I. Confidentiality

My clients can expect to receive the highest levels of confidential support when working with me. As an ordained minister, privacy and confidentiality are your sacred right for the path we walk together.

What this means is: I will not, would not, and indeed cannot (minus one exception below) share any information you provide in the context of our work together. As a queer man, privacy is of utmost importance to me, and I honor it to the highest degree. I provide a space where you can talk about anything: faith, spirit, trauma, challenge, joy and desire.

It’s my ethical responsibility to make sure you and others are safe. And as an ordained minister, I am a mandated reporter. What this means is: if you threaten to harm yourself or another person, I have a duty to report that to people who can help you get the care you need. This can be interventional behavioral health care, medical care, or mental health counseling. And I will accompany you in that process.

II. Interfaith & non-faith affirmation

I am an ordained Reverend in the Order of Universal Interfaith. We believe that individuals are free to choose their own spiritual, religious, or humanist path, and such choices should be both supported and affirmed.

It is my goal as a pastoral care provider to be a place where ‘the rest of us’ can find care, and a partner in the journey. That means I work with:

  • Paganism(s)

  • Christianity (any denomination or sect)

  • Buddhism

  • Islam

  • Native American & First Nations traditions

  • Judaism

  • Hinduism

  • Secular humanism & atheism

  • and anyone else.

This has been my approach to care since before my ordination. We all have our path, and deserve to consider our past, present, and future steps alongside someone who respects our beliefs, feelings, and the specific challenges we have faced in life.

No matter your belief system, it is respected in your care with me. I am honored to support all believers, and non-believers! I am well educated on multiple systems of belief (and always want to hear how you experience your faith, so I can learn and grow). My only goal is to help you live healthily, in harmony with your community, your self, and your own ideals.

III. Anti-racist commitment

As a cis White man in a Western context, it is my responsibility to not only espouse the highest ideals of equity and inclusion, but to:

  • actively resist racism in all its forms, including its presence in, and shaping of, institutions such as organized religion; medicine; politics, and law;

  • actively address my own internalized racism and White-centric thinking, from having grown up in a White-dominated culture and institutional structure.

What that looks like in my work is:

  • a commitment to educate myself always. It is not my client’s responsibility to teach me about the effect of marginalization, racism, and oppression—it is mine. This takes the form of wide reading, lectures, and listening to the experience and insight of people of color.

  • a commitment to accept responsibility when I fail, apologize without qualification, and make changes to prevent hurt or discomfort in the future.

  • a full and expansive welcome to all BIPOC folks, with a concomitant understanding I may not be the right person for you to work through deep issues (in which case I am happy to help provide referrals to practitioners of color).

IV. LGBTQ+ Equality

I am a queer cis man. That informs my approach to care, and the ethics I embrace: equity, diversity, and liberation. All members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, and non-binary community are valid and affirmed in my care. I believe our community is a gift.

In practice this means:

  • every member of the queer community is welcome. This includes all people exploring and embracing their gender, sexuality, identity and interests.

  • you have complete freedom to express who you are with me. Your relationships, self-understanding, personal expression, interests, and desires are a blessing.

  • language and identity are always respected.

  • you are safe to tell me anything—whether you are out and proud, or still in the closet. Who you are, in every respect, is precious and worthwhile.