Welcome

I chose this photo to introduce myself because the transformative journey I’ve been on for the past 20 years has largely been shaped by a remarkable group known as the “Faithful Fools.” The Reverend Kay Jorgensen and Sister Carmen Barsody founded the Faithful Fools Street Ministry in San Francisco, California, in 1998. During my first semester of seminary, in the fall of 1999, I took Kay and Carmen’s first class at Starr King School for the Ministry, Bearing Witness. After experiencing several life-changing street retreats with the Faithful Fools in the Tenderloin of San Francisco, I traveled to Nicaragua four times to live in the barrios of Managua for 10 days at a time with a diverse group of students and seekers led by Kay and Carmen. These profound experiences helped me understand my privileged status in life, as I began to peel away my prejudices and assumptions about people who live in poverty.

During my internship at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Austin, Texas, I invited the Fools to lead a street retreat and share their wisdom with the congregation. Following my internship, I went back to Starr King to take classes, teach a class, and to work with the Faithful Fools. After that extraordinary year of discernment, I found my first settled ministry position in Ludington, Michigan. I invited the Faithful Fools to present their original play, The Witness, at West Shore Community College in Ludington. I continued participating in weeklong street retreats and trips to Nicaragua.

The Fools mourned the loss of Reverend Kay in 2018, but we continue to celebrate her wisdom, courage, faithfulness, and joy that lives in the hearts and minds of hundreds of Fools like me who were lucky enough to find such a remarkable mentor, teacher, and friend.