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Felicity Wright ...
... is a mother, writer, and
minister who delights in helping people translate spiritual truths into everyday
realities, without the outmoded creeds and hurtful dogmas of the past. Ordained
in the United Church of Christ, she is affectionately known as “the other Reverend Wright.” Until recently,
she served as senior pastor of a progressive church in the Bay
Area. |
Parish ministry is
her sixth career. She was previously a researcher for a public interest group,
mid-level manager in state government, freelance journalist and consultant,
managing editor for a national trade magazine, and manager and developer of
corporate training programs. Her call to ministry has two complementary
modalities: as pastor, to serve her parishioners and neighbors; as writer, to
inform and inspire those who consider themselves seekers.
She believes that
God is experienced rather than understood, and that doubt is to belief as
dissent is to democracy -- to have the latter without the former is sham. The
important thing is the journey, not the destination, and it is most joyful when
we travel together, with all of our differences and uncertainties
In God We
Tryst
Rev. Wright summarizes her
memoir: Cheap wine, dirty feet, and a fire-breathing Baptist
preacher were the Trinity that set me on a spiritual odyssey, where I
experienced bigamy, divorce, and the death of two infant children before
emerging from the wasteland to pastor a progressive church. After wrestling
with angels, doubts, and demons for half a century, I finally cried “uncle” and
discovered the serenity and joy that come with
faith.
In God We Tryst is the 65,000-word travelogue of that journey. Literary
agent Elizabeth Pomada is currently circulating it to major
publishers.
In the quest to discern hidden faults or divine purpose
underlying apparent tragedy, the author learned that the road to peace requires
two ingredients: the unseen hand of God and a good sense of humor. One of the
“evangelists” is a smart-alecky bird named Goober; as half phoenix and half
heron, he cavorts between the natural and imaginary worlds.
Although written by a
Christian, the book will appeal to believers in other faiths and be a guide for
all who lack the courage or bounce to take a full “leap of faith.” The book was
written in hopes that readers will cry and laugh, and come away sanctified. More
information and a sample chapter can be found at here .
Other works:
“In the Supreme Court of
the Universe: Paul v James” is a farcical one-act play suitable for use as
readers’ theatre or liturgical drama. In it, St. Paul
sues St. James for slander on the grounds of justification by faith or
works. Other characters
include St. Peter as Chief Justice, Gabriel as the bailiff, and the three
members of the Trinity as the jury panel (who schmooze among
themselves). Martin Luther
represents Paul while Martin Luther King, Jr. defends James. The two expert
witnesses are Ludwig Wittgenstein and Elsa Tamez, a South American
theologian. Laugh-out-loud
funny, it handles a serious topic with solid scholarship and keen
insights.
The author is working on a
collection of both whimsical and serious essays entitled Of Spiders and Shepherds: Musings on Divine and Human
Power. One essay likens God to a spider using images from E.B.
White’s Charlotte’s
Web, the “noiseless, patient spider”
of Walt Whitman, and the sometimes-exquisite-sometimes-ghoulish fiend of
Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Another connects the 23rd Psalm
with modern teaching on non-violent
communication, showing the radical nature of God’s tender
care. |
