Members of St. John’s Circle of Care are lay pastoral caregivers licensed to serve in the Episcopal Church of Minnesota. They are spiritually formed and commissioned to practice the Benedictine Spirituality and Pastoral Theology set forth by Community of Hope International.
Over the next couple of months, we’ll be introducing you to everyone in the Circle of Care so you can get to know them better: who they are, and what this ministry means to them.
Be sure to watch the videos for lots of fun question-and-answer moments in addition to reading the profiles written by the members!
Jax Collins
Click here to watch the video on YouTube.
I have been attending services at St. John’s since 2023. After moving to the Twin Cities, I was looking for a community to meet folks and a place that felt aligned with my prior theological education. The first person to welcome me was Karen Mosso, who served as my intro buddy and later began teaching me how to sew. Through the COHI training and subsequent Circle of Care meetings, I found opportunities to connect with fellow parishioners and participate in St. John’s in a deeper, authentic way. The Circle of Care ministry has nourished my faith while challenging me to love, serve, and offer a non-anxious presence to others.
Outside of church, I spend most of my free time with my partner, Michael, and his two children, PJ and Bash. We enjoy playing games, going on walks, and laughing together.
If I could choose one place to visit, all expenses paid, it would be Austria. My grandmother is a first-generation American from Austria. I would love to travel to Austria to visit family, explore the places she has been, and learn more about her heritage, as she is a very special person to me.
Jennifer Tianen
Click here to watch the video on YouTube.
My name is Jennifer Neil Tianen. Jennifer is my chosen transfeminine name. Neil is my given name, a name that I have always loved. I informally consider it to be my new middle name.
I have raised 5 children, one with mental illness and 4 with ADHD, worked for 26 years in paternity court as a Child Support Worker, 23 years with vulnerable adults in adult foster homes, and been through almost 44 years of dual disorder recovery. It would seem incredibly selfish not to pay all that insight and experience forward. That is why I joined Circle of Care. Participating in it reaffirms my faith that God is always working through us to make a better world, though being transfeminine invisibly limits who would accept me as a lay minister. I do not resent that. I hope to continue being a “free-range befriender” which extends beyond just formal lay ministry.
If I could have any superpower, it would be to heal people of their illnesses and anxieties. It is so unfair that so many people suffer helplessly.
My perfect day would be bacon, eggs, toast, and good coffee with my (common law) wife. I love her and love to chat with her. She is so bright, humane, and insightful.
One of the most exciting things in my life was to see a total solar eclipse in Quebec in about 1964. I was an amateur astronomer. For another adventure, I would like to visit Helsinki to explore my Finnish origins, although as a socially gregarious American I might have to attenuate myself there.
When I first came to Saint John’s, it was an important part of my life. Now it is central to my life. Without this community I would be lost. I hope to meet and get to know more of you.