At age 15 at a summer camp I felt God was calling me to ministry. The call was clear but the details were not.

One thing I knew: I did not feel called to be the preaching
pastor of a church. I wanted to help people in “real” ways.

I was naïve enough to believe that I would help with some of the worst things that people face. That has proven to be so true that at times I was over my head with emotions and pain.

My calling was enough to organize my college plans and direct me to seminary. The outcome has been a varied life of ministry, first with church youth, and senior adults, then later pastoral care. Church work was interrupted by several years in social work, then later counseling as a licensed professional. And most recently, I added in supervising students and associates and counseling ministers, “helping the helpers.”

The stories I heard and pain I witnessed became part of me, quite literally at times. An overarching goal of mine has been to help people keep, or find, their faith in the midst of struggle. This is still my goal for others and myself.

When I share the same space with someone I often feel their emotions and needs. But I learned as a teenager that I could “take care of” people, which would make me crazy and not help them, or I could “care for” people. “Caring for” you is letting you be yourself, while I keep myself intact, but still creating a human connection between us.

How can I care for you? What do you need?
Do you need to talk about your struggles?
Are you a professional helping someone else with their struggles?
Do you struggle to sit with yourself and come to peaceful awareness?

Being with, and walking alongside, other people has been my life. I would love to journey you and be your guide.

What People Say

I'd love to help you on your journey.