Linda Marie Allen

I was born on the Summer Solstice of 1952; since that time, I have hungered for the Light. This innate hunger has led me to study many spiritual ideologies and practices, and I value all of my teachers and experiences. As a divine being inhabiting a physical body, I am exploring this earthly domain to expand my knowledge, wisdom and understanding of my universe so that I might better love myself and my fellow sojourners. I believe that we can arrive together through love and compassion. I am drawn to work as a hospice chaplain in support of other soul journeyers’ transition from this body to their next experiences. My ultimate goal is to manifest being a daughter of the Divine, a spark of light in this universe.

Anne Kiehl Friedman

I came to seminary to deepen, embody, and find peace in my relationship with the divine. My spiritual life, before I even knew to call it that, was charged and conflicted because I felt antipathy toward religion and didn’t know that deep spirituality could exist outside those institutions. Finding “interfaith” and defining myself as such is resolution to that lifelong conflict, and provides interesting connective tissue between the other careers and passions in my life. As a writer, strategy consultant, even as a hedge fund manager, it is my spirituality at the heart of the jobs I choose and how I conduct myself in them, because my life’s work is about creating a legacy of tikkun olam, ahimsa, and or social justice.

Cecily Knepprath

A whispering presence called me to ministry as a child, then lay dormant for a very long time. After years of inquiry into the Great Mystery, I recognized my deep intuitive connection with the Divine. Following a lifetime of “serving” in many non-profits including Room to Read, Habitat for Humanity and the Institute of Noetic Sciences, I found my way to ChI and now to Ordination. Currently, I volunteer at the San Francisco Night Ministry and work as the program coordinator at ChI. I look forward to using my gifts in hospice or hospital when pandemic conditions improve. I am blessed to be on this life journey with a warm, close family, which includes three amazing children and their spouses—Liam, married to Katrina, Kate married to Dave and Sara as well as a large circle of friends. I am extremely grateful to live near my grandkids, Connor and Evie, who take me on many fun-filled adventures.

Stephanie Kroner

I live in Albany, California, with my husband Paul and daughter Julie. I am from the Netherlands and grew up moving around the world with my Dutch parents and sisters. As a result, I came into contact with people from a wide variety of cultures, ethnicities and religions.These experiences laid the foundation for my pluralistic and interfaith orientation toward religion. I am drawn to the devotional aspects of many faith traditions, especially in the forms of song and chant. My earlier interests led me through the fields of languages and culture, clinical psychology, education, and finally, religion. I feel blessed to have found a calling as a hospital chaplain, where I combine all of these interests. Thank you to all those who have supported, mentored and invited me to grow. I promise to pay it forward. 

Terri Leasor

I lived the first 21 years of my life on the same street, surrounded by trees, family, and a small farm in view. I didn’t leave my hometown for 41 years, but when I did it was a move to two different states and three years in a foreign country.  As a child, I was well steeped in the Baptist church. Today, I still feel the call to love my neighbor and enemy, but my soul sings to find new ways of connecting to self and Spirit from multiple traditions. I’ll end with a special word of gratitude for my generous husband, Charles A. Knight, for his help in getting me to this day. Many blessings to so so many who have influenced my path.

Leslie Lightner

I am a mystic at heart, long hearing the voice of God speaking to me in hushed tones, even as a child. I was born with a curious mind, hungry for deep conversations and comfortable with human emotion. My faith roots are Lutheran and non-denominational Christian, but upon further exploration I came to see God’s presence in all things and throughout many faith traditions. This led me to become an Interfaith Chaplain. In the past five years I have transitioned from the role of Chef to Chaplain. With Divine guidance I now feed people differently. I am called to ease suffering as an empathic listener, and to act as a conduit between God and those I serve.

Reet Mae

I am a Metaphysical Minister, artist, documentary filmmaker, and independent scholar; and I am a settler, living on Dish with One Spoon Treaty Territory in Canada. I have a deep connection with my culture, language (Estonian) and ancestors. My spiritual journey has taken me to many faith portals, all of which Chi has embraced. My deep heart call remains towards my Finno-Ugric roots, the stories of the Baltic Nations, the power of art and creativity, and the healing of ancestral trauma. I offer a deep bow of gratitude to my family and friends who have supported as well as challenged me to a wider perspective on this journey to Interfaith Ministry.

Nancy Taylor

My spiritual nature revealed itself while I was a young girl sitting in pine trees that overlooked Alabama’s cotton fields. My spiritual development was rooted in a multicultural community in Saudi Arabia, where daily prayers and desert rides on horses and motorcycles set my imagination on fire. My spiritual formation was nurtured and mentored on the island of Bahrain, often referred to as the Garden of Eden. Spiritual challenges ripened me with revolutionary purpose after a military enlistment and an occupation with the legal profession. The spiritual crisis of my mother’s death created a kaleidoscopic wanderlust for spiritual transformation. Mystical and prophetic Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, New Thought, Indigenous Shamanism, and Hinduism led me to ChI, where a spiritual evolution has revealed its loving and paradoxical nature in effusive and elusive possibilities.

Levi Tran

My journey towards ordination and finding a spiritual community has been over 10 years in the making. After completing the requirements for healthcare chaplaincy, I found myself without endorsement or a spiritual home that fit for me. I thought I was going to have to give up my passion. Fortunately, during that time I met my wife Namie, who has been the clearest, daily expression of the Divine to me. With her support and the support of ChI, for the first time in my life I am deeply accepted not only for what I do, but for who I am. Dreams really do come true! I aspire to live up to the name “Levi,” which means “Unity between humanity and the Divine.”