem, NC
ADAM : ” I was a music and religious studies program major in college. It wasn’t really in the plan to go to the Wake Forest School of Divinity. I was looking into counseling programs. I didn’t end up getting into the counseling program but I visited the school and immediately felt like a part of the community and I figured I would go because it felt right. My favorite thing about the school was that it accepted people from any denomination. It was a great place to dig into why you believe what you believe and foster ways to have respectful conversations around different beliefs.
I didn’t grow up religious. My mom was a non-practicing catholic and my Dad was an Atheist. I was eight when I asked my mom to start taking me to church. I have memories of being a child in that church singing hymns, and I have a background in music and singing, and I loved the familial feeling in the group. You always knew if someone was struggling with something and we’d flock around them. I loved it. I haven’t been to church in a long time. I currently sing in an Episcopal church around here. I’m not really denominational; I tend to go to church where it is most welcoming.
I still think of myself as, um, if anything, a Christian Panentheist. I believe the holy or the divine is embodied in everything. We are all manifestations of that divine energy and are on a journey to reunite with the divine. I still in many ways identify as a Christian. I think of myself, if not a religious person, definitely a spiritual person. ”