Thursday, November 1, 2018

2018 ECCT Advent Bloggers

Dear ECCT,

Beginning on December 1, 2018 a colleague group in the ordination process for the priesthood will be offering an Advent Blog reflecting on the themes of the Way of Love:

TURN
LEARN
PRAY
WORSHIP
BLESS
GO

A post will appear each day, so please subscribe to the blog to receive them in your email. Below is a photo and a biography for each person who will be posting.

Wishing you a blessed Advent,

Molly James
Dean of Formation


Mary Barnett


Mary Barnett lives in Branford with her husband Dave and children Sam (17) Ben (14) and Mollie (9). Her first career was in modern dance and theater. She founded In Good Company as a home for her own choreography and over fifteen years, produced over 50 guest artists in a popular performance series called Dancing Out Loud in New Haven. Then, she fell for writing. Her work has appeared in Tin House, The Christian Century, Letters and Commonweal. Her desire to embody the way, the truth and the life in words, action and restored relationships has found a true home in the Episcopal church.
               

Mike Corey


Mike Corey lives in Colchester with his wife Kate, two dogs Carter and Tater, and their cat Macy. Originally from Indiana he arrived in Connecticut, by way of Mississippi, in 2010. He has worked in the public safety and emergency management field since 2001, and currently works at ARRL as the organization’s emergency preparedness manager. His home parish is St. John’s in West Hartford and he is attending Hartford Seminary where he is in the Masters in Transformative Leadership and Spirituality program.

Shancia Jarrett

Shancia Jarrett is a postulant for Holy Orders and a senior at Yale Divinity School. She is a first generation immigrant from Jamaica, West Indies.  Shancia is interested in the ethics of housing equality, conflict resolution, and reconciliation. In particular, she is interested in The Episcopal Church's efforts of evangelism and the intersection of leadership and community outreach. To further her understanding of the Anglican Communion, Shancia is currently studying abroad at Westcott House in Cambridge, UK.  Beyond her commitments to seminary and the ordination process, Shancia loves spending time with her parents: George and Coleen Jarrett, siblings, and nieces and nephews.


John Kennedy

John is a postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut and a senior at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. He enjoys the contemplative tradition of Christianity and wants to invite others into deep ways of intuitive, existential knowing that God is closer to us than we are to our own eyes. He grew up in New Canaan, CT as the son of Eileen and John and older brother of Sarah. Prior to embarking on the path to priesthood, John played and studied and worked in music, picking up the guitar at 13, attending Berklee College of Music as an undergraduate, and working in the commercial music industry in New York City. John has just turned 30 and is feeling OK about it.

Dylan Mello

Dylan Mello lives in Manchester with his wife, Alejandra, and two daughters, Carolyn (3), and Violette (almost 1).  Originally from Fairhaven, MA, he has been in Connecticut since 2012, while living previously in Florida and Pennsylvania.  He has worked in the field of athletic training since 2009. Dylan’s home parish is St. Mary’s Manchester, while interning at Trinity-Brooklyn.  He is completing the hybrid formation program towards the priesthood. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family and traveling.


A person standing in front of a lake

Description generated with high confidence
Roxana Videla Olivares

My name is Roxana Videla Olivares. I have lived in Meriden, Connecticut since
2002. I moved from Argentina with my husband and four children in 2002. I have
three grandchildren and one more on the way.
I am a self-employed cleaning houses in the New Haven area.
I am a postulant to priesthood by the grace of God.
I served for sixteen years in All Saints Episcopal Church in Meriden in many ways,
as a musical director, acolyte, altar guild, senior, junior warden of Vestry, clerk
and treasurer.
My studies are one of my priorities after God and my family. I feel the call to serve
my neighbors, especially those who are immigrants because I know what hard is

start a new life leaving behind part of your life and family.


Tara Shepley

Tara Shepley lives in Southbury with Joe, her husband of almost twenty-five years. Together, she shares the joy of raising their three children who are in college and beyond: Joe (23), David (21), and Sarah (18). Tara is finishing her senior year at Yale Divinity School/Berkeley in the Masters of Divinity program and is a Postulant for Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. As a native “Nutmegger”, she enjoys kayaking, sailing, snowshoeing, international travel, spiritual pilgrimages and spending time with her family and their three standard poodles.Tara has a passion for connecting people with God’s intimate love through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit.

Michael Southwick

Michael Southwick has been a postulant for the priesthood since October, 2016. Michael’s home parish is Christ Church Greenwich where he and his wife Debby have been members for over 25 years. Michael is currently working full time as General Counsel for The Salvation Army, Eastern Territory as he continues discerning his call to the priesthood in the ECCT. Michael completed his parish internship at St. Paul’s Huntington last summer and is currently working on his CPE requirement through a hybrid program that includes classroom work through the Iona Center at Seminary of the Southwest and a practical component working with Greenwich Chaplaincy Services. Following the completion of his CPE training Michael expects to return to the academic components of his process through a mixture of on-line and live classroom studies to supplement the work he has already completed at Berkeley Divinity School where he attended part-time during the 2014-2015 academic year and through other academic means. In his free time Michael enjoys taking walks with his wife, spending time with his family, reading, riding his bike and watching college football.