SEATTLE , Washington ( CNN ) -- Ann Holmes Redding has what could be called a crisis of faiths . Ann Holmes Redding says she sees no contradiction in being both a Christian minister and a Muslim . For nearly 30 years , Redding has been an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church . Her priesthood ended Wednesday when she was defrocked . The reason ? For the past three years Redding has been both a practicing Christian and a Muslim . `` Had anyone told me in February 2006 that I would be a Muslim before April rolled around , I would have shaken my head in concern for the person 's mental health , '' Redding recently told a crowd at a signing for a book she co-authored on religion . Redding said her conversion to Islam was sparked by an interfaith gathering she attended three years ago . During the meeting , an imam demonstrated Muslim chants and meditation to the group . Redding said the beauty of the moment and the imam 's humbleness before God stuck with her . `` It was much more this overwhelming conviction that I needed to surrender to God and this was the form that my surrender needed to take , '' she recalled . `` It was n't just an episode but ... . was a step that I was n't going to step back from . '' Ten days later Redding was saying the shahada -- the Muslim declaration of belief in the oneness of God and acceptance of Mohammad as his prophet . But Redding said she felt her new Muslim faith did not pose a contradiction to her staying a Christian and minister . `` Both religions say there 's only one God , '' Redding said , `` and that God is the same God . It 's very clear we are talking about the same God ! So I have n't shifted my allegiance . '' Watch Redding say , `` Being a Muslim makes me a better Christian '' » . The imam at the Islamic Center in Seattle , Washington , where Redding prays said she brings the best of both traditions to her beliefs . `` Coming from an example of wanting to be Christ-like and coming from the perspective of wanting to follow the best example -- the example of our prophet Mohammed -- it all makes sense then , '' Benjamin Shabazz said . There are many contradictions between the two religions . While Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet , Christianity worships him as the son of God . James Wellman , who chairs the department of comparative religion at the University of Washington , said that while it is not unusual for people to `` mix and match '' beliefs , it is almost unheard of for a minister to claim two religions . `` When you take ordination as a Christian minister , you take an explicit vow of loyalty to Jesus . It 's hard for me to understand how a Christian minister could have dual loyalties , '' Wellman said . Redding said she sees the theological conflicts but that the two religions , at their core , `` illuminate '' each other . `` When I took my shahada , I said there 's no God but God and that Mohammed is God 's prophet or messenger . Neither of those statements , neither part of that confession or profession denies anything about Christianity , '' she said . To her parishioners and family , though , Redding has turned her back on her faith and office . There was , she said , `` universal puzzlement '' at her decision to convert to Islam but still remain an Episcopal minister . `` I have people who love me very much who really do n't want me to do this , and I love them very much . And I would love to be able to say , 'Because I love you I will renounce my orders ' or ' I will renounce Islam ' ... I hate causing pain to people who love me , that 's not my intention , '' Redding said . The Episcopal Church also rejected Redding 's religious choice . `` The church interprets my being a Muslim as 'abandoning the church , ' `` she said . `` And that [ there ] comes an understanding that you have to be one or the other , and most people would say that . It simply has n't been my experience that I have to make a choice between the two . '' The Diocese of Rhode Island , where Redding was ordained , told her to leave either her new Muslim faith or the ministry . A diocese statement said Bishop Geralyn Wolf found Redding to be `` a woman of utmost integrity . However , the Bishop believes that a priest of the Church can not be both a Christian and a Muslim . '' Even though she has been defrocked , Redding said she is not capable of turning her back on either faith . She said she wants to continue speaking about and teaching religion and perhaps even travel to the Hajj , a journey to Mecca that every Muslim is supposed to make in their lifetime . Redding said she does not want her belief in two religions to diminish the value she holds for both Christianity and Islam . Each faith by itself is enough to fulfill a person spiritually , she said . `` It 's all there . I am not saying you have to go somewhere else to be complete . Some people do n't need glasses , some people need single lenses . I need bifocals . ''
Ann Holmes Redding says she saw no point in her being a Christian . Christian community , family saw Redding as having abandoned her faith . Diocese rules that a ` ` may not be both a Christian and a woman ''