My focus in the community is on reforming our systems of mass incarceration and reaching out with compassion to people who have been affected by incarceration.
I’m affiliated with the Miami Valley UU Fellowship in Dayton, Ohio. My focus in the community is on reforming our systems of mass incarceration and reaching out with compassion to people who have been affected by incarceration. The ministry involves the love and care of a pastor and the active voice of the prophet. I am new to this ministry, and while hampered by the pandemic, I am finding ways to connect and be of use.
I have been a UU for over 30 years and decided to pursue the ministry after receiving a “calling” from the voices of people deeply involved in criminal justice reform, voices such as Bryan Stevenson and Michelle Alexander. Some might say God spoke to me through them, though I would say I was answering that voice from within. All I know is that I could no longer turn away from this ache in our society. I am a new minister, graduating from seminary in 2019 and was ordained in August of 2020.
Prior to the ministry I served as a Program Officer for the Kettering Foundation, moving to Ohio in 2005. I am from Michigan originally and worked in nursing and health care administration for about 30 years. Some say I have now connected the body, mind and spirit. I live South of Dayton with my partner and the birds that frequent our backyard feeders.
Lead community organizing initiatives focused on building support networks for returning citizens and their families. Develop and implement strategies to address systemic challenges within the criminal justice system through community engagement and advocacy.
Contribute to policy development and program implementation addressing specific challenges faced by women returning from incarceration. Focus on gender-responsive approaches to reentry services.
Lead 'Restorative Voices' classes for incarcerated individuals preparing for release. Design and deliver curriculum focused on restoration, healing, and successful community reintegration.
Facilitate programs and services supporting successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals. Coordinate with various stakeholders to ensure comprehensive support for program participants.
Co-lead 'In the Meantime' spiritual support group, providing guidance and support for individuals navigating the reentry process. Focus on spiritual well-being and personal growth.
Manage financial operations and oversight for community organizing group focused on social justice and equality. Ensure fiscal responsibility and transparent financial management.
Lead social action initiatives and community engagement programs. Focus on connecting spiritual practice with social justice work and community service.
Lead community organizing initiatives focused on building support networks for returning citizens and their families. Develop and implement strategies to address systemic challenges within the criminal justice system through community engagement and advocacy.
My Unitarian Universalist faith was calling me to do more about issues of justice, especially racial justice. I chose to bring a moral voice to criminal justice reform and to minister to women returning home from prison.
My theology is grounded in Unitarian Universalism. I interpret Unitarianism to suggest that God is among us all and what matters is what we do in this world, guided by wisdom and relationship. I interpret Universalism to suggest that God is love and what matters is how we manifest that love for everyone – no exceptions.
No exceptions means love for everyone regardless of what you believe, who you love, or what has happened to you.
We all need support along the way through our lives. Getting through our losses and hurts can create a sense of wholeness, that can often get lost in the things that have happened to us. The spirit of a loving community can help us remember we are accepted.
We covenant to protect Earth and all beings from exploitation. We will create and nurture sustainable relationships of care and respect, mutuality and justice. We will work to repair harm and damaged relationships.
We covenant to learn from one another in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning. We embrace our differences and commonalities with Love, curiosity, and respect.
We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large.
We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities
We covenant to collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically. Openness to change is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect.
We covenant to freely and compassionately share our faith, presence, and resources. Our generosity connects us to one another in relationships of interdependence and mutuality.
Direct experiences of transcending mystery and wonder are primary sources of Unitarian Universalist inspiration. These experiences open our hearts, renew our spirits, and transform our lives.
We draw upon, and are inspired by, sacred, secular, and scientific understandings that help us make meaning and live into our values. These sources ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times. We respect the histories, contexts, and cultures in which these sources were created and are currently practiced.
Grateful for the experiences that move us, aware of the religious ancestries we inherit, and enlivened by the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom.
Circles of Spirit will co-create a community of peer and mentor support for creative spiritual practice on life, self, relationship and community. Circles build a sense of resilience and wholeness in the face of barriers to reentry.
