About
I'm trained coach and ordained Unitarian Universalist (UU) minister. Unitarian Universalism allows me to be spiritually fluid, which means I honor all spiritual orienting systems and meet people where they are.
A mix of experience in business, ministry, chaplaincy and justice activism influence and enrich my work. Before attending seminary, I had a twenty-two-year career in business which included working for Procter and Gamble, Computer Associates and General Electric. Then for twelve years, a business partner and I led a woman-owned organization to offer information technology consulting and leadership training to small and very large organizations. (We had onsite daycare for our babies and offered it to employees, too.)
I was an executive coach when the idea of seminary wouldn't leave my heart and soul. I received a Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology and am an adjunct instructor there.
As a member of the Unitarian Universalist Minister Association and Spiritual Directors International, I am bound by the ethics and codes of conduct each provides.
Spiritually, I identify as a mystic. As a young girl, I began to notice that when I was praying and really centered, I could tap into my inner wisdom and sense God's loving presence in and all around me. It was a tremendous comfort then, and it still helps me navigate life. My spiritual practice always begins with a meditation that places me in an energetic landscape full of Love, wisdom and support. It also includes rituals that honor the natural world and somatic (body-based) practices.
For 25 years, I've been exploring my ancestors and their spiritualities. Liberal, loving and mystical Christianity, along with pre-Christian Celtic practices, are part of my own spiritual orienting system and a way I honor my lineage (with all of its warts and wonders). I believe everything is connected and everyone has inherent worthiness.
Nature is my teacher, and I believe all beings are my kin - trees, plants, animals - all beings. Through the Wilderness Awareness School, I have completed the Kamana Training Levels 1 and 2. And I celebrate the nature cycle of the year.
A mix of experience in business, ministry, chaplaincy and justice activism influence and enrich my work. Before attending seminary, I had a twenty-two-year career in business which included working for Procter and Gamble, Computer Associates and General Electric. Then for twelve years, a business partner and I led a woman-owned organization to offer information technology consulting and leadership training to small and very large organizations. (We had onsite daycare for our babies and offered it to employees, too.)
I was an executive coach when the idea of seminary wouldn't leave my heart and soul. I received a Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology and am an adjunct instructor there.
As a member of the Unitarian Universalist Minister Association and Spiritual Directors International, I am bound by the ethics and codes of conduct each provides.
Spiritually, I identify as a mystic. As a young girl, I began to notice that when I was praying and really centered, I could tap into my inner wisdom and sense God's loving presence in and all around me. It was a tremendous comfort then, and it still helps me navigate life. My spiritual practice always begins with a meditation that places me in an energetic landscape full of Love, wisdom and support. It also includes rituals that honor the natural world and somatic (body-based) practices.
For 25 years, I've been exploring my ancestors and their spiritualities. Liberal, loving and mystical Christianity, along with pre-Christian Celtic practices, are part of my own spiritual orienting system and a way I honor my lineage (with all of its warts and wonders). I believe everything is connected and everyone has inherent worthiness.
Nature is my teacher, and I believe all beings are my kin - trees, plants, animals - all beings. Through the Wilderness Awareness School, I have completed the Kamana Training Levels 1 and 2. And I celebrate the nature cycle of the year.
The Wheel of the Year - a collage I made.
I've done ancestral research and healing rituals in Ireland, Scotland and Germany where many of my ancestors resided before immigrating to the United States. White people in the U.S. have been cut off from our ancestors' spiritualities and cultures. If we are going to dismantle racism and move toward collective liberation, we need to recover our roots so that we have a culture deeper than white supremacy culture to nurture us. That doesn't mean we romanticize those roots, rather we revisit them and recover the knowledge that helps us today. You can work with me to do that.
Glenariff Falls in Northern Ireland where one ancestral healing ritual took place in 2019.
Since my call to ministry and ordination, I've served as pastor of three congregations and the Executive Director of Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth. I'm a certified Justice Movement Chaplain and am involved in a variety of local social and environmental justice movements. One of my favorite things to do is help people deepen their solidarity skills. You can see (and use) a curriculum I helped develop here. I am a Usui Reiki Practitioner (trained through Level 4) with training in Celtic energetic practices; I share energy practices with clients if they'd like.
I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, and I live there now. It is the sacred land of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux) people whose governments and cultures are still alive. You can learn about the land where you live at Native Land and begin to honor those people and histories.
Pete Dignan is my husband who supports me in all aspects of life. I have precious descendants whom I adore - two grown children, two grown step children and one step grandson. Both of my brothers live within 15 minutes of me; they have known me the longest, and we continue the shared journey. My kids, nieces and nephews are my teachers and bring me great joy as we explore becoming good ancestors ourselves.
I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, and I live there now. It is the sacred land of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux) people whose governments and cultures are still alive. You can learn about the land where you live at Native Land and begin to honor those people and histories.
Pete Dignan is my husband who supports me in all aspects of life. I have precious descendants whom I adore - two grown children, two grown step children and one step grandson. Both of my brothers live within 15 minutes of me; they have known me the longest, and we continue the shared journey. My kids, nieces and nephews are my teachers and bring me great joy as we explore becoming good ancestors ourselves.
From left to right: Me, Pete, my two kids: Meghann and Michael
Inspiration & Teachers
The Transcendentalists like Thoreau are my Unitarian Universalist spiritual ancestors. Thoreau and the Language of Trees by Richard Higgins and Robert D. Richardson is a great book.
My indigenous way of knowing and nature-based practices are honed through a mentored training program in Druidry. I have completed all three levels of training (Bard, Ovate and Druid).
Rev. Daniel Prechtel, author of Soul Journeys: Christian Spirituality and Shamanism as Pathways for Wholeness and Understanding, is one of my regular teachers and mentors.
I received training and mentoring from Laurie Rainey Schmidt who has over 30 years experience as a shamanic practitioner with advanced training through the Foundation for Shamanic Studies with Michael Harner. She has also done advanced studies with Tom Cowan, Betsy Bergstrom, and is authorized to teach by Sandra Ingerman.
John Philip Newell is the one who opened my eyes and heart to Celtic Christianity which lives beyond Rome, original sin and a denouncement of nature. I've been in numerous in-person workshops with him and love him to pieces.
All of John O'Donohue's work is balm for the soul. Pure and simple.
Fay Johnstone's work supports many aspects of my path - nature-based, energetic, Celtic, and core shamanic practices. I love all her books, especially Plants That Speak, Souls That Sing: Transform Your Life with the Spirit of Plants.
Sharon Blackie's writing has led me to clarity many times.
In To Speak for the Trees: My Life's Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest, Diana Beresford-Kroeger speaks to me in a language I'd forgotten I had.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer was a game changer for me that led me deeper and deeper into my relationship with Earth.
Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred by Victoria Loorz was music to my ears and inspired me to start Wild Church Denver which has been on hiatus while I serve UU Ministry for Earth.
Ecowomanism: African American Women and Earth-Honoring Faiths by Melanie Harris reminds us that there is a connection between violence and oppression against communities of color and violence against and domination of Earth. Ecowomanism gives us practices to dismantle both, spiritually and by action.
Peter Levine and Staci Haines help me develop somatic awareness and practices.
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem and his work on Somatic Abolitionism has changed my life. I completed his course Foundations of Somatic Abolitionism for White Bodies. I don't teach his material but continue to practice it. Racism lives in our histories and bodies and can't be deconstructed in our minds or conversations. We have to identify it in our lineage and move it out of our bodies.
Tema Okun and all with whom she collaborates on White Supremacy Culture pushes me to dismantle the white supremacy that lives in me.
I attended Rabbi Tirzah Firestone's ancestral healing workshop in person and am grateful for her healing presence in my life. Her book Wounded into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma will touch you to the core.
Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing by Daniel Foor was my companion on one ancestral pilgrimage. Since then, my processes have shifted, but I'm grateful for Daniel's good work on this important subject.
The Transcendentalists like Thoreau are my Unitarian Universalist spiritual ancestors. Thoreau and the Language of Trees by Richard Higgins and Robert D. Richardson is a great book.
My indigenous way of knowing and nature-based practices are honed through a mentored training program in Druidry. I have completed all three levels of training (Bard, Ovate and Druid).
Rev. Daniel Prechtel, author of Soul Journeys: Christian Spirituality and Shamanism as Pathways for Wholeness and Understanding, is one of my regular teachers and mentors.
I received training and mentoring from Laurie Rainey Schmidt who has over 30 years experience as a shamanic practitioner with advanced training through the Foundation for Shamanic Studies with Michael Harner. She has also done advanced studies with Tom Cowan, Betsy Bergstrom, and is authorized to teach by Sandra Ingerman.
John Philip Newell is the one who opened my eyes and heart to Celtic Christianity which lives beyond Rome, original sin and a denouncement of nature. I've been in numerous in-person workshops with him and love him to pieces.
All of John O'Donohue's work is balm for the soul. Pure and simple.
Fay Johnstone's work supports many aspects of my path - nature-based, energetic, Celtic, and core shamanic practices. I love all her books, especially Plants That Speak, Souls That Sing: Transform Your Life with the Spirit of Plants.
Sharon Blackie's writing has led me to clarity many times.
In To Speak for the Trees: My Life's Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest, Diana Beresford-Kroeger speaks to me in a language I'd forgotten I had.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer was a game changer for me that led me deeper and deeper into my relationship with Earth.
Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred by Victoria Loorz was music to my ears and inspired me to start Wild Church Denver which has been on hiatus while I serve UU Ministry for Earth.
Ecowomanism: African American Women and Earth-Honoring Faiths by Melanie Harris reminds us that there is a connection between violence and oppression against communities of color and violence against and domination of Earth. Ecowomanism gives us practices to dismantle both, spiritually and by action.
Peter Levine and Staci Haines help me develop somatic awareness and practices.
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem and his work on Somatic Abolitionism has changed my life. I completed his course Foundations of Somatic Abolitionism for White Bodies. I don't teach his material but continue to practice it. Racism lives in our histories and bodies and can't be deconstructed in our minds or conversations. We have to identify it in our lineage and move it out of our bodies.
Tema Okun and all with whom she collaborates on White Supremacy Culture pushes me to dismantle the white supremacy that lives in me.
I attended Rabbi Tirzah Firestone's ancestral healing workshop in person and am grateful for her healing presence in my life. Her book Wounded into Wisdom: Healing Intergenerational Jewish Trauma will touch you to the core.
Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing by Daniel Foor was my companion on one ancestral pilgrimage. Since then, my processes have shifted, but I'm grateful for Daniel's good work on this important subject.
