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I interviewed Martha Jane via email on 21 June 2005.
What is your name? Martha Jane White
Age: 63
Where were your ancestors from? Ireland (maternal mother and father), Scotland (paternal father), Czechoslovakia (paternal mother)
Where were you born? East Orange, New Jersey
Where are you living now? Virginia
Are you married? No.
Do you have children? Yes. If so, how many? 2
What are their ages? 41 and 37
What is your occupation? Retired. Former teacher and librarian
What is your religious tradition? Christian (Episcopalian)
1. How do you express your faith in ways similar to the ways your mother expressed her faith? (You might include family traditions that emerge from your faith, such as food, special meals, or customs related to birth, coming of age, marriage, or death.)
Baptism has always been a family celebration, with family members serving as godparents. Confirmation in the church has served as a "coming of age" ceremony. Marriages have been celebrated in the church with family members. Deaths on my mother's side of the family involve a church service, burial, family gathering and sharing food. My mother, however, thought funerals were depressing and that children should not attend. It was not until I attended my mother's funeral that I saw the benefits of gathering and receiving family support. Deaths on my father's side of the family have not been as well attended, nor have they been a time of family gathering, sharing, and support.
2. How does your practice differ from your mother's practice?
My children attend funerals and weddings. They enjoy being with family in times of joy and sadness. They are more comfortable with death rituals from which I was shielded. (I do not think the shielding helped, because so many family deaths were a mystery, neither discussed nor grieved. I learned about some deaths only by finding newspaper articles in the attic, and only as an adult and as a Christian did I discover the message of resurrection and hope).
3. How do you make your home a sacred space?
I keep a few objects that have special meaning, such as stones I have gathered in my travels, gifts from friends, Bibles and books I have used over the years.
4. Is there an object in your house that reflects a way your mother or grandmother practiced her religion?
I still have the Bible and hymn book my grandmother gave me. She presented each new grandchild with a Bible. (She had over 20 grandchildren). My grandmother wrote in her hymn book the date each of her children died and put that date beside a hymn that gave her comfort, such as "Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can not bear."
5. Is there an object in your house that reflects your own faith?
I have several objects. I keep a collection of Bibles, almost one of each translation, so that I can compare translations. I have a concordance that helps me locate passages in the Bible. I have a Book of Common Prayer and an Episcopal hymn book. I also keep a journal, where I record thoughts and prayers. I have several lists of names of people for whom I pray, including a list published by my church. I have a bookcase half filled with books on spirituality, including Thomas Moore's Care of the Soul as well as books on living the Christian life, discovering gifts, identity, and creativity. I am especially interested in the journey to wholeness, believing that God is not finished with me yet. My collection of books represents my attempt to learn all I can about the journey. Earlier I mentioned my stone collection. (I think stones absorb energy and that's why cathedrals become holy places, for they absorb the energy of worship). I also have a butterfly sun-catcher given to me by a priest who had a great influence on my life, several paintings and letters by friends who have died.
6. What is one aspect of your practice that you would like to transmit to your children?
God's love is unconditional and never-ending.
I am glad that my children, their husbands, and my grandchildren attend church, because I believe we are nurtured in a community of faith.
7. What is one aspect of your practice that you would feel sad about if your children did not perpetuate?
I would be sad if they stopped believing in God. I am not disturbed if they attend a church different from mine (as my daughter Mary does). I would not want them ever to lose faith.
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