Interview with Shannon Sera from our series of Interviews of and commentaries by members of the LCH church family.

Shannon Sera

Shannon Sera and her children “I have been learning so many things since I started come to LCH,” says Shannon Sera, mother of four young children. “I like the atmosphere, the kind of space I have for exploring ideas and asking questions. People here are kind and accepting, very helpful.”

Shannon, the wife of an enlisted Navy man assigned to submarine duty here in Honolulu, visited many local churches before discovering LCH. It might be fair to say that a narrow and authoritarian outlook of many of the churches she visited kept her searching for a faith community which seemed to fit her. She finally found LCH through its website.

“Actually, I was baptized Lutheran when I was a child in North Carolina. Now here I am back with the Lutherans for the first time since then.” Shannon and her husband, Joey, met in Hawai‘i when they were both in military service, Shannon in the Air Force. After an assignment in Georgia, they have returned to Hawai‘i for Joey’s duty.

Shannon keeps a sharp mind and inquisitive spirit. She knows how to keep on asking deeper and deeper questions, searching for understanding. It reminds one of the Augustinian saying from the early church that “faith seeks understanding.” “I know I may not get all my questions answered. I accept a sense of mystery in life and I am quite willing to embrace that mystery.”

As a demonstration of Shannon’s commitment to learning, she herself has agreed to help teach the kindergarten class. That classroom activity seems entirely natural when one listens to this mother concerned about the development and growth of her own children. Parenting four children 6 and under should suggest the desire for a community of support. One is not sure that this mother absolutely needs it, watching her capable care. But certainly the LCH community can be on hand to assist with her children ages 6, 3, 2, and 9 months in their growth and journey in the early part of their lives.

Shannon was interviewed by Fritz Fritschel
September 20, 2010

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