5 Questions with Rev. Cassandra Lawrence
Reverend (Rev.) Cassandra Lawrence, associate chaplain in the Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice (CRSSJ), is a commissioned deacon in the United Methodist Church and a Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty Fellow. She came to Grinnell from Washington, D.C. where, among many other things, she worked with the diplomatic community to improve engagement between government, non-governmental, religious, and community peacebuilders. At Grinnell she is focusing on deepening spirituality, advocating for justice, fostering multifaith engagement, and building community. She shared her thoughts with us on her work, hobbies, and interests — as well as her recently discovered Iowa roots.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in California in San Diego and in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, outside Sacramento. In my 20s and 30s, I grew up traveling and living around the country and the world, including time in Adelaide, Australia; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Vancouver, Canada; Denver, Colorado; Louisiana; Santa Rosa, California; and finally Washington, D.C. for the past 12 years.
Q: What can you tell us about your family?
A: I recently discovered that some of my family comes from Iowa when I was packing up my kitchen for my move to Grinnell. I noticed a few spoons in our family collection decorated with the word Iowa. Turns out my great-great-grandmother was born in Iowa and her daughter, my great-grandmother was born in and lived in Manson, Iowa, before the family moved to Saskatoon, Canada, and then to San Diego, California. My great-great-grandfather was born in Wisconsin before his family moved to Iowa where he met my great-great-grandmother. I have a stack of pie recipe cards from my grandmother that are actually a record of several generations of pie recipes from people in the family and the neighborhood. I'm currently learning how to make pies to revive that slice (lol) of the tradition.
My dad's family was a military family, and both his parents were from rural Maine. They lived all over the country and in Japan for a time before settling in Florida. I recently went to St. Augustine, Florida, to officiate my cousin’s wedding. It was an honor and privilege to have a family wedding be my first time officiating a wedding.
My parents live in Sacramento near my brother where he and his spouse are raising their first child. I also consider so many friends my family. I have friends who have become my sisters, cousins, aunties, and uncles.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
A: I really love cooking and baking. My grandmother initially taught me how to make pie, but I was very little when those lessons started, and she eventually outsourced the baking to Marie Callender’s. After nearly 50 years of baking for family, she was done and now I'm reviving the tradition.
I am an outdoor and nature lover at heart, growing up by the San Diego beaches, in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and then later on the Northern California coast. Being outside includes long walks, naps under trees, hikes, biking, and running. I also find deep peace just watching the world in awe and wonder.
I also love dancing and find any excuse to dance anywhere, anytime to all kinds of music. Most recently that was the Missy Elliot concert and a Wailin' Jennys concert.
Q: What does your role at Grinnell entail?
A: I'm the new associate chaplain at the Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice. I'm excited to be working with Rabbi Sarah, Imam Abdul Muhamin Priester, and Deacon Grayson to provide leadership and interfaith opportunities, and to support the Grinnell Advocates, a staff-supervised student organization that aims to create greater awareness about issues surrounding sexual assault and dating violence on campus. I’ll be providing support for all faith traditions, as well as leading worship and other gatherings within my own tradition of Christianity, facilitating small groups and providing spiritual guidance, including one-on-one support. Generally, I'll be getting to know the various groups on campus, official and unofficial. I'm here to support students, to help people develop emotional and spiritual skills, and to build more inclusive and just communities through interfaith engagement and leadership.
Q: What was the path that brought you to the Grinnell?
A: I came to Grinnell out of a deep desire to support the emotional and spiritual development of all people. From my experience working in faith rooted and interfaith justice and community spaces I witnessed how important it is to create opportunities to connect with our bodies and our spirits. As I sought a deeper connection to God and personal engagement within my own faith tradition of Christianity, I saw the need to bring justice directly in conversation with our deepest held values and ideals. In my career I’ve seen that as we draw closer to injustice, we seek clearer visions of justice and need more spaces for reflection and healing. I came to Grinnell to find a different pace of this work and to be at another point of our ecosystem of social change. I hope to learn alongside the community at and around Grinnell, and to share my experience, strength, and hope for the formation of students and our community.