My Background

From the time I was a child playing 'pretend' with my sisters in the woods behind our home, I have loved creating events.

My religious upbringing was somewhat out of the ordinary. In the  late 1960s my parents created, with other families, the Vinyard, one of the earliest lay communities founded on the principles of Vatican II, the modernization of the Catholic Church. From humble beginnings in living rooms in Berkshire County, Massachusetts they designed their own services to reflect their liberal social values. The Vinyard moved to a beautiful modern chapel on the campus of Cranwell Academy, a private Jesuit high school. Over the years, the "congregation" grew and attracted hundreds of participants, including authors, playwrights, musicians, and artists. The chapel itself was a theater in the round, with the altar a simple granite slab. In college I majored in religious studies and  philosophy.

I remember where I was the moment I first discovered Taoism (It was the college library basement, and I was in a red leather chair.)  This was a revelation, -- a spiritual path based in nature! -- and the beginning of a life-long exploration of spirituality.

For twenty years, I was a member of two women's circles - one of close friends, another of fellow ritualists. As our sense of the sacred expanded, we celebrated the moons and the seasons in creative ways, creating ritual together from our diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds.

I learned a lot about creating community and producing events in a more traditional sense as a staff member of a graduate school, where I created educational and social events for students, alumni and faculty for twenty-five years. I am one of the founders of a successful food cooperative; was a staff member of a dance cooperative's adult summer camp; and, as an environmental activist, was on the planning and logistics team for large (250 to 1,500 people) actions and demonstrations for five years.

And yes, given my history, I will admit that my [second] wedding at 55 years young was a three day extravaganza ... with the sweetest ceremony.  The photo at the top of the page is from our wedding day, and here I am greeting my groom and his grooomsmen, as we sing a joyful welcome before entering the chapel.