Event Organizers

<p>Bill Brand has been actively involved in the Episcopal House of Prayer since 2005, as a member of the Contemplative Body, a cantor for the weekly meditation “sits,” a co-leader of the weekly Chi Kung practices, and a cook, among other roles. </p>

<p>Dr. Christine Luna Munger, Obl SB has been the director of the Episcopal House of Prayer since 2019. She served as Coordinator of the Spiritual Direction Certificate at St. Catherine University and has taught theology at University of St. Thomas and College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. Christine writes regularly about prayer and composes chants which can be found on the EHoP Website. Christine has also published numerous articles, videos, and spiritual direction resources. She is an oblate of St. Benedict’s monastery. Christine is a mother of two and stewards a family farm with her husband. She is bilingual (English & Spanish) and enjoys all forms of dance and being outdoors.</p>

<p>Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew is a wisdom teacher dedicated to holding space for the sacred transformations writing makes possible. She received her MFA in creative nonfiction from Hamline University, her spiritual direction training from the Center for Spiritual Guidance, and her contemplative formation from the Center for Action and Contemplation’s Living School. She is the author of the spiritual memoir “Swinging on the Garden Gate: A Memoir of Bisexuality and Spirit”; the novel “Hannah, Delivered”; a collection of personal essays, “On the Threshold: Home, Hardwood, and Holiness”; the chapbook “Map to Mercy”, and three books on writing: “Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir”, “Living Revision: A Writer’s Craft as Spiritual Practice”, winner of the silver Nautilus Award, and “The Release: Creative Freedom After the Writing is Done”. You can participate in a writing community with Elizabeth at the Eye of the Heart www.eyeoftheheartcenter.org or connect with her at www.elizabethjarrettandrew.com. </p>

<p>Jim and Kathy Wiant are long-time members and leaders in the House of Prayer Community. They regularly host the Come Away Weekend and other retreats.</p>

<p>Jim Wiant is a long-time member of the Episcopal House of Prayer community and a frequent leader of retreats at the House including the Come Away Weekends and Advent retreats. After a lifelong affinity for the natural outdoors, he enjoys caring for the forest along Luxemburg Creek in which he and his wife, Kathy, now make their home.</p>

<p>Jim Wiant is a long-time member of the Episcopal House of Prayer community and a frequent leader of retreats at the House including the Come Away Weekends and Advent retreats. After a lifelong affinity for the natural outdoors, he enjoys caring for the forest along Luxemburg Creek in which he and his wife, Kathy, now make their home.</p> <p>Dr. Christine Luna Munger, Obl SB has been the director of the Episcopal House of Prayer since 2019. She served as Coordinator of the Spiritual Direction Certificate at St. Catherine University and has taught theology at University of St. Thomas and College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. Christine writes regularly about prayer and composes chants which can be found on the EHoP Website. Christine has also published numerous articles, videos, and spiritual direction resources. She is an oblate of St. Benedict’s monastery. Christine is a mother of two and stewards a family farm with her husband. She is bilingual (English & Spanish) and enjoys all forms of dance and being outdoors.</p>

<p>Jim Wiant is a long-time member of the Episcopal House of Prayer community and a frequent leader of retreats at the House including the Come Away Weekends and Advent retreats. After a lifelong affinity for the natural outdoors, he enjoys caring for the forest along Luxemburg Creek in which he and his wife, Kathy, now make their home.</p> <p>Bill Brand has been actively involved in the Episcopal House of Prayer since 2005, as a member of the Contemplative Body, a cantor for the weekly meditation “sits,” a co-leader of the weekly Chi Kung practices, and a cook, among other roles. </p>

<p>Rev. Mary Ellen Ashcroft, Ph.D., after many years as a literature and writing professor, now lives in Grand Marais, where she is a writer, teacher, retreat leader, wilderness guide, and grandmother.</p>

<p>Along with being Sara's spouse and harmony singer, Paula J. Pedersen has been spending her early retirement (After a 30-year career in higher education, as psychology faculty and Director of Education for Inclusive Excellence) exploring new passions. She continues her work as an interculturalist and consultant to educational and leadership groups seeking self-awareness and strategies toward intercultural effectiveness. She is a facilitator trained by the Center for Courage and Renewal, facilitating retreats based on the work of Parker J. Palmer. A volunteer firefighter and Emergency Medical Responder in their rural Wisconsin township, Paula is finding new metaphors and areas of connection across differences. Paula and Sara live in the northwest Wisconsin woods near the Twin Ports of Duluth/Superior with their dog, chickens and bees.</p> <p>Sara Thomsen is a singer-songwriter and recording artist from the Duluth/Superior area. Increasing wonder and awareness, deepening connection, and widening engagement through song is at the heart of her work. Sara's ability to get people singing magically transforms gatherings into communities empowered with possibility. Her songs carry you inward and outward—in, to the particulars of your own life, and out—into the shared humanity of us all. Thomsen's music reflects a staunch support of struggles for human dignity and ecological sustainability. Whether it is a song welcoming a newborn, protesting a policy, depicting night falling or describing a loved one, her music is alive and pulsing. Thomsen and her spouse Paula Pedersen love spending time gardening and enjoying the outdoors. </p>

<p>Rabbi Shefa Gold is a leader in ALEPH: the Alliance for Jewish Renewal and received her ordination both from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (z”l). She is the director of C-DEEP, The Center for Devotional, Energy and Ecstatic Practice in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. She teaches workshops and retreats on the theory and art of Chanting, Devotional Healing, Spiritual Community-Building and Meditation.<br /> Rabbi Shefa composes and performs spiritual music, has produced ten albums, and her liturgies have been published in several new prayerbooks. She is the author of “Torah Journeys: The Inner Path to the Promised Land,” “In the Fever of Love: An Illumination of The Song of Songs,” and “The Magic of Hebrew Chant: Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening Love.”<br /> By combining her grounding in Judaism with a background in Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, and Native American spiritual traditions, Rabbi Shefa is uniquely qualified as a spiritual bridge celebrating the shared path of devotion.</p>

<p>Stephanie Hart has been working as the Hospitality Manager at EHoP since 2022. Her bodywork practice includes massage, myofascial release, and energy work. She has been practicing body work for over 20 years. She enjoys making music in community, cooking, reading and biking.</p>

<p>Stephen K. Hatch, M.A., is a contemplative thinker, photographer, writer, speaker and spiritual director. He has practiced a contemplative life for 45 years, combining family time with meditation, silence, solitary time spent hiking and camping in the wilds, and teaching. Stephen taught Christian Mysticism for eleven years in the Religious Studies Department at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. He lives in Taos, New Mexico. He is the author of “The Contemplative John Muir,” “Rocks and Waters are Words of God,” “Wilderness Mysticism: A Contemplative Christian Tradition,” and “Expanse of God, Caress of Sophia.” He also has a podcast entitled “Nature as Beloved, Nature as Self.” He considers himself interspiritual, with roots in the Christian Contemplative tradition.</p>

<p>Tara Darnall has served on the Board of EHoP since 2022. She also cooks for the House and serves on the Building and Grounds Committee. Tara’s bodywork practice includes massage and craniosacral therapy. She has been practicing body work for over 20 years. She enjoys walks, dogs, camping, reading, puzzling and putzing in flower beds.</p>