Sarah Katreen Hoggatt

Sarah Katreen Hoggatt grew up in Salem, Oregon, where she checked out books from the library by the bagful and climbed up a tree to read them. The middle of three sisters, she attended the Nazarene church for several years before her family left and she chose to attend on her own. Among supportive adults who encouraged her love of writing and to walk her spiritual journey with courage, she was taught to share her questions and experiences of God on a stage before an audience.

After earning her bachelor’s degree at Oregon State University in 2001, Sarah continued writing her feelings down in the form of poetry as a way to say what she could not otherwise express. Both her way to talk with God and commune with the inner wise soul inside herself, she found her way forward through a difficult time, line by line.

In 2003, Sarah published her first book, Learning to Fly, and enrolled at George Fox Evangelical Seminary (now Portland Seminary) where she walked into worlds of Christian history, mysticism, and different forms of spirituality—things she had never been taught but now felt free to explore. In the safe sanctuary of a diverse community both around her and in centuries past, Sarah broke apart inside in a dark night of the soul. Trusting God’s arms carrying her through, many places were destroyed and rebuilt inside her soul. Out of these experiences, Sarah wrote and published her second poetry book, In His Eyes, and her Advent devotional, Encountering the Holy.

After earning her Master’s Degree in Christian Ministry and her Certificate in Spiritual Formation and Discipleship, Sarah also became certified as a Spiritual Director so she could walk with others through spiritual journeys of their own. During this time in seminary, Sarah also developed a deep appreciation and love for the Quaker community, feeling at home among the Friends in a way she had never felt before.

Sarah found her local home among Friends at Freedom Friends Church in Salem where she helped write and publish their Faith and Practice, served as recording clerk, and joined Multwood, a women’s group from across the Northwest spectrum of Friends.

As one of ten editorial board members from a vast variety of Quaker perspectives around the world, Sarah shared in the creation of an international anthology of young adult Quaker voices, Spirit Rising: Young Quaker Voices. Following the book’s publication, she had the privilege of becoming involved with Friends General Conference (FGC), Quakers Uniting in Publications (QUIP), and traveling to eight different countries in North America, Africa, and Europe to speak about the book. You can view an FGC YouTube video about her experiences here.

After the anthology was complete, Sarah then published her third poetry book exploring a freer journey with God, Into the Wild Places. She also felt pulled to contribute on a yearly meeting level so she joined RiversWay and served on the Board of Christian Education at Northwest Yearly Meeting. The years spent at annual sessions, attending business meetings, getting to know a whole new host of F/friends, and spending evenings hanging out at the young adult house are memories she will always treasure with gratitude.

While Northwest Yearly Meeting started to split apart, Sarah took a deep journey of her own – one she is walking still. After a vivid dream of God telling her no theology would save her, she let go of the last attachments keeping her back from fully exploring her questions and who she was. Out of these explorations and what she learned about love, she wrote and published her fifth book (fourth poetry book), Finding Love’s Way.

While Northwest Yearly Meeting continued to battle it out, Sarah didn’t feel safe among Friends until the “New Thing” that became Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends declared themselves to be inclusive first and foremost. Throughout this time, Sarah has also been nourished by the local Jewish community (she is Jewish born) who are also passionate about equality and inclusiveness.

Finally finding a home among Friends where she can be fully herself, Sarah is delighted to be a part of a community of Friends she is proud of and that welcomes her contributions. Needing a local community as well, Sarah, along with the Raders, started a weekly community at their house where local Quakers met for dinner, games, talking, and sharing life together. Though the community now exists through texts and phone calls, it is still a source of joy and nourishment.

Sarah loves serving the community as co-presiding clerk and is humbled by the trust placed in her. Knowing for a long time she had the gifts for leadership, it has been a joy to use them to help build a community she believes in. As she learns and grows in this role, she strives to be a support to people’s ministries while making sure all voices are listened to and heard. She especially loves looking out at all the beautiful souls who make up Sierra Cascades during meetings and getting to know them better in between on phone calls and when preaching and visiting the churches.

Now, far from the theology Sarah had as a child with heaven and hell, saved and not saved, is the felt undercurrent that everything is in one flow and she trusts the hand encouraging her on. To her, the journey feels more like an ever-widening circle instead of a line. Sarah remains quite happy to simply hold space for the questions and to share that journey of questioning with others who have wonderings of their own.

Now married to her wife Monica, Sarah lives in Salem where she designs books, serves as a spiritual director, and works in communications. She still walks out of that same library grinning with a huge stack of books and is working on another book of her own in between attending art group and making people laugh for the pure joy of it.