Hi, I’m
Kelley Renz.
I hold degrees in English (B.A.) and Theological Studies (M.A.) from Marian University and the University of Dayton. As I was raised and educated in the Roman Catholic tradition, this rich theology informs my thinking and writing.
It is far more prevalent than any of us want to believe, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual assault. There are networks crisscrossing our world. Some of them are large and well-funded, as we have seen in the case of Jeffrey Epstein. Others are small and crude. All of them seem to hide well.
My father knew of the small and the crude. From Ohio, to Indiana, to Florida, he found these networks, finding fellow pedophiles who would offer payment for access to me. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about me. There didn’t need to be.
The abuse went on for 19 years.
It is amazing what God equips our minds to do in the face of chronic trauma. Though the ends are described by various maladies – Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) – these fascinating abilities of the human mind were and are means to incredible survival stories. And God does not leave us to wield these abilities on our own. God finds ways to invade our suffering, using symbols, images, people, and bits of creation to lift, inform, comfort, strengthen, and protect.
And to save.
Why did I create Juniper Pact?
I am disturbed by the image of God I find in our public square. This is not the God I ran into and related with along the corridors of my childhood.
We have failed to teach one another how to see and hear God.
A relationship with God is far more participatory and personal than we are led to believe.
We are to pick up our suffering and that of others and come right at God with it. What we will find in doing so will not only change us, it will change our corners of the world.