Leadership Coaching
There are times in everyone’s life or ministry when you may just need to be able to talk through the joys and challenges of congregational or organizational leadership. Coaching is about assisting leaders to think through how they want to show up in their organizations and learning to lead with integrity and grace. Jen works with both individuals and groups.
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Since 2013, Jen has been coaching clergy and lay church leaders from a wide array of denominations and backgrounds, both men and women. While they are all unique, they each have sought to serve God with integrity, passion and vitality, and do so in ways that honor their own needs and the needs of their family and community.
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Not sure if coaching is right for you? Jen offers initial conversations free of charge to pastors and leaders who are discerning if this would be helpful to them on their journey.
Yoga and Meditation
One of the things that I find so compelling about the practice of yoga is that we are constantly trying to find balance in each pose -- a way of being that brings both ease and effort to bear in our practice. The more advanced my practice the more I find that they are more effort than ease; if I practice in a gentle way, I may find more ease than effort. But I use breath to try and bring ease to even the poses which require the most effort on my part.
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I provide individual and group instruction in all levels of yoga, meditation and holistic wellness. Currently I teach group classes at the Healing Arts Exchange in Florence, South Carolina on Tuesday evenings at 6pm, and the first Sunday of the month at 10am. This is different than "exercise yoga" as this practice encourages the participants to deeply consider the sacred nature of yoga as a means to connect with God.
This work is an extension of the spiritual life practices, wellness, coaching and consulting that I provide. As Seane Corn has stated, "Yoga without prayer is calisthenics."
Clean Eating with Epicure™
Wellness begins within. It's hard to make changes in your life and work if you don't have sufficient health and energy to bring to the tasks at hand.
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But it can be hard to eat well when you live a busy and full life! Epicure is a 22 year old Canadian company that is committed to providing options for busy individuals and families to eat well and enable anyone to bring a meal from raw to ready in 20 minutes. As a Senior Consultant with Epicure, I teach home cooking classes to share ways to address specific mealtime challenges and move from eating take out to finding ways to cook at home, and sharing meals with family and friends.
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Epicure also provides opportunities for flexible part and full time careers for those looking for ways to eat well and share the good food mission. In addition, I provide business coaching to all consultants on my team.
Retreats and Workshops
Jen has led retreats and workshops for pastors, lay leaders (elders and deacons), seminarians, advocates, women and youth in a variety of settings. This work draws on her love of bible study, the sacraments, the arts and nature, the spiritual disciplines, yoga and conversation.
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Jen particularly loves engaging people of faith in work that deepens their understanding of God, and their relationship with each other, the church and the world. She incorporates both ancient spiritual practices and modern learning modalities.
Missouri Union Presbytery, Minnesota Valleys Presbytery, the Christian Church Capital Area, Union Theological Seminary (NYC), the Micah Institute at NY Theological Seminary, Intersections International, the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York, The Presbyterian Church on the Hill (NJ), and Oswego Presbyterian Church (IL), are just a few of the church bodies/congregations/organizations that Jen has served in this way.
Coaching with Organizations
Congregations and other organizations often struggle to find their own direction and purpose. Jen has experience facilitating groups that are working to define their mission, vision and strategic goals, as well as working with groups that are struggling to move their mission and vision forward. Coaching provides opportunities for groups to set strategic plans in motion, and to hold those groups accountable for moving their work forward.
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Jen has worked with non-profit boards of directors, leadership teams, church councils, and organizing leaders to help them move from planning to action.
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Providing one-on-one consultations with leaders in order to determine the particular needs of the congregation or organization is a key first step in this process. Additionally, Jen takes the time to really get to know the players and understand the context that is driving their work.
Leadership Education
As part of the faculty of the Transitional Ministry Education Consortium of the PC(U.S.A.), Jen resources leadership education events for pastors who are discerning a call to transitional ministry or are engaged in this type of ministry in the local congregation or with denominational bodies.
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Jen provides leadership at a number of sites across the US, teaching at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM; Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center on Lake Tahoe in Zephyr Cove, NV; and Montreat Conference Center in Black Mountain, NC.
The topics she teaches include Adaptive Leadership, Understanding Conflict, Leading through Change, Conversational Intelligence, Asking Powerful Questions, Understanding Family Systems, Ethics and Boundaries, The Process Tasks and Focus Points of Transitional Ministry, and Pastoral Self-Care.
