{"id":228577,"date":"2016-02-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-19T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/from-scientist-to-religious-minister\/"},"modified":"2016-02-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-02-19T08:00:00","slug":"from-scientist-to-religious-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/from-scientist-to-religious-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"From scientist to religious minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mar\u00eca Jos\u00e8 Dur\u00e0n<\/p>\n

Spiritual center\u2019s minister\u00a0used to be an atheist<\/strong><\/p>\n

Patti Paris, ordained minister of The Vision Center for Spiritual Living<\/a><\/span>, started her professional career as a scientist in the field of biochemistry. Ten years ago, she was researching leukemia when she switched from helping people with the sickness of their bodies to the struggles of their souls.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, it\u2019s kind of weird,\u201d Paris said before she started laughing. The 59-year-old woman believes that most people go through a spiritual \u201cdrift\u201d in their twenties. \u201cBut then, after that period, they find something that they resonate with.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s exactly what happened to Paris. She went from an atheist scientist to a minister of God. \u201cI spent years as a staunch atheist. But then, little by little, your soul just calls for things and I started getting those stirrings of \u2018there is just something else\u2019,\u201d Paris said.<\/p>\n

\"Patti<\/a>
Patti Paris, ordained minister of Vision Center for Spirituality, speaks at religious services Jan. 19. (Photo by Mar\u00eca Jos\u00e8 Dur\u00e0n)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cGod is so good,\u201d were the first words that Paris proclaimed on stage in the Vision Center service held on Jan. 19. The concert-type room was half empty. That particular Sunday the rainy weather wasn\u2019t inviting to go out in, even for a church service.<\/p>\n

Uplifting spiritual music filled up every corner in the room. The meditation quote of the day was, \u201cWhat the world needs now is for each of us to be who we truly are and to bring our gifts into the world.\u201d After five rings of a crystal bowl followed five minutes of silent meditation and prayer.<\/p>\n

Vision Center of Spiritual Living is a non-denominational church. \u201cWe consider ourselves to be multi-denominational,\u201d said Paris. The Vision faith accepts every other creed in a very open way.<\/p>\n

The cornerstone of their belief system is that God exists. They think that the \u201cSpirit Almighty\u201d is everywhere \u2013\u2013 and in everyone. There is no book of rules for people to follow. Their teaching concentrates in giving practitioners the necessary tools to be happier.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mission of Vision is to awaken humanity to their magnificence, to the good that they are and the good that they can do,\u201d Paris said. During the January services and other events at the Vision Center, the emphasis was on analyzing personal beliefs. Practitioners were encouraged to examine if their thoughts were still serving them or not, and if they weren\u2019t, how could they be replaced.<\/p>\n

In an average sermon Paris may cite the Bible, the Koran or Snoopy. \u201cWhatever gets the points across,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n

Carl Martins has been attending Vision centers for 25 years. This 72-year-old was raised a Methodist, and then married a Catholic in an Episcopal church. \u201cI\u2019ve been with every possible denomination,\u201d Martins said.<\/p>\n

Like many other adults, Martins was attracted by Vision\u2019s relaxed religious sense. \u201cI\u2019ve always believed in getting rid of all the doctrine, the guilt, the sin, the crap that is associated with every other religion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get people from other [religions] that have just been beat up enough \u2018till they don\u2019t want to do that anymore,\u201d said Paris.<\/p>\n

Bailey Keck is 22 years old. She started attending Vision last August. She came into the non-denominational church after a bad experience with Baptism. \u201cI\u2019m a nursing student, so I needed to know that there was something at the end,\u201d Keck said.<\/p>\n

One of the challenges that new faiths like Vision face is how to get people to church in the Internet era. Today, practitioners can stream religious services, watch videos on YouTube or read their prayers online.<\/p>\n

For Paris, the solution involves creating a sense of congregation. \u201cWhat makes us different is we build community here, we get like-minded people to come together and talk to share stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their church offers many events open to the community to get together. Vision offers Sunday religious services as well as sharing and meditation groups and life counseling classes. But their more popular gatherings flow around music.<\/p>\n

John Kurko is the founder of the Vision congregation in Mission Gorge. \u201cMusic reaches deep into the soul, it reaches so many levels,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The second and third Thursday of every month The Vision Center for Spiritual Living<\/span> presents Folkey Monkey. This acoustic music session is hosted by Joe Rathburn and percussionist Jeff Stasny. The event casts different guest singers and different themes for each performance. On Feb. 11\u2019s sold-out show, the theme was \u201cAll You Need Is Love\u201d and featured an evening of Beatles songs as a \u201cwarm-up for Valentine\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show on Feb. 25 is also a \u201clove\u201d theme and features songwriter and troubadour Gregory Page. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased through the Folkey Monkey website, folkeymonkey.com.<\/p>\n

Vision\u2019s spiritual services are free. However, donations are encouraged. \u201cIt\u2019s about giving back to the places where you\u2019re spiritually fed,\u201d Paris said.<\/p>\n

The Vision Center for Spiritual Living will be hosting a \u201cNew Home Celebration\u201d on March 6 at its new location, 4780 Mission Gorge Place.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2013\u2013Mar\u00eca Jos\u00e8 Dur\u00e0n is a freelance writer from San Diego. She can be reached at emyein@hotmail.com.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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