Some people don’t like to box themselves in with labels. I used to be allergic to labels. I like to engage meaningful conversations with people. My values define me, and because they are important to me, I want to share them with others.

I also have needed to figure out what the main values are of the monastic community I am starting. For now, I am calling it Mercy for All Monastery. MAM, or MFAM. The two ideas that are not common Christianity are ones I want to emphasize as ones that I think really define the teachings of Jesus.

1. Veganism–that we would do our best not to harm or exploit any animal, demonstrating agape love for all of life.

2. Christian Universalism–the idea that everyone will eventually come to know the true Jesus who is so loving that we won’t be able to resist his love. Because God is so powerful and loving–he gets his way–that all of creation will be restored. I have spelled out other values on the blog which include conservative one such as pro-life. But conservative is a label that is very vague and has a lot of negative connotations.

3. Conservative-In this political climate, I realize that I am definitely a conservative. This article defines the difference between a conservative and a liberal. I definitely support the conservative view.

So Vegan Conservative Christian Universalist is what I am for now.

I continue to long to work with others to help bring true peace to this world, and there are countless ways we can do that. That is why I don’t throw myself into political activism even though I see that we are in dire straits, and so many are suffering.

I do my best to pray and have empathy for people who have died from COVID 19, people who have lost their businesses, and their lives in the rioting, and folks who get attacked because of their beliefs or willingness to be whistleblowers. I pray for those who are doing hurtful things to me and others-I have compassion for them. I think I could be more effective if I was living in a community of people who are doing spiritual practices and finding ways of being of service–including growing our own food and demonstrating a simple way of living according to values that benefit the earth, people, animals, and other forms of life.

For now, I mostly share on Facebook, and appreciate that I am doing something small. I also do spiritual practices with a dear friend, and try to be encouraging to my family and friends. I’m close to being able to really promote my monastery dream, and I have a lot of hope that there are women who would find this to be a place where they could find peace and fulfillment. If you know someone, I hope you will share my blog.