Unorthodox. I have been twenty-five years an ordained Episcopal priest. I am catholic with a lower case “c”. I am a parochial school girl but of the rebellious kind. My Jesuit educated father gifted me with an insatiable curiosity. I grew up asking questions of all kinds, many the good sisters did not appreciate. At Immaculata Preparatory School, Sister Mary Clare took me aside one day and told me to stop because I was confusing the other girls. She told me (and I quote) “Joani, you are gifted intellectually but retarded spiritually”. Needless to say I became a philosophy major at Catholic U and shortly thereafter an Anglican. Anglicans are forever asking questions. And I am one.

Unhinged. I have been 16 years certifiably crazy. I say this with great affection. Bipolar disorder is the gift that keeps giving in my family and I got the gift. To be balanced and Bipolar is actually a great gift. As my life has expanded and shrunk, I have experienced God’s world with an intensity I don’t believe otherwise possible. Balance is an art I have to practice every day. Sometimes better than others.

In this little blog I want to share with you stories of a manic Christian. Maybe along the way the tales I tell will remind you of some of your own and maybe, just maybe, speak a little bit to your soul.

Unorthodox and Unhinged, here I go.