Vision of the ChurchMy vision of the church is to be a place where all feel welcome, where people can feel the Spirit at work, where the love of God, neighbor and self are all seen in action, and where healing can happen. It is a place where each person is vital to the whole, and the gifts of each one are seen and encouraged. It is a community where listening to God’s leading is at the center of all we do, and where we can step outside of our comfort zones to share God’s Love with the world.

Gifts for the MinistryPeople have described me as being creative, inspiring, open hearted, able to connect with all people, regardless of their age, race, social economic background, and ethnicity. I have a gift for preaching, deep listening, working with people who are healing from trauma, relating the Bible to everyday life, and writing.

Leadership Style My leadership style, as a deep introvert, is first to listen with an open heart: to listen to the people and to listen to God…and from there to follow God’s nudging into ministry. I have learned to lead with confidence, to help others find their calling, to be willing to step into do what needs to be done, and to step back to allow others to shine.

Spiritual Disciplines and StudyI am a monk with the Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery and took my final profession last summer. As a community we gather four times a day for communal prayer (over the phone), and have ongoing formation groups and a weekly accountability group. I practice Lectio Divina (a prayerful reading of the Bible) and do a silent meditation most days. I enter into prayer with painting often and each day find time to be in Nature with God. I do a fast about once a month as a way of quieting and emptying to listen to God. I try to get away on a short retreat each quarter, and am studying with a small group of other Benedictine Healers each month.

Contact InformationEmail: alisonhendley@yahoo.comPhone: 415 847 1034

July 2020

2020 Appointment

Clearwater United Methodist ChurchClearwater, Minnesota

Introducing

Rev. Alison Hendley

Bruce Ough, BishopSusan Nienaber, Big Waters District Superintendent

FamilyI live in Saint Joseph with Gibbs, the sweet pastoral puppy,

and KukKuk, the skittish cat. I consider my family to include Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery, a Methodist Benedictine Monastery that is dispersed across the U.S.A. A few members of the monastery live within 45 minutes of me, and one is just seven houses down the street!

Education Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Waldorf Education from the

University of Plymouth, England; 2000 Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion,

Berkeley, California; 2008

Appointment History First UMC in San Rafael (California); 2013-2018 First UMC and Aldersgate UMC in San Rafael and Novato

UMC (California); 2012-2013

Additional Ministry Experience Associate Pastor at San Rafael First UMC; 2007-2012 Program Manager at the Marin Interfaith Council; 2008-

2012 Spiritual Director; 2006-date

Continuing Education and Training Diploma in the Art of Spiritual Direction from San Francisco

Theological Seminar: 2008 Spiritual Direction Supervision from Together in the

Mystery; 2013 Wilderness Guide Training with Nancy Weins; 2011 Eco Therapy Training Certificate from Wilderness

Reflections; 2019

Service and Community InvolvementI worked as a chaplain for the homeless community in

California, and with the immigrant population, both in support of people in the congregation and at a policy level. I was involved with the Marin Organizing Committee; I led a team to work on human trafficking in the massage parlors in town as well as the more widespread issue of trafficking. I did a lot of interfaith building, working with people of many different faith communities. I led several teams to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina; I did an internship there for a semester, working with

teams coming in and as a mentor to teenage girls. Since moving to Minnesota, I quickly became part of the Trauma Responsive Church committee at First UMC of the St. Cloud Region, leading trainings and retreats for the congregation and community. I also have been leading the contemplative prayer service there. I am involved in delivering meals with Homeless Helping Homeless and with the Community Meal at First. I also am engaging in a study on looking at my whiteness in relationship to the conversation on race.

Call to Ministry

I left church when I was fifteen, as the God I was taught about there did not match the God I knew. My God was a God of love, One who longed for healing, One who held the broken and hurting. I grew up in an abusive household, and it was while the abuse was happening that I met this God, and formed a relationship with God. I would often hold conversations with God, and in these I knew I was loved, even if the people around me tried to convince me otherwise. Without a church community my relationship with this God took a bit of a backburner, but I always knew God was there.

Over a decade later I was teaching in California, and doing some healing work around the abuse. I was drawn to seeking a church community, and a child in my class invited me to go to his church with him. I wasn’t expecting much as the churches I had visited up to this point reminded me of my childhood church. But as I sat in the service, listening to the sermon and the words of prayer, I felt at home. Here was a church that knew my God, the God of love and acceptance and healing and hope. It was a United Methodist Church!

A few years later I was helping with Holy Week services. On Good Friday, towards the end of the service, we were invited to come to sit by the cross to be in silent prayer. I was the last one left there, and tears began streaming down my face. It was a time when I felt that my brokenness was so huge that I would not have much use in the world. It was in that moment that I heard God whisper in my heart, “It doesn’t matter how broken you think you are. I love you. Look at Jesus…. How broken he was on this night. And that was not the end of the story. It’s not the end of your story either. I want you to go to seminary so you can help other broken people remember my Love.”

This is still my call to ministry, to help people remember God’s love for them, and for the world they live in. Whether I am in a one on one setting doing spiritual direction with someone, or in a congregation, that truth colors all I do.

Passion for MinistryMy passions include helping people find their sacred worth; learning new ways of being with God in prayer, in nature, in Bible studies, in working with the wider community; working for healing, both personal and communal; and preaching a relevant Word.