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I was born and raised in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. I am a visual artist, art instructor and serve on the boards of Rivendell Retreat Centre and Fort Gallery. Since completing my undergraduate degree in Visual Art and Worship studies at Trinity Western University I have been exploring contemplative spiritual practices including centring prayer, Ignatian spirituality, spiritual direction and pilgrimage. I love the way that the Godly Play curriculum honors children's inner lives, invites them into wonder and helps them to enter the sacred stories of the Christian tradition in a contemplative way. I have completed my Godly Play core training and continue to be enriched by sharing these beautiful stories with the children of Christ Church Cathedral.

I bring a range of diverse teaching experiences to my work at the Cathedral. Though these days I'm often teaching art to university students I always seem to come back to working with children. As an undergraduate student I founded a summer art program called Art Smart which provided week long summer camps to children ages five to thirteen. As artist in residence at First Baptist Church in Edmonton I worked with the children to create a large scale art project responding to the creation story. At the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital I worked on the pediatric unit developing animation and mural projects with inpatients ages 5-13.

I am thrilled to be joining Lauren this summer ministering to the children of CCC. 

Welcome, Alysha!