I’m so glad you visited our website and took the time to learn more about Channing Memorial Church! I hope you’ll join us for worship or one of our many activities so you can experience our beloved community. We would love to meet you. In our open and welcoming liberal faith, we invite you to delve deeply into spiritual living, explore life’s questions, connect with others who share your values and sense of purpose, and work together toward a more just and equitable world. Ours is a lived faith. If you have any questions about Unitarian Universalism, our church, or me, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I’m always happy to meet for coffee or lunch so we can get to know one another a little better. All are welcome here.
A bit about me:
I grew up in New Jersey with my mom and younger sister. In young adulthood, I earned my BA from Rutgers University, where I studied Cultural Anthropology and Religious Studies. In 2018, I received my Master of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School. While in seminary, I served as an intern chaplain with the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless.
I began my call to ministry through chaplaincy, serving at a university hospital in New Jersey and at a treatment center in Minnesota for youth experiencing mental health and addiction. I was ordained into Unitarian Universalist ministry in 2019 at the First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis. I am now in my eighth year of ministry at Channing Memorial Church, and I love every minute of it! I feel deeply blessed to have found my calling and such a wonderful community in which to serve.
I now live with my beloved husband, Eric. I love going on long hikes, enjoying great food, taking time to travel, and reading novels.
Inclusivity:
My ministry is centered on our UU value of equity: we declare that every person is inherently worthy and has the right to flourish with dignity, love, and compassion. Throughout my ministry, I have worked extensively with people and communities who have experienced stigma and marginalization, seeking to create spaces where their inherent worth is not only affirmed but internalized. The ill, the disabled, the unhoused, the gender non-conforming, the mentally ill and the addicted.
I strive to be a safe, compassionate, and affirming presence for all who are struggling, seeking healing, or searching for wholeness. At the core of this work has been my deep passion and commitment to healing the hearts and spirits of those living with mental illness and addiction. The lessons I have learned through this work about love, compassion, and dignity—taught to me by such wise and insightful souls—have carried through each of my ministries, whether serving as a chaplain or a parish minister
As an intern minister, I initiated a focused initiative on gender identity and gender expression. Throughout this work, I sought to create a more inclusive and affirming space for all who identify as LGBTQIA+. I led religious education programs for adults, children and youth, provided training for the Care Committee, and introduced pronoun buttons as a way to foster awareness and inclusion.
At the heart of my ministry is the conviction that every person deserves to know their worth, claim their dignity, and experience belonging. I strive to be a safe, compassionate, and affirming presence for all who are struggling, seeking healing, or finding their way toward wholeness.
Justice:
I have sought to embody justice work throughout my ministry. I have attended many protests and demonstrations, from Planned Parenthood actions to No Kings. In this work, I seek to amplify marginalized voices, challenge the status quo, and help build collective power.
At these gatherings, I wear my stole and collar as a visible sign of pastoral presence, using the power and privilege of my position to let people know that they are seen, loved, and supported by clergy. I also invite members of my congregation to join me, creating opportunities for collective action and helping us live our values beyond the walls of the church.
I also had the honor of following the call to Standing Rock, where I worked alongside Water Protectors through prayer, song, and ritual. This experience deepened my understanding of justice as not only advocacy, but also relationship, solidarity, spiritual practice, and accompaniment.
I seek to accompany the congregation through a variety of justice initiatives and actions. It has been a true gift to learn and grow together as we strive to put our values into practice.
Services and Theology:
One of the great beauties of Unitarian Universalism is our commitment to pluralism: we are sacred beings, diverse in culture, experience, and theology. As someone who has traveled a long and evolving faith journey, I affirm the many ways people understand the sacred.
I grew up as an atheist and carried these convictions into my young adulthood, until I found Unitarian Universalism. Here, I discovered a sacred space where I could explore and nurture my own unique faith journey. Through this newfound faith and through spiritual practices, my understanding of the sacred has evolved, and I now identify as a theist.
As an intern minister, I served a congregation with a strong humanist identity, which taught me the meaning and depth of a faith rooted in purpose, ethics, and meaning without any belief in divinity. I learned quite a bit, and I’ve carried these understandings with me ever since.
I cherish the theological diversity of our faith—from atheism and humanism to theism and everything in between. Each perspective offers an opportunity to listen, learn, and deepen our own understanding. We need not share the same beliefs to share a community, a commitment to one another, and a journey toward greater meaning and understanding.
I love crafting meaningful worship! I follow a thematic arch throughout the month drawing on themes based on spirituality in our lives. Together, we find hope, grapple with death, connect with love, and draw strength and renewal as we work to heal our aching world. We receive the spiritual sustenance needed both for those difficult, trying times of life and the ordinary days of a typical week. Together, we grow and thrive. I also offer a call toward justice. Each of us is called to help heal our aching planet and to care for those who are marginalized, hurting, and vulnerable, both within and well beyond our immediate community.
In our beloved church community, we gather to worship, reflect, and draw inspiration and spiritual nourishment for the work before us. We leave not only renewed in spirit, but ready to create a more just and compassionate world.