Meet Abigale Haug, who we are thrilled to introduce as innoFaith’s new Communications Manager. We are grateful to have Abbie’s passion, skill, and beautiful spirit supporting the innoFaith mission. Originally from Minnesota, Abbie just moved from Washington, DC, to Somerville, Massachusetts, where she is working on a Masters of Theological Studies at Harvard Divinity.
What faith(s), if any, do you practice? How does your tradition and/or spiritual practice inspire or influence you as an innovator?
I grew up in the Midwest as an ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) Lutheran. Today, I still consider myself a Christian but do not claim a single denomination. With the Covid-19 pandemic, and living a more transient lifestyle after vaccination, I have not had a single “church home” in a few years. This has given me the opportunity to explore a variety of religious communities, including Quaker meetings and Episcopal services. Additionally, by working in an interfaith setting the last few years, I’ve had incredible opportunities to explore houses of worship and attend services outside of my own tradition. I am grateful for experiences such as joining a Passover Seder and touring a Mormon temple.
I think it is because of this exploration and diversity of experiences that I’ve felt so much creativity and curiosity in my life over the past few years. With each person I meet, service I attend, and new ritual I experience, I am learning a new way of connecting and new ways of being. This inspires me to think about innovative ways to build connections and encourage good work in my own life.
What are you currently working on?
One thing I’m thrilled to be working on is supporting innoFaith’s growth and communications! I so deeply appreciate that this platform explores and creates connections at the intersections of innovation, social good, and faith/spiritual/religious communities. I believe that these communities hold unique—and vastly underutilized—potential to lead in innovation spaces. Inherent to faith, spiritual, and religious communities is the ability to imagine beyond what you can see, touch, and prove. With that skillset, there is so much potential to work together across traditions and amplify social good. My work to find and share stories of this mission inspires all other areas of my work, and I hope it also leads to more connections in the field.
What can we find you doing when you’re not working?
Right now, I can be found exploring new coffee shops in Cambridge/Somerville and soaking up the gorgeous fall weather on the Charles River running trail. When winter hits, you can find me baking and curling up with a candle and a good movie!
What is piquing your curiosity these days?
Something that feels true to me these days is that we are living in an incredibly unique time. When I reflect on the last handful of years, I am blown away by how much change our country and globe has experienced. What stands out to me likely stands out to many others as well: the election of Donald Trump and events of January 6th, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the protests supporting Black Lives Matter. This was all also happening against a backdrop of climate change and shifting economic landscapes. With so much going on, it feels so easy to slip into our in-groups, or fear of a perceived “other,” and plain exhaustion. I’m really curious about new methods to combat these inclinations in our unique moment in time. How do we encourage human connection and empathy during times of immense change? What is unique about this moment that previous generations have not experienced? How do we respond to the unique moment in equally innovative ways?
What is something you’d like help on?
I’m spending a lot of time these days thinking about how to best connect people and encourage relationships. I’d love to hear from other innoFaithers and learn what kind of connections they’re looking for in their lives and work. Maybe it’s practical and skills-based, or maybe it’s casual, relationship-building. I want to know!
What is something you can offer others in the innoFaith network?
I feel incredibly lucky and intellectually stimulated each day at Harvard Divinity School. I would love to have conversations with others about how the theoretical, academic work of this field connects with the day to day work of leaders and organizations!
To connect with Abbie, you can find her via Email, LinkedIn, or sometimes Twitter/X.
Meet an innoFaither is our series to introduce the inspiring optimists in the innoFaith world and what they’re working on and thinking about. We hope it helps you find and engage with each other across the network to advance faith-rooted social innovation and interfaith collaboration for social impact. Or just meet some cool people. Find the full series at www.innofaith.org/meet-an-innofaither.