I grew up in Virginia, and took engineering degrees in North Carolina and Texas before moving to the Bay Area, where I received a psychology degree. I’m currently working as a program manager at a residential facility for adults recovering from mental health crises. I married in 2021 which was as much a (good) surprise to me as it was to everyone else involved.
I grew up in the Presbyterian church, as did at least the previous two generations of my family, including an uncle who was a pastor in Texas. I spent nearly a decade away from church after the national Presbyterian organization decided to condition ordination on romantic orientation – although they’ve since rescinded that rule. I found St. Mark’s after getting lost coming back from the YMCA on Ross Road. I wasn’t ever going to church again, but decided to go just once. That was a half dozen years ago.
The activity that got me to come to St. Mark’s the second time was the Sunday morning contemplation, which was called Buddhist-Christian Study at the time. I ended up taking over from the previous leader a few months before the pandemic got going. With a good two decades of practice in a few different spiritual traditions, I hope to offer the opportunity for more people to engage with Divine Breath. I like Richard Rohr’s concept of action and contemplation both being necessary components in a religious life and appreciate how St. Mark’s offers opportunity for both.