During the nearly two decades of my ministerial career I have served three parishes -- in Maine, Massachusetts, and now in
Virginia. For three years I was on the Unitarian
Universalist Association's national staff, as their first Director of Worship and Music Resources. While on the UUA's staff I was asked to write an adult curriculum on spiritual practices (Spirit in Practice), and in 2017 I collaborated with my colleague Leia Durland- Jones to write a curriculum for religious professionals on the topic of family ministry (Family Ministry).
For those who might be interested in such things, I entered college intent on pursuing a career in theatre. Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York, had (and still has) an excellent BFA Action program, and I was accepted into it. After a year, though, I came to see that the real job of an actor is auditioning for roles, and I wasn't interested in doing that ... so I moved over to Ithaca's Philosophy Department (where I got to study with the incomparable Richard Creel!). Ultimately I went down the road to the more affordable State University of New York at Binghamton from which I graduated with a Bachelor's in Sociology.I was living in Boston as a freelance juggler/magician/clown, mask maker, and computer temp, when I decided to follow a long-felt call to the ordained ministry. I received my M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, where I focused on cross-culture studies of mystic and monastic traditions. In 2001 I received advanced training in Spiritual Direction from the Shalem Institute of Spiritual Formation.
These facts, however, these dates and places only tell part of the story. According to my parents, when I was a young child, I would go outside after a storm and conduct funeral services for the worms that had crawled out of the ground only to die on the sidewalk. I don't remember that, but I believe it. I have always felt a deep connection to that "sacred something" that some call "God," others call "Spirit," and for which still others find no words.When I was 16 I wrote this in my journal:
"I want to study scripture,not just Christian scripture but all scripture. I want to study religion: not just the Christian religion, but all religions. I want to study, I want to learn, I want to teach, and in this way I want to find God myself and help others on their quest.”I believe that each of us has the capacity to experience that deep connection to Life, and that through such a connection our lives are infinitely enriched. Perhaps we can engage that quest together ...
