What should a spiritual space make you feel?

This week, I’m joined by the incredible Rev. Ryan Lindsay Arrendell, the founder and pastor of Salt and Light Ministries DC to think about what it means to build and find religious + spiritual spaces that nourish.

Rev Ryan is doing something I find so awe-inspiring: building the kind of church she wants to exist. At Salt and Light, that means a space organized around radical acceptance, where addiction, mental illness, incarceration, abortion, sexuality, or any of the experiences we’re often taught to carry shame around do not make you any less loved by God or any less lovable.

And our conversation goes everywhere. We talk about building a church as a Black queer woman, hearing from God and following divine intuition, finding the altar wherever you are, and Rev’s experience observing Ramadan and attending Jummah. We also get into what to look for when finding a spiritual community: transparency. You shouldn’t have to guess whether all of you will be welcomed somewhere.

Rev. Ryan helped me think about church beyond the building, worship beyond Sunday morning, and how to find and build spiritual spaces that actually nourish us.

Follow + Support Salt and Light:

Instagram: @SaltandLightDC

Website: tinyurl.com/saltlightdc

Rev. Ryan Lindsay Arrendell is a preacher, writer, Emmy Award-winning journalist, and graduate of Yale Divinity School. She is the founder and pastor of Salt and Light Ministries in Washington, DC. Salt and Light currently gathers for monthly worship and community programming, and will celebrate its one-year anniversary on November 1.