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My Journey Thus Far:

I am an ordained Episcopal deacon (that’s me on the left), living in rural SW Washington. I hold a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree from Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP), part of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and was ordained in November of 2019 at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. I served in the Diocese of California on the Commission on Ministry, the Board of Trustees for the School for Deacons (a great source if you want to learn more about who deacons are and what we do) and as president of the Marin County Deanery. I am a member of the Diocese of Olympia which covers all of western Washington state.

I am a Progressive Christian who believes in the validity of all religious paths and have been a student of world religions for as long as I can remember. I came to the Episcopal Church by way of a rather eclectic combination of discovery, study, practice and worship, and I incorporate much of what I learned through different spiritual teachings into who I am as an Episcopalian. My preferred address is “Deacon Ari” or “Ari” and my pronouns are she/her. My master’s thesis in seminary was in the area of Queer Theology and how Episcopal congregations can better extend welcome and support to people who are Queer/LGBTQ+ identified.

Church Nerd Stuff:

My husband and I moved to a homestead in rural SW Washington in April of 2023. I spent a year looking into various churches in my area and how to meaningfully participate in the local community, and in August of 2024 I answered a call to serve at our local Episcopal church in the town of Battle Ground.

I also work remotely as Director of Social Justice Programming for Saint Columba’s Church & Retreat House in Inverness, California, where I held my first post as deacon from 2019 – 2023. In the Director role I design and facilitate antiracist and social justice book studies and discussions for parishioners and others who wish to attend. I also co-lead a Noonday Prayer and scriptural discussion on Wednesdays via Zoom through the Virtual Chapel at St. Columba’s, incorporating contemplative elements from the Celtic Christian tradition.

My “sending” parish was All Souls Episcopal in Berkeley – this is the church community that baptized and formed me, and helped me discern a call to ordained ministry. My Field Education parish was The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, another wonderful congregation in Berkeley. I served there as a deacon-in-training, assisting during the Eucharist, at a local senior living center, and in the neighborhood. I was trained through Sojourn Chaplaincy at San Francisco General Hospital and worked with inmates in the San Francisco County jail system through Grace Cathedral’s jail ministry program.

Music Nerd Stuff:

I was raised in and around the music industry and musical theater. As a member of All Souls’ Music Ministry, I sang (and played bodhran, darbouka and washboard) with the old-timey Angel Band and before that I was a member of the Glide Ensemble (many years ago), a gospel choir at Glide Church in San Francisco. As a teen and in my early 20s I developed a love for Irish and English folk music through many years of working Renaissance Faires in Northern and Southern California. I still sing and play music when I get the chance.

Some Great Books:

There are SO MANY wonderful books on Christian spirituality and practice that I would like to recommend; if you feel like requesting one for a specific concern, please let me know. I will share with you here (in no particular order) a few that I consider to be at the core of my own study and practice; books that have brought me to where I am, fed my spirit, accompanied or uplifted me and helped me through challenges:

  • The Heart of Christianity, Marcus Borg.
  • Reading the Bible Again for the First Time, Marcus Borg
  • A Book of Psalms, Stephen Mitchell
  • Take This Bread, Sara Miles
  • Accidental Saints, Nadia Bolz-Weber
  • Living on the Border of the Holy, L. William Countryman
  • Troublemaker, Vicki Gray
  • Contemplating Christ, Vincent Pizzuto