The Short Story
I’m an eclectic seeker and mystic seeking to affirm the sacred in the world. I navigate the world in a bodymind that is agender, queer, fat, crip, mad, and a survivor, and I’ve learned to see the sacred by breaking down the boundaries we artificially put up in the world between the “us” and “them.” My calling is to accompany people in recovering a sense of the sacred in their lives. I’m blessed to share my home with my partner, Calvin, along with our rescue beagle and rescue cat.
The Long Story
I was born and raised in a working class family in the Southern Indiana suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky. My first experience in religion was in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana denomination). It was here that I learned the power of community and the possibility of encountering the sacred in my life. It was here that I learned that I was beloved and part of something bigger than I could conceive.
Unfortunately, my church also taught me that I was sinful and that I was going to Hell. By the time I was a teenager, I was an emotional wreck. I left the church for a number of years out of a need for self-preservation.
I didn’t recognize it at the time, but I was a victim of spiritual abuse.
I wasn’t ready to go again until I was in graduate school, where I discovered Unitarian Universalism with a seventeenth century British chapel.
My current faith gave me enough space to find my own answers to my childhood yearnings to be a part of something bigger than myself. More than that, I realized that my sexuality, gender, and experiences were also holy and part of the bigger whole.
The world is enchanted and I am part of something widely beautiful I can scarcely comprehend.
Over the years, I found inspiration in many faith traditions: the teachings of Christianity to love my neighbor as myself; the teachings of Buddhism that what is real is the hear and now; the reminders from Humanism that what we do in this life matters; and the rituals of Paganism and Druidry that help me recognize the sacredness and beauty in the Earth.
I’m a boundary crosser in my spirituality: a Druid, a Jesus follower, and a Zen practitioner.
My calling is towards healing of the universe and her human and non-human creatures. Our connection to the rest of the universe is not just some lofty intellectual exercise, but a fact of existence. As the late Carl Sagan once remarked, “We are all stardust.” Modern society often alienates us from these deep relationships. Part of this call is to help restore this sense of relationship with the universe and nurture a deep sense of love for human and non-human life alike as well as the universe as a whole by helping people find a sense of sacred in the universe.
My core desire is to build Beloved Community, radical places where all can find love, acceptance, and liberation.
I currently serve as the Senior Minister at Horizon Unitarian Universalist Church in Carrollton, Texas. As a parish minister, I served congregations in the United States in Kentucky, Michigan, Alabama, and Texas, and in Canada in Alberta.
In my free time, I enjoy hiking, reading, travel, and catching up on my favorite shows. I’m an adventurer at heart and my travels have taken me to five continents to learn from others.
Fast Facts About Rev. Chris:
Education:
- Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and English from Indiana University Southeast (2010)
- Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Sheffield (2011)
- Master of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School (2014)
- Master of Arts in Leadership Studies from Meadville Lombard Theological School (2015)
- Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Texas at Austin (2024)
- Clinical Pastoral Education Internship at the University of Louisville Hospital (2012) (One Unit of CPE)
- Clinical Pastoral Education Residency at the University of Louisville Hospital (2018) (Three Units of CPE)
Credentials:
- Unitarian Universalist Minister in Full Fellowship
- Received Preliminary Fellowship: 2015
- Received Full Fellowship: 2020
- Ordained: 2016
- Spiritual Direction Training
- Embracing the Holy Spiritual Director Training, Urban Spirituality Center
- Spiritual Direction Certificate, Cherry Hill Seminary
- Congregation-Based Spiritual Direction, Center for Congregational Spirituality
- Eco-Spiritual Direction Program, Stillpoint
- Segment 1 Coach Training, Luther Seminary
- Certified Dream Worker, The Haden Institute
- Trained Labyrinth Facilitator, Veriditas Institute
- Movement Chaplaincy Training, Faith Matters Network
- Emotional CPR (eCPR) Practitioner, National Empowerment Center
- Emotional CPR (eCPR) Educator, National Empowerment Center
- Proficiency in Focusing Award, The Focusing Institute
- Circle Keeper, The Restorative Center
- Intentional Peer Support Core Training, Intentional Peer Support
- Registered Pet Chaplain®, Association for Veterinary Pastoral Education
Memberships:
- Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association
- Unitarian Universalist Society for Community Ministry
- Liberal Religious Educators Association (LREDA)
- Unitarian Universalist Spiritual Director Network
- Spiritual Directors International
- Society for Nonprofits
- International Association for the Study of Dreams
- Veriditas International Association (VIA) of Professionally Trained Labyrinth Facilitators
- The Focusing Institute
- Unitarian Universalist Small Group Ministry Network
- Transgender Religious Professional Unitarian Universalists Together (TRUUsT)
- Unitarian Universalist Mental Health Network
- EqUUal Access
- Unitarian Universalist Animal Ministry
- Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS)
- Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship
Other Facts About Me:
- Studied abroad at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England (2007-2008)
- Spent a month in Suzuka, Japan at a Shinto shrine (2013)