I Am Wilshire – Lydia Perry.
Hometown: Athens, Georgia, and Mandeville, Louisiana;
Education: Baylor University, undergrad and law school
Present city: Dallas
Tell us about your family.
I am married to James Perry, and we have two kids, Emily, a first-year student at Colorado School of Mines, and Drew, a sophomore in high school at Lakehill.
How about your work or volunteer life?
I worked as an attorney in education law for 15 years before shifting to focus on family and volunteer work. Now, I volunteer with Light of Hope, an immigration law center that helps people along the path to citizenship. In addition, I volunteer at school and play piano for the children’s choir at Wilshire.
What are your favorite hobbies?
I have a horse and ride whenever I can squeeze in a trip to the barn during the week. Riding began as childhood interest and has continued to be a passion in my life.
What is your favorite place to travel?
San Diego is our family’s happy place. There’s something about the combination of desert, hills and ocean that lifts me up every time I’m there.
What brought you to Wilshire and when?
We joined Wilshire shortly after Drew, our younger child, was born, as we knew it was the place where we wanted to raise our kids.
What do you think God is up to in your life right now?
I am definitely in a season of change. I turned 50 last year and was faced with several major life transitions. Some were expected, some were not, and all have required growth from me. This year has changed my understanding of faith, which I previously thought of as belief in specific things. Now I think of faith more as something that guides and sustains when the limits of human knowledge and abilities have been reached. I am also learning the power and value of community. People have showed up and supported me in such amazing ways during the past year. I am trying to see how I can do the same for others.
Tell us about your faith journey.
I feel like Wilshire has been on a faith journey similar to mine. I was raised in the Southern Baptist tradition, and I have had to look hard at various pieces of my theology, more or less at the same time Wilshire grappled with the same issues. I appreciate being at a church that is willing to engage with the same big questions that have come up for me.
If you are interested in being featured in an upcoming I Am Wilshire article, contact Carolyn Murray(cmurray@wilshirebc.org)