Steeped In God's Presence 🌿
An Introduction to My Faith Journey
Thank you for joining us today!
In honor of a small-but-mighty influx of new followers, I decided that today’s essay would be a great opportunity to finally answer some questions I’ve gotten over the years about my faith journey, especially in regard to Celtic Christianity, including some questions I received from social media this week.
Today’s essay will be in two parts. In the first part, I’ll give an overview of my faith journey, and then in the second part I’ll directly answer some of the most common questions I get about Celtic Christianity. I will also include a short list of resources to check out for those who are curious, at the end.
Are we ready? It’s a LONG one! Let’s go!
Part One: My Faith Journey
Sometimes, when I try to tell my story of faith, I feel a little bit like the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, giving my “Christian credentials”. But in contrast to Paul, it almost feels like I’m trying to prove something. I hope you’ll read this in the spirit that it’s intended: my desire is to show you one of a million paths that people take to God. You might find yourself in my story somewhere, or you might not. Either way, I hope it helps you to understand where I’m coming from, and where The Wildroot Parables began.
From the very beginning, I was raised in faith. My parents were adult converts to Christianity and they raised my brother and me in a local community church where my dad was on the worship team. Because of this—and my dad’s job in Christian radio—we were very involved with church community and “American Christian culture” all throughout my childhood. I became a Christian at age five in Vacation Bible School, though I wasn’t baptized publicly until years later. My memories of my childhood in church are all fond…and very 90s. If you were there, you know what I mean.
I attended a Christian high school, participated in youth group, and worked in Christian ministry and Christian workplaces through my teens, even after I started attending different churches to find my perfect fit. I have attended tiny churches, megachurches, and neighborhood community churches. I have been part of countless community groups and Bible studies. I have studied apologetics and biblical analysis. I led worship for years and went on a handful of mission trips and dozens of retreats. If there was a typical formative experience for a Christian young person in America, I likely had it, and probably more than twice.
But there was always something bubbling under the surface, and I have my parents to thank for it. Through it all, as adult converts themselves, my parents knew that I had to choose faith for myself. I could go through all the motions, play the roles, sing the songs, listen to the sermons, answer all the questions…but it could all be hollow, unless I really wanted to seek God on my own.
In the spirit of openness—and letting me have a full childhood—my parents were quite free with the things I was allowed to read, explore, learn about, and enjoy. I loved fantasy and magic and I applied my imagination to all kinds of storytelling. I also was fascinated from a young age by history, ancestry, the natural world…and Ireland.
Those threads continued on with me into my twenties. But around that time is when I started to lose my grip on my faith, just a little. Asking harder questions of myself. I started to feel weird in Christian spaces, like I didn’t really fit in. Christian adulthood—especially a certain image of Christian womanhood—didn't seem to fit me. I was so steeped in Christian “culture” that I felt like nothing surprised me anymore. I knew all the answers; I knew the questions before anyone even asked.
I had lost sight of God in the midst of the “trappings” of faith.
I wish I could say that there was one moment when everything changed. But when Celtic Christianity found me, it wasn’t one singular event. It was a steady drumbeat, the tide coming in, wave after wave, building on top of each other. My life-changing solo trip to Ireland at age 21. Learning more about liturgical forms of faith, and discovering the saints. Reading the mystics: Hildegard, Julian of Norwich, Merton, Teresa of Avila. And then discovering the Celts, modern and historical: John O’Donoghue, Kenneth McIntosh, Ray Simpson, J. Philip Newell, the Carmina Gadelica. Recognizing the presence of God in Creation, and knowing without a doubt that He was pleased to be found there. Realizing that there was a whole history of Christianity that I had not learned, one born in the fires of the Celtic hearth and still living on in pockets around the world. A faith very much concerned with living life steeped in God’s presence and with the search for God’s character at its heart.
That was what I wanted, what I was craving all along. It felt like home.
I started reading voraciously, everything I could get my hands on. I devoured poetry and prayers written by Celtic sources and learned the art of blessing. I started sharing my work on Instagram, and other Celtic Christians found me there. I connected with amazing people who felt the same way I did. I dug deep into my ancestry, learning news ways to express my faith and seek God's face. I met and married a wonderful man who appreciates my views, even when we differ, and enjoys discussion and debate with me about matters of faith that sharpens us both.
I have been a Celtic Christian for around a decade now. I don’t see it as a denominational difference, and not a position to be defended. I see it as a flavor of faith. At the core, I am a Christian. I am saved through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone. I won’t quibble with other Christians about the open-handed issues of our faith, though I may have opinions. I don't believe in fear of differences; God is bigger than that.
God knows that this little child of His draws nearer to His heart through mysticism, nature, and a poetic view of the world, and so He graciously allows me to find Him in this way. It’s not for His benefit, but for mine.
For more, feel free to read this interview that the wonderful Kevin LaTorre conducted with me late last year, where I give expanded thoughts on my faith, and especially my poetry.
And now, on to the FAQ!
Part Two: Frequently Asked Questions
Phew, you made it to Part Two! Here are some of the questions I get asked most often, going into a little more depth about my beliefs…
Q: Were you able to find a community to support your journey?
Yes, in a way! While there are certainly lots of people interested in Celtic faith, the easiest way I found to connect with others was through the magic of social media. Especially Instagram! That’s where The Wildroot Parables began, as a community that formed around nature-focused Christians and people who don’t claim Christian faith but are still curious about how faith and nature intersect. In the offline world I believe in plugging into whatever faith community you can find, knowing none of them will ever be perfect, and letting my differing perspective be one of many. I am constantly sharpened by those who don’t see life the same way I do. It’s very valuable!
Q: Do you consider Celtic Christianity to be a Protestant or Catholic branch, or both/neither?
Tough question! Historically speaking the ancient Celtic Church had more in common with Catholicism until the Synod of Whitby in 664, when the Church at large decided to lean toward the Roman way of doing things. After this decision, some Celts continued in their own way (Christians, but with their own versions of liturgy, saints, etc) and some adopted the Roman systems and rule. Personally, I still hold to very Protestant views because that’s how I was raised, but I do appreciate a slightly more tactile, liturgical Christian practice. Celtic Christianity seems flexible enough for both.
Q: How do you differentiate it from other flavors of Christianity? Is it cultural primarily, or are there beliefs that are unique to the Celts?
There are a handful of perspectives that the Celts held that were fairly unique to them, and thanks to the miracle of syncretism they were able to marry those beliefs with Christianity quite easily when it arrived on their shores. (Note: there are some things that certain famous Celtic thinkers believed that do skew closer to heresy, so I’m always careful to think critically of anything I read and cross-reference it with what I know of Scripture.)
Some of the most notable aesthetic differences in Celtic Christianity are a heavy emphasis on the sacredness of the natural world and God’s continued actions in it, a deep historical equality between genders (unusual in the ancient world), an openness to poetry, music, and art as an extension of God’s grace in an almost magical and certainly mysterious sense, and a thinness of the boundary between the natural world and the spiritual one.
Q: How do you explain Celtic Christianity to other Christians?
I get this question a lot! After worrying about this for years, I’ve realized that most people are simply curious, not concerned. So I keep it simple: Celtic Christianity is a modern extension of an ancient branch of Christianity that started in the Celtic countries (Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales). And while it has some minor differences to the way American Christians practice today, at the core the belief in Christ’s saving grace is the same. It’s a flavor, not a denomination.
Q: Do you think veiling one’s head and being modest (in dress and behavior) is a Celtic Christian practice?
I’ve only recently (in the last year or so) become aware of veiling, especially in the Celtic context. Traditionally, women in Celtic countries would cover their heads more as a practical thing. After all, it’s cold, windy, and rainy on those rocky coastlines! But as a spiritual practice, the first thing I’ll say on this is that I believe the New Testament frees us from any kind of obligation to a “rule” of veiling or a certain kind of modesty. Obligation is, I think, the root of “going through the motions”, which I don’t believe brings us any closer to God. However, I do elect to veil on certain occasions, because sometimes a head covering is the perfect reminder of God’s grace covering me. The Celts believed that the head was the seat of the soul, and so covering one’s head has a ceremonial purpose, a reminder to protect and guard one’s soul from harm. It’s not something I believe I have to do. Rather, I see it as a gift to me when I need it. And I see modesty in general pretty much the same way.
Q: How is Celtic Christianity expressed in your daily life?
I decided to tackle this one last, because it’s paradoxically the hardest one to answer! My days are just like anyone else’s. Don’t let the social media version of Celtic Christianity fool you! It’s not all reading prayerbooks, drinking herbal teas, and dancing in the garden. I have dirty laundry, days when all I want to do is watch YouTube and eat junk, and long stretches of ignoring my Bible. In other words, I’m human!
For me, Celtic Christianity is a daily practice in the way I communicate with God, am aware of my place in a created world, and engage with the seasons. I try to surround myself with reminders of things that draw me closer to God’s heart (things of beauty, ancestral objects, pieces of nature) but just like any spiritual practice, it requires work and intentionality to be present throughout the day. Christian belief should always center around relationship, not behavior.
Writing, reading, gardening, cooking, preserving, singing, and even the way I dress/adorn myself are all extensions of God’s goodness in my life, and are—I believe—made holy by His providence and grace, though these little things be beautifully mundane. And that is the root of modern Celtic Christian faith: relationship with God through both the sacred and profane.
Further Resources
Below, I’m including a short list of my favorite introductory resources for those interested in learning more about Celtic Christianity. These are in order from the most basic/introductory at the top to more intermediate near the bottom. For more advanced recommendations (more dense, more niche), feel free to ask!
Listening For The Heartbeat of God, by J. Philip Newell
Water From An Ancient Well, by Kenneth McIntosh
The Celtic Book of Days, by Ray Simpson
To Bless The Space Between Us, by John O’Donoghue
The Celtic Vision, by Esther de Waal
Celtic Daily Prayer, by the Northumbria Community
And that’s it, folks!
Feel free to ask any further questions, share insights, or request more resources in the comments below!
Thank you for reading!
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This is amazing. Thank you very much for sharing your faith journey with us and taking the time to answer our questions. There is A LOT here, more than can be absorbed at first glance--and there's a lot of lessons here for surely people of all "flavors" of faith but I see some specifically applicable to my own Catholicism.
I am not going to comment overmuch beyond that, because I want to ruminate on this a bit. But thank you very, very much for writing this out.
So interesting, thank you for sharing! I'm a new follower and was intrigued by your use of "Celtic Christian" to describe yourself. The only way I'd heard of it before was in the "Brother Cadfael" book series, in which the Welsh practice an older "flavor" of Christianity while the monks just over the border in England follow Roman rites. I'm a Catholic revert but my love of the ancient agrarian cycles of the year has lead to fascination with Christianity rooted in the natural world and the view of God present in creation. Your religious practices sound lovely.