Perspectives: Meet Kelly Sherman Conroy
Part of practicing midrash is taking time to understand the many ways Scripture can be held and interpreted, and practicing the posture of listening. In our new series, Perspectives, we’re inviting local BIPOC* teachers, faith leaders, and scholars to teach us scripture through the lens of their faith tradition.
Kelly Sherman-Conroy; Mato Wašté Winyan (Good Bear Woman), has grounded her life in the Holy Spirit and the deep spiritual practices intertwined between her Lakota identity and Christian beliefs. As a proud member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Kelly dedicates her time to social justice, racial reconciliation, Indigenous leadership, and family ministry. Walking with people of all cultures, she actively provides ministry around the exploration of intersections of identity, personal narratives, and faith.
We’re excited to hear from Kelly as our next Perspectives teacher on December 10.
We sent Kelly this question:
Narratives of the human experience invite us to find ourselves somewhere in the story. When thinking about scripture, where you are in the story right now?
Here’s how she responded:
Understanding Native spirituality is the awareness that storytelling continues to be a definitive for Native culture.
We are a people of oral tradition. This is the same as early Christianity relied upon.
I've always been obsessed with history and storytelling through various forms of art. Storytelling takes on many forms, but the common thread is that no matter what art we choose to tell our story, it is fascinating to us as human beings, because the art in which we choose is like a portal to a memory, and it holds the important power of keeping stories alive.
As a Theologian, it's been my journey to find my voice, reclaim the stories of my heritage and the past and infuse them into the unique form of art through storytelling to share to the world around me.
Because of the wisdom of my elders and my theological mentors, I have begun to define a wisdom for faith and activism that transcends modernity’s purview. It is my hope that as I continue on in my work, and explore this new lens, it will be difficult for people to see our world in any other way.
Want to hear more from Kelly?
Join us for our Perspectives Listening Session on Thursday, December 10. Then, be sure to come back the following week for a Scripture Circle on the same passage Kelly will teach us—so we can wrestle together through the ways we’ve been expanded.
We can’t wait to see what new perspectives we discover together.
*(Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)