Meet Our New Student: Anito Cosio

I am happy to introduce myself and share this reflection as a new DSF student. There have been many unexpected blessings and doors of opportunity opening during this season of my life, and I am deeply grateful. Attending Claremont School of Theology is one of those open doors, allowing me to actualize a longstanding goal and desire to study theology.

When a person grows up experiencing hardship and difficulty — circumstances that force them out of childhood and into survival — faith can appear to offer the only path toward hope, safety, and a better life. At the same time, religious rules can be presented as conditions for receiving love, grace, or belonging. For me, when the Holy Spirit became known, I encountered the most uplifting and guiding presence I had ever experienced — one I never wanted to be without. However, breaking free from harmful theology and religious control would become a defining struggle of my youth and one of the greatest spiritual conquests of my adult life.

Since I was around 12 years old, I have expressed an interest in worship and

playing musical instruments. Instead of falling asleep each night reading a book or

doodling, I sang praises and worshiped with all my heart. I quickly learned basic

guitar chords and began playing during Sunday worship services and Wednesday

Bible studies. Later, I learned to play the tenor saxophone and also sang during

services. Through prayer and music, I experienced worship as a place of spiritual

connection, expression, and belonging.

I would have continued along this path during my later teenage and early adult

years, but I was shunned and cast out because I could not force myself to be

heterosexual. I tried. I wanted to fall in line, but I could not. I lost nearly

everything that had given me a sense of identity and belonging: my community, my ministry, and my family. Life had always been hard, but I would learn that it could become even harder.

This is one reason I am so grateful for the opportunity to study theology. The experiences I endured could have stopped me in my tracks and taken away my hope for a meaningful life and successful future, but those difficulties did not have the final word. Grace, love, compassion, understanding, and strength continued to reach me wherever I was. These gifts and fruits of the Spirit helped me survive, grow, and rebuild my life repeatedly.

Through my education, I hope to develop a deep and disciplined understanding of theology while remaining open to what the Holy Spirit illuminates through study, prayer, reflection, and community. I want to understand Scripture and theology well enough to recognize when they are being used to bring healing and liberation – and when they are being used to control, exclude, or cause harm.

I believe this knowledge and spiritual formation can equip me to broaden the message of hope for those who are seeking and needing it, especially those who have been made to believe that they are unworthy of God’s love or do not belong within a faith community. Through word, prayer, music, compassionate leadership, and service, I hope to become an uplifting presence in my community and help others encounter the same grace that continued to reach me, even when religious institutions did not.