Meet the Team – Under Construction!
|
The Reverend Jane Gerdsen is an Episcopal priest and is serving as the Missioner for Fresh Expressions/Praxis Communities for the Diocese of Southern Ohio. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Episcopal Divinity School. Prior to seminary, Jane was a Montessori teacher and worked as a Director of Religious Education. Jane served for five years at St. Andrew's, an inner-city church in Dayton, Ohio. In her current work she is exploring new forms of Christian community. She works predominantly with young adults and those who have been disenfranchised from the church in some way. She has a heart for those on the margins. She is also a wife and mother to two young children and loves yoga, gardening, and planning dinner parties.
|
Mary Lenard brings a lifetime of experiences as a child and as an adult interacting with children to her work. Her background in Montessori teaching and as a catechist has been enhanced by the experience of raising four children with her husband Bill. The children she knows and loves stretch her interests and give her a broad pallet of ways to share joy through the art of living. Nature, storytelling, poetry, creativity, music and teaching are all components of her spiritual practice.
|
|
Mooydeen Frees is a retired deacon in The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. She is a registered nurse and has masters degrees in Training, Education and Development and Pastoral Counseling. She also holds a certificate in Spiritual Direction from The Haden Institute in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Mooydeen became intrigued with SoulCollage® when she first encountered it. As a unique tool for personal and spiritual growth, she is energized by what it has added to her personal journey as well as its potential to enrich her spiritual direction and retreat practice. |
Elizabeth Balskus is currently pursuing her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Oregon. She was born and raised in Cincinnati but has spent time learning and traveling all around the world. Throughout her travels and studies, she has spent amble time working with children and loves helping young people cultivate their artistic voice and sense of self. She has worked with youth in Minneapolis and Chicago in a variety of capacities: as a Youth Advocate at a domestic violence shelter and youth homeless shelters, as a teaching artist for Free Arts Minnesota, as a Writing Mentor to incarcerated youth, and as a tutor and mentor within the public school system. She has spent two summers now assisting with Art as a Spiritual Connection summer camps and is constantly amazed at how transformative the experience is for both the campers and the adults involved.
|