Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing profiles of members who have joined over the past year or so. If you haven’t gotten a chance to meet them in person yet, please keep an eye out for them and say hello!
How did you come to St John’s and what made you decide to stay?
I came across St. John’s after a rather tender time in the national narrative: a Saturday drive the weekend after the 2024 election. I had gone to my usual hair appointment an agnostic and left the salon towards a fateful turn onto Kent Street, driving by a striking building. I hadn’t thought about church in decades, but seeing the artful bell tower of St. John the Evangelist had stuck in my mind, especially as I had spiraled earlier in the week on how to protect my community in the wake of the election results. I went online to look into the community, followed by Eucharist the next Sunday, and I’ve been here ever since. That Holy Spirit fellow is awfully patient, I fear.
What is your history? Where are you from?
I was born and raised in central Indiana, in a small town called Mooresville. (No one’s heard of it. That’s okay. It’s a suburb of Indianapolis.) Graduate school in 2014 is what jumpstarted me out of the Hoosier State and initially brought me to the Twin Cities, and I had a brief stint living in Bozeman, Montana before returning to St. Paul in 2021. My family is small but mighty, with my dear sister and brother-in-law living in San Antonio, Texas and a network of chosen family siblings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Aside from my St. John’s friends and my cross-country siblings sprinkled about the US, I am eternally lucky to live with my sweet dog, Larkspur. (Ask me for pictures. It will make my day.)
What are your interests?
I confess that I’m a chronically enthusiastic and curious person, but the standouts in my life are fiber art; the relationship between art, craft, and gender; ways to not look at my phone and computer screen for any longer than I have to; local history; foraging; looking to other cultures for better ways to tend to the earth; whatever neat thing my sister is doing this week; my dog; and whatever BBC history series is my favorite this week! (To be completely fair, I can probably gab about anything.)
What’s a fun fact about you?
I was a 2015 ArtWERK Kunstverein Fellow as part of a partnership between the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota. What does this mean? I interned at a small art gallery in the picturesque town of Schwerin, Mecklenberg-Vompommern, Germany – literally, a castle was a block away from where I stayed! Unfortunately, my poor command of the local language was not saved here, as East Germany doesn’t have a broad network of English speakers. But it was an adventure!
Bonus fact: as a child, I briefly attempted to learn the bagpipes alongside my father.
What are you hoping for from your membership at St John’s? What are you already involved in?
Despite being a baptized and confirmed (!) member of the Episcopal Church, St. John’s is truly the first church community that feels like home and that I’ve joined in full membership with instead of being a guest. As such, my greatest hope here is to be a humble student of all of the great pilgrims beside me and learn to be a cheerful child of God. Sometimes, that means asking questions that you’d think a cradle Episcopalian would know and embracing the joy of still being able to learn even after 39 years. Fortunately, everyone here is very happy to let me stumble through and learn more!
Somehow, I was entrusted with the great honor of being our Communications Chair for the Capital Campaign – this, I think, has probably been the biggest involvement I have and is also where most folks recognize my name. I’m also in the choir (hi sopranos!), occasionally help with Welcoming and Connection, attended the LGBTQ+ bible study, and am excited for the revival of the Young(ish) Adults! Truth be told, I mostly just pop in and out of a lot of things because St. John’s is such a joy, and being around my friends here is always the highlight of my week.
Welcome, Allison!