Institute for Thealogy & Deasophy

Xochitl Alvizo, M.Div
Xochitl Alvizo was born and raised in Los Angeles, California moving to Boston in 2004 where she currently resides. She completed her Master of Divinity with a concentration in Theology in 2007, summa cum laude. Currently, Xochitl is a PhD student in Practical Theology at Boston University School of Theology. En route to being a theology professor and a minister of a new pub church, she is a queer feminist Mexican-American who is both an academic that loves ideas and an activist that loves and is committed to bringing about social change and transformation. Working hard to develop her own voice and to hear and encourage the voice of others on the margins, she constantly finds herself on the boundary of many different worlds, believing that as we are all inextricably interconnected, the good we do in one area inevitably and positively impacts the others and all who are within it.

A student and close friend of Mary Daly's, she admits that it is only because of feminism, Goddess, and Mary Daly that she is able to continue her hopeful and committed participation in the Christian church, taking with her the wisdom and practice of a more expansive feminist vision. Xochitl holds on to the same 'Hopping Hope' that Mary Daly had when she wrote The Church and the Second Sex: "This is commitment to radical transformation of the negative, life-destroying elements of the Church as it exists today…Such commitment requires hope and courage [a lot of it!] ...Our optimism does not depend upon the past; rather, it arises from a call, a summons into the future. The life-affirming alternative to [rejecting the Church] is response to that liberating Power which calls us to transcend the archaic heritage and move toward a future whose seeds are already within us" (221-223). For Xochitl, Goddess is her power and Goddess, along with Christianity, gives her the embodied future into which she lives and continually moves in communion with others, hoping to bring about communal transformation.

One of the ways in which Xochitl contributes to her community is as the founder member of the Pub Church in Boston, Massachusetts, and lead facilitator of innovative (Christian) church that meets at a pub and is not exclusively Christian. There, she facilitates weekly gathering with rituals that embody and enact a feminist and Goddess-loving Christianity with a small and diverse community of people. Aside from her work at Pub Church, Xochitl has published and presented in the area of feminist theology at various conferences and has been the recipient of various grants and awards. The following list includes her presentations, publications, scholarly affiliations, grants and awards, and ministerial accomplishments.

publications & presenations

• FOCUS: Boston University School of Theology, Winter 2008/09 "A Personal Journey to Ministry," pp. 28-30.
• "Engaging in Dialogue Across Difference", guest lecturer for Professor Shelly Rambo, STH TT 866, "Feminist and Womanist Theologies," October 5, 2009.
• "Evangelism in the Context of Patriarchy", guest lecturer for Bryan Stone, STH TC 835, October 6, 2008.
• "Inclusive Language", initiated, organized, and facilitated a Faculty Panel Discussion on the use of Inclusive Language in theology at the BU School of Theology, March 14, 2006.

guest preaching

Wesley United Methodist Church (Medford, MA):

• "Hope in Light of Insidious Trauma", sermon on Luke 10:25-37, June 15, 2008.
• "Who do you say that I am?", sermon on Matthew 16:13-16, August 26, 2007.
• "Jesus and the Syrophoenician Woman Connect Across Difference", sermon on Mark 7:24-37, September 10, 2006.
• "Mary and Martha: A Complex Situation",
sermon on Luke 10:38-42, August 20, 2006.

Cambridge Welcoming Ministries (Somerville, MA):

• "It's a New Day, it's a New Way", sermon on Luke 9:51-62, August 26, 2007.

Boston University Chapel (Boston, MA):

• "We Make Jesus Ugly", sermon on Mark 10:32-45, October 25, 2006.

Bethany Memorial Church (Bethany, West Virginia)

• "Coming Out", sermon on Mark 10:17-31, October 15, 2006.

professional memberships

• 2009 to present - Association of Practical Theology, member
• 2009 to present - Lesbian-Feminist Issues in Religion, American Academy of Religion, member
• 2005 to present - American Academy of Religion, member

other affiliations

• 2007 to present - Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual, member
• 2006 to present - (Christian Church) Disciples of Christ, Candidate for Ordination
• 2006 to present - Center for Process and Faith, member

grants & awards

• 2009 - 2010 - Hester Ann Beebe Fellowship, Boston University School of Theology
• 2009 - 2010 - Center for Practical Theology Academic Fellowship
• Spring 2009 - Travel Grant, Center for Practical Theology, Congregational Research, England and Wales, U.K.
• Winter 2008 - Travel Grant, Center for Practical Theology, AAR
• Spring 2008 - Sermon Contest Finalist, Faith Trust Institute, "Addressing Sexual and Domestic Violence in a Religious Context," Spring 2008. (Sermon published in Journal of Religion and Abuse: Advocacy, Pastoral Care & Prevention, volume 8, number 4 2008.)
• 2008 - 2009 - Center for Practical Theology Academic Fellowship
• 2008 - 2009 - Mary McLeod Bethune Ethnic Scholarship, BU School of Theology
• 2008 - 2009 - Frank D. and Bertha Howard Fellowship, BU School of Theology
• Winter 2008 - Travel Grant, Center for Practical Theology, AAR
• 2007 - 2008 - The Jacob Sleeper and David H. Tribou Fellowship, BU School of Theology
• 2007 - 2008 - Center for Practical Theology Academic Fellowship