Claudia H. Herrera-Montero, Co-creation and the mystery of God in relationship with all that is created

Claudia is a Catholic practical theologian and educator and served as a lay pastoral leader in Catholic higher education for nearly the past ten years of her life. She was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia where she pursued her undergraduate studies in International Relations and Political Sciences at Universidad del Rosario. Claudia holds an M.A. in Pastoral Ministries and a Ph.D. in Practical Theology from St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida. Her doctoral work with College-age Latinas in South Florida has expanded her research on participatory-action with Latinx communities in the classroom and ministerial settings, as she explores on their faith identity and social locations. She serves as the Secretary of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS) and this Summer, she joined the board of the Spirituality, Sustainability Global Network. Claudia lives in South Florida with her husband and young daughter. 

Maddie: What was your religious upbringing like? How have your personal faith and spirituality changed throughout your life? How has this impacted the work you do now?

Claudia: I grew up Catholic in Bogotá very closed to my abuelas (grandmothers). Their fierce and tender motherly figures created a significant impact on my life. I also attended all-girls Catholic school with the Piarists and Salesians sisters. My abuelas (grandmothers) and the Madres (Sisters) taught me about God through their love and care for their families and the poor. My faith, particularly a closer devotion to Jesus and La Virgencita (Mary), as well a passionate heart for service and justice was not an option or a component throughout my life. It is inherent to who I am and to the social context where I come from. When my family and I came to the United States, we learned to be the other. We encountered a place in which the social categories of language, immigration status, and ethnicity were new and difficult to avoid. I did not anticipate that we would be reminded of these categories not just in the academic enterprise or the classroom setting, but within the social spectrum of our everyday life. Throughout my life, I learned to appreciate the scriptures. My lived experience as an immigrant Latina in the US has shaped my spirituality and my work in the church and the academy. It is naturally at the core of who I am and my relationship with God and others. The language, Spanish, that once I used naturally in the public spectrum, became part of this in-between space of two worlds that I constantly negotiate and call home.

Maddie: We’ve been speaking about the idea of co-creation during many of our recent board meetings. What does the term mean to you, and why is this an important way of seeing the world? 

Claudia: The study of theology has opened my lenses to reflect deeper into the mystery of God in relationship with humanity and all that is created. When I started studying theology, it was eye-opening - like those aha moments - to reflect on the meaning of participating in God’s ongoing creation. I affirmed my belief that I was not only created by God in God’s image and likeness, but I learned that I was an active participant and collaborator in God’s dynamic work in the world; visible through my ministry work, scholarship and teaching. Later on, I started to understand that my relationships with the world and all that surrounds me become a reflection of the ongoing collaboration and co-creation with the divine. During the past couple of years, I have been reading Pope Francis’ writings on integral ecology, particularly in his letter Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. I correlate this work with our ongoing discussions in our recent meetings. The concept of integral ecology or ecology of daily life moved me to reflect that everything is interconnected and therefore my daily actions and practices have a greater impact beyond myself, particularly in those who are more vulnerable. When I consume (for example, when I brew a rich cup of coffee in the morning), I impact significantly a network of relationships that are involved in the process of producing coffee (and I mention coffee for example is because I love coffee/Cafecito…smiles). The same dynamic happens when I take my students to learn and serve with the migrant farm-working community in Immokalee. This experience opens up the space for dialogue and communal learning and transformation. I have found profoundly transforming how my students’ active participation ultimately calls for justice and a more humane way of living as much as how the marginalized contexts they encounter have transformed their relationships with others, and ultimately with God.

Maddie: What are your favorite courses to teach? What subjects and topics do you get the most excited to talk about? What makes you so passionate about exploring participatory action in the classroom?

Claudia: I have found it profoundly transforming to teach undergraduate students in the areas of faith and spirituality. Each course and classroom community is very unique. I challenge my students to reflect on their very unique narratives and social contexts as a critical component of their spiritual journey. In addition, I have been teaching pastoral ministry in Spanish (particularly in the areas of Catholic Social Teaching and Pastoral Planning) for the past few years to pastoral leaders in South Florida. I have the opportunity not only to facilitate theological reflection in the classroom, but I also get to listen to how intentionally they correlate their pastoral work with class material, and we do this by departing with initial assumptions and a pastoral question. I call this journey the ministry of teaching beyond the classroom. Every time we meet, I see just a little piece of God’s work in their communities. I see myself as a facilitator and conversation partner who serves them as they make meaningful correlations and discover new insights as they collaborate with God in the world. 

This dynamic connects directly with participatory-action. I believe my students are active agents of learning and new knowledge in the classroom, not just mere receivers of theories that do not always connect with the particularities of the contexts they come from. I have discovered this through my pastoral and teaching experience with Latinx and Caribbean students in the context of South Florida. I believe that when students are empowered to name their particular social location and claim the particularities of their communities, they can make meaningful connections in the process of learning and naturally bring new insights. Even though I facilitate class material and classwork plan, I will never anticipate the dialogue and the new knowledge that will spring up. I always remember the words from Dr. Elisabeth Conde-Frazier when I walk-in a new classroom for the first time: “Ultimately, one carries out participatory action research with fear and trembling because it depends on God’s Kairos and the movement of the Spirit.” and then, she goes: “It requires living in the borderland between God and the people…one learns to observe…think critically, imagine…in order to come up with insight and action.” (Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, “Participatory Action Research” in The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Practical Theology). 

Maddie: I read your piece on Mary Salome and was deeply moved. How have studying stories like hers inspired your role in the church? 

Claudia: During the past years I have been deeply interested to read and research about the early women of the church. I recently concluded an extraordinary journey of serving as a lay female pastoral leader in the ministry of campus in Catholic Higher education. What an incredible, life-giving, and challenging journey of finding my voice every time I felt moved by the Spirit to preach the gospel and announce the Resurrection! I feel that this is an ongoing journey and challenging task for women who serve in communities of faith, the public, and the academy. Women disciples and apostles such as Mary Salome, Mary the Mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene ultimately transformed their communities with love, care, and fierce spirits and are remembered by many as powerful leaders. I am honored to be part of this journey.    

Maddie: What shifted your academic interests from political science and international relations to theology and ministry? 

Claudia: Each academic journey was very unique and brought significant encounters that led me to the next one. Thus, instead of “changing careers” I believe these fields were and are all interconnected. When I was in college, my faith moved me to work with the least fortunate and marginalized of society. At the end of my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to travel to Mexico City and do an internship with vulnerable families. Through this experience, I discovered my call as a Catholic to action and justice and this led me to learn later on about the social teachings of the Church. Then, when I came to the United States, I was invited to apply to the Pastoral Ministry Program at STU and bring both areas together. This is how the story started…

Maddie: What are you working on and writing about at the moment?

Claudia: I recently published a book chapter on “The practical theological journey of Participatory Action Research: Building the Bridge Between the Classroom and the Field.” I look forward to continuing to work in this area for the rest of this year. 

Learn more about Claudia and her work here.