Living Evidence of The Eight Marks

Mark 1 - Spiritual Formation

Spiritual Practice

  • Contemplative prayer, meditation, Scripture, and silence

  • Music and piano as practices of prayer and spiritual connection

  • Ongoing spiritual direction and theological reflection

Discernment and Call

  • Ongoing discernment of my call to ordained ministry

  • Formation through my local church, Committee on Ministry, CPE, and the wider UCC

  • Continuing study of Scripture, Christian mysticism, contemplative spirituality, and pastoral theology

    Formation Through Chaplaincy

  • Three units of Clinical Pastoral Education, supervision, and verbatim reflection

  • Intentional examination of bias, assumptions, and pastoral use of self

  • Spiritual presence with patients and families facing illness, grief, dying, and death

Worship and Spiritual Formation

  • Preaching, prayer, music, and worship leadership

  • Experiencing the Holy Spirit through gathered worship and sacred encounter

  • Lifelong commitment to spiritual growth, reflection, and faithful ministry

Mark 3 - Transformational Leadership

Living Conference Leadership

  • Worship planning and leadership for the Rocky Mountain Conference Annual Celebration.

  • Collaboration with conference staff, clergy, musicians, volunteers, and lay leaders.

  • Co-creation of worship centered on Oasis in the Desert: Rivers of Life.

Music Ministry

  • Leadership of church music ministry.

  • Evening worship services.

  • Leading of River of Life Band.

  • Piano and vocal leadership in congregational worship.

  • Healthcare Leadership

  • Daily participation in interdisciplinary palliative care rounds.

  • Goals-of-care conversations.

  • Collaboration with physicians, nurses, social workers, and allied health professionals.

  • Staff education and support.

  • Volunteer coordination in hospice.

Leadership Formation

  • Clinical Pastoral Education.

  • Ongoing supervision and continuing education.

  • Commitment to collaborative leadership, intercultural awareness, and lifelong learning.

Mark 5 - Caring For All Creation

Nuture

  • Bereavement and grief support.

  • Music as a source of connection, memory, and joy.

  • Attention to the natural world and time in nature.

  • Cultivating healthy relationships and community.

Service

  • Community involvement and volunteerism.

  • Music and creative leadership.

  • Support of veterans and older adults.

  • Care for people experiencing grief, illness, loneliness, or transition.

  • Collaborative leadership.

  • Education and support of others.

  • Advocacy for dignity and inclusion.

Transformation

  • Clinical Pastoral Education and ongoing formation.

  • Supervision, reflection, and openness to feedback.

  • Contemplative prayer and meditation.

  • Yoga, movement, and embodied spiritual practice.

  • Music and poetry as practices of reflection.

  • Sabbath, rest, and time in nature.

  • Lifelong learning and spiritual formation.

  • Witnessing reconciliation, healing, courage, and hope within individuals and communities.

Mark 7 - Justice and Mercy

Justice

  • Advocacy for patient dignity in hospital and hospice settings.

  • Respect for chosen identity and personhood.

  • Recognition and examination of implicit bias through CPE.

  • Interfaith ministry rooted in dignity and respect.

Mercy

  • Bereavement care.

  • Funeral and memorial leadership.

  • Support for marginalized persons.

  • Family accompaniment.

  • Presence with those experiencing grief, isolation, and suffering.

Community

Women's circle ministry.

  • Building relationships across difference.

  • Interdisciplinary healthcare collaboration.

  • Creating spaces of belonging and reconciliation.

Mark 2 - Nurturing UCC Identity

Covenant in Community

  • Active participation in Bountiful Community Church

  • Ongoing discernment with the Committee on Ministry

  • Relationship with the Rocky Mountain Conference

  • Participation in Association and Conference life

  • Worship planning and leadership for the Rocky Mountain Conference Annual Celebration

  • Collaboration with clergy, musicians, and lay leaders

  • Conference worship centered on Oasis in the Desert: Rivers of Life

UCC Formation

  • Study of UCC history, polity, and theology

  • Coursework exploring the Constitution, continuing testament, and OCWM

Covenant in Practice

  • Interfaith chaplaincy rooted in Christian identity

  • Collaborative leadership within interdisciplinary healthcare teams

  • Building relationships of trust with patients and families across traditions

Mark 4 - Sacred Stories and Traditions

Preaching and Worship

  • Sermon preached at the Marshallese Church (January 18, 2026).

  • Funeral homilies and memorial reflections.

  • Worship leadership within the Rocky Mountain Conference.

  • Evening worship services.

  • Music ministry.

Original Liturgical Resources

  • A Prayer for the Dying

  • A Chaplain, Exactly

  • New Every Morning

  • Original prayers.

  • Worship liturgies.

  • Meditations.

Chaplaincy as Sacred Story

  • Hospital encounters.

  • Hospice ministry.

  • Goals-of-care conversations.

  • Bedside prayers.

  • Rituals of blessing.

  • Bearing witness to stories of suffering, hope, reconciliation, and love.

Mark 6 - Participating In Theological Praxis

Theology in Practice

  • Integration of contemplative theology into daily palliative and hospice chaplaincy

  • Theological reflection shaped by encounters with suffering, dying, grief, and hope

  • Pastoral care grounded in the Imago Dei and the inherent sacredness of every person

Contemplative & Mystical Formation

  • Ongoing engagement with Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, and Christian contemplative traditions

  • Exploration of Sophia and the Divine Feminine within Christian theology

  • Contemplative prayer, meditation, silence, music, and theological reflection as ongoing spiritual practices

Interfaith & Ecumenical Ministry

  • Spiritual care for patients and families across religious traditions and for those with no religious affiliation

  • Respect for diverse theological perspectives while remaining rooted in Christian identity

  • The Hub of Love as a theological framework for understanding unity without requiring uniformity

Theology Embodied

  • Translating theological reflection into presence, compassion, justice, and pastoral action

  • Creating worship, ritual, prayer, poetry, and music that make theological ideas accessible and experiential

  • Commitment to continuing testament and listening for the movement of the Spirit within contemporary life and ministry

Mark 8 - Strengthening Intra and Interpersonal Relationships

Personal Formation

  • Clinical Pastoral Education.

  • Verbatims and supervisory feedback.

  • Lifelong theological reflection.

  • Ongoing contemplative practice.

Covenantal Accountability

  • Committee on Ministry.

  • Rocky Mountain Conference.

  • Local congregation.

  • Clinical supervision.

  • Interdisciplinary healthcare teams.

Integrity

  • Ethical practice in healthcare.

  • Respect for every patient's dignity and beliefs.

  • Honest self-reflection.

  • Professional boundaries.

Human Development

  • Ministry across the lifespan.

  • Hospice.

  • Palliative care.

  • Pediatrics (through discernment and formation).

  • Family systems.

Communication

  • Goals-of-care conversations.

  • Preaching.

  • Worship leadership.

  • Music ministry.

  • Poetry.

  • Bereavement support.

  • Interdisciplinary collaboration.