PB Halo of Praise: The Fierce And Fabulous Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber And Leslie Ahuvah

WORD!

If any of you had made me aware of the ministry of the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, I am sorry to say that I did not follow up on your links. I do try to read everything you send me, but occasionally on very busy weeks or when I get a slew of e-mails, I let things fall through the cracks.

This article is my introduction to a pastor who is one of the rare rock stars of liberal Christianity, and I think it’s well-written, energetic, inspiring and respectful.

You can read for yourself what Rev. Bolz-Weber is doing. More importantly, you can read who she is being, and how she expresses herself in ways that break the Victorian mold of pastoral persona that we’re in the midst of busting in our era. It’s risky business, what she’s doing and how she’s doing it, and it’s thrilling. I absolutely love that we’re in a time when liberal religion is strong and healthy enough to tolerate a backlash from within. I LOVE that Nadia says that she doesn’t find God in nature. I have been making cracks about my own Unitarian Universalist community’s radio silence about the transcendent in non-Gaia settings so I let out a big cheer when I read Nadia’s quote about why God made take-out and duvets. YES, girl, YES!

Let’s take a look at Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber’s public image. Click images to make ’em bigger:

The first thing I feel like saying is, “Kids, don’t try this at home.”

You don’t get a look like this by going out and getting a few tats, a cool haircut and a fabulous belt.

This is the image of a religious leader who fully inhabits her style down to the soul level. On a less deeply formed minister, this could look like attention-getting, like “Look at me, Pastor Badass, ya’ll.” Not on Nadia Bolz-Weber, it doesn’t. She is announcing her identification with the non-traditional with her attire and look, but she’s doing it in a way that is mature, beautiful, polished and professional. I hope that doesn’t offend her if she ever reads this post, but it’s true: this is a woman who radiates groundedness and elegance even with some of the trappings of “rebel chic”

She reminds me of another religious leader named Leslie Ahuvah who I know reads this blog, and whose acquaintance I finally made this past summer in Louisville, Kentucky at our denominational General Assembly:

Leslie’s look is definitely rad for a minister (although less and less so with each passing year, thank ye Gods!), but it’s not rebellious. And there’s a difference. A person who is trying to subvert stereotypes in order to be thought daring, courageous or original is usually interesting to look at, but mostly because their efforts to attract attention have succeeded. I am always aware of being manipulated to Look At Me! by such individuals, and although I look, I don’t feel drawn to them. What Nadia and Leslie have in common is that they’re not trying to be rad, they simply are. Their personal styles arise from a personal aesthetic that seems to emanate organically from them, not to be a cool-girl costume adopted for maximum attention.

Here’s more of Rev. Nadia. Beautiful.

Yes, I’ve sternly admonished my pigeons not to exercise their constitutional right to bare arms in church. Some people can break the rules. I still don’t personally like armpits with my liturgy but that wouldn’t keep me from attending a service led by this particular bare-armed pastor.

It’s always exciting to see a religious leader taking risks in being true to their calling and to themselves. I hope to read Nadia’s book Pastrix eventually, as I think the name alone is fab.