Speakers

 

Our Spiritual Leader:

Rev. Carolyn Swift Jones

Reverend Carolyn Swift Jones, our Spiritual Leader, is an ordained minister with The United Metaphysical Churches, a spiritual organization that shares the same theological principles that the Unity Church holds dear. Reverend Carolyn is also a professional Spiritual Counselor, a practice she has been involved with for over thirty years working with many people around the globe to help bring them into closer resonance with their Higher Selves. Believing fully in the words of the Great Master Teacher Jesus when he referred to our ability to do the things that he did, she facilitates a meditational group called "Many Hands Make Light Work", the focus of which is healing for our sweet planet earth. She is thrilled to be the Spiritual Leader of Unity in the Foothills and beholds the Christ in each and every dear soul of our loving and growing cmmunity. 

 


 

Guest Speakers:

 

Deacon Samantha Dennison

As a seeker of truth, Samantha is passionate about helping others to embrace their Divinity.  Always compelled to write, teach and counsel others allows her to share her personal healing with the knowing that if we want to heal our world, we must first heal ourselves.  Creativity, patience and compassion are some of the energies that will be ignited as we walk together in love & light while affirming the best & highest good for ALL.  Samantha is a devoted member of Unity in the Foothills, currently serving as an Advisor to the Board of Trustees after many years of sitting on the Board as Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.  She is active in many other areas of the Peace Center such as the Healing Ministry, the  bookstore,  and the  Fundraising Committee.  Actively pursuing Spiritual Truth and ongoing healing, Samantha is enrolled at the United Metaphysical Church Seminary in Roanoke, VA and is in the Ministerial program.  As a Certified Reflexologist, Reiki Master/Teacher and Angelic Liason, Samantha's Healing Ministry ripples far beyond Sunday services.   Currently residing in Winsted along with her beloved feline, Lynx, allows her to remain close to her family.  Her passion and purpose revolve around spending time with her amazing children, Michael & Sabrina and her beloved grandbabies – Zoe, Liam, Nathan, & Madison. 

Charley Thweatt

Charley Thweatt brings his gifts of warmth, humor, presence and ease to any gathering. He has been a favorite with Unity groups since the early '80s, when he took a leap of faith from his budding architecture career into touring full time with his spiritual concerts, talks and workshops. Charley has a talent for turning a room full of strangers into connected family, by sharing his original music, his angelic voice and his insightful workshops. He has been a presenter for spiritual organizations and metaphysical conferences for 38 years, throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, Fiji and Japan.

The biggest influences on Charley's spiritual path have been Unity, Centers for Spiritual Living, A Course In Miracles and seven years of touring with Alan Cohen's workshops and retreats. Charley has also been the musical opener for such other luminaries as Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Ram Dass and Louise Hay. He has appeared on national television and radio with his songs, with such titles as You're an Angel, Take Your Power Back and Dancers in the Light. You'll find his many CDs and more about his transformative work at his website: www.musicangel.com.

 

Rev. Brian Vaugh

Rev. Brian is a Buddhist Monk from the New International Buddhist Temple and meditation Center in New Hartford, CT.  He has been a Spiritual Leader for 50 years.  He has served as a Hospital and Prison Chaplain.  As a Hospital Chaplain, he provided spiritual guidance for both hospital staff and hospital patients.  However, being a grandfather to 7 and 3/4 grandchildren is the most rewarding job he has ever had.

 In his spare time he likes to teach folks about meditation.

 

 

Greg Tamblyn

Greg Tamblyn, NCW (No Credentials Whatsoever), has been a successful singer, songwriter, speaker, and humorist for over 20 years. He combines outstanding audience rapport with an irreverent sense of humor, and has a special interest in the relationship of music, laughter, and lifestyle to physical and emotional well-being. Greg's humorous musings on cultural absurdities, as well as his messages of effectiveness, optimism, and service, have garnered him a large international following.

Greg has become well known for his inspiring songs about the power of the human spirit, as well as his off-the-wall send-ups of modern life, such as "The Shootout at the I'm OK, You're OK Corral," "My Life is a Beer Commercial", and "Type A-Ness". Based for many years in Nashville, he now makes his home in Kansas City, and performs throughout the world for a wide variety of groups interested in wellness.

 

 

Ed Foote

Ed Foote is from Pittsburgh, PA.  His two spiritual paths, for the past 30 years, have been A Course In Miracles and the Edgar Cayce Readings.  He works with the Miracle Distribution Center in California as a meeting planner and marketing advisor, and with the Edgar Cayce organization (A.R.E.) to bring speakers to the Pittsburgh area.  His metaphysical audio lending library of over 500 lectures was the subject of an article in Venture Inward magazine.
 
Ed has led over 350 church services at Unity and a variety of churches in 8 states, from New England to California.  In addition, he travels throughout the country lecturing on a variety of topics, all designed to improve a person’s quality of life.  His messages are always metaphysical and taken from A Course In Miracles and the Edgar Cayce Readings.
 
Ed’s “regular” job is a full time square dance caller, which he has done for 50 years.  He has called in every state in the USA as well as many countries in Europe and in Australia and New Zealand.  He has three home clubs in Pittsburgh and currently travels throughout the USA calling square dances, giving lectures and leading church services.
 

 

Rev. Ed Townley

Rev. Ed Townley, ordained as a Unity minister in 1991, has served Unity centers in Beaverton OR, Chicago, Dallas and Hartford.  Rev. Ed is known widely for his enthusiastic metaphysical interpretations of the Bible, and his understanding of the Hero’s Journey as a roadmap for our own individual spiritual unfoldment. His most recent book, Kingdom Come:  A Guide to the Book of Revelation was published by Unity Books. He is also the author of The Secret according to Jesus, a meditative guide to the Sermon on the Mount, and is a contributor to many Unity publications. 

Semi-retired from church ministry, Rev Ed is focused on his personal ministry, Spirit Expressing, and travels twice monthly to Brookline MA to lead services at Unity in the City.  He is in demand as a speaker in Unity settings and elsewhere. He is the host of Bible FAQs, a weekly program on Unity Online Radio (www.unity.fm), and he serves as a Bible resource for the worldwide Unity website (www.unity.org)  Rev Ed lives in Vernon CT with his Welsh corgi Bentley.
 

 

Rev. Robert Werme

Rev. Robert is an ordained UCC or United Church of Christ (Congregational) Minister, a multi-instrumental musician and singer, and an experienced workshop and drum circle facilitator.  He has shared his music and other gifts with Unity in the Foothills since soon after Rev. Bonny Gilbert Ashe and Christopher Ashe began this Spiritual Center.  

 

 


Rev. Laura MacLachlan

Reverend Laura MacLachlan is the pastor and president of First Spiritual Church of Bay City in Michigan.  Away from church work, she has been an Instructor and trainer for hunters, jumpers, combined training and hunter seat equitation horses and riders for 48 years.  She and her husband, Roger Schlack, live on a farm in Dryden, MI where they bred, raised and showed Percheron horses for many years, ending in 2013.

 

 

 

Robin Clare

Robin Clare is the creator of the Divine Freedom Formula™, a three-tier approach to fulfilling you Soul Mission across your personal, professional and community life.  Robin is an experienced corporate MBA, non-profit administrator and holistic entrepreneur.  She is an advanced Akashic Record reader and a certified 13th Octave La Ho Chi energy healing practitioner. Robin is the proud author of Messiah Within, The Divine Keys and the upcoming book, Feast & Famine. www.clare-ity.com.

 

 

 

Rev. Harry Stock

Rev. Harry Stock completed a 5 year study program through the West Virginia School of Religion, and earned a  Masters of Divinity Degree from Virginia Theological Seminary.  In 1981 he was ordained an Episcopal Priest and in 1991 he transferred his credentials and was ordained in the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC).  He served as Pastor of the MCC Church of the Disciples for 14 years and served on the faculty of Samaritan Institute of Religious Studies for 10 years where he taught “Homosexuality and the Bible” and “Introduction to Sexuality Studies.”  He is the founder and president of Scrolls Revealed Ministries, LLC and he currently serves as Parish Partner at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. and lives with his partner Mark of 40 years in Waldorf, Maryland.

 
 

Dr. Jon Mundy

Dr. Jon Mundy is an author, lecturer, the publisher of Miracles Magazine. He taught courses in Philosophy and Religion from 1967 to 2008 at the New School University and at the State University of New York with specialization in the History of Mysticism. Jon is the author of 10 books, including: Living A Course in Miracles, What is Mysticism?, Missouri Mystic, Awaken to Your Own Call, Listening to Your Inner Guide & Lesson 101: Perfect Happiness & Eternal Life and A Course in Miracles & A Course in Mysicism and Miracles. Jon met Dr. Helen Schucman the scribe of A Course in Miracles in 1973. Helen introduced Jon to the Course and served as his counselor until she became ill in 1980. He also appears on occasion as Dr. Baba Jon Mundane, a standup philosopher comedian.

 

 

Shannon Plummer & Bob Sima

In 2013, Shannon Plummer and Bob Sima left behind their fast-track, high-octane day jobs. Shannon worked in counter-terrorism and Bob was in corporate sales. They began to travel the country full-time spreading their powerful medicine - in the form of music, message, and experiences - to a world that is thirsty for meaning, purpose, and peace. Bob is an award-winning singer-songwriter, spiritual teacher, and musical mystic who has been called “Eckhart Tolle with a guitar”. With no musical training, he has creatively channeled 8 award winning albums and built a national following. The music that comes through him will vibrate with your spirit exactly where you are. Shannon is a shamanic practitioner, intentional creation coach, artist, and singer. Shannon is an instrument - an engaged observer to the story of your life. She will guide you to and through the blind spots. Together they amplify each other’s gifts into a divine combination that will lead the soul to truth and peace. They lead life-changing experiential workshops, music meditations, weekend retreats, and powerful concert experiences. 

 

 

Christopher Lee Hogan

Christopher Lee Hogan is a speaker, coach and trainer whose mission is help people achieve powerful results in their life, work or business through coaching. If you want to learn more about Christopher, you can visit his website at christopherleehogan.com

After spending 14 years in a variety of leadership and consulting positions in a large national non-profit, Christopher ran a successful non-profit consulting firm for 6 years called Hogan Consulting. During that period of running his own business, Christopher made a decision to follow his dream to become a coach and speaker, which he’s done for the past 10 years. Christopher is a Certified Executive Coach and Life Coach and has a Master Degree in Social Work from Boston College. Christopher considers his most important role in life, however, to be a loving husband to wife Karla, and father to two children Isabella (15) and Nico (9). He’s also a member of Unity of Central Massachusetts.

 

Barbara Schafer, APRN, BSN, MSN, RMT, Licensed Unity Teacher

Barbara Schafer is a graduate of the Unity School of Christianity, Unity Village, MO.  She became a Licensed Unity Teacher in 1994.  She has taught at the Unity of Bridgeport Church (8 years), the Unity of Greater Hartford Church (10 years) and the Unity in the Foothills Church (12 years) in Torrington, CT where  she has led book study groups on Thursday afternoons, taught Unity Basics and New Member Orientation, Faith in Action classes and co-teaches many classes with Rev. Carolyn Swift.  She is a Platform Leader, Prayer Chaplain, Healer volunteer and Spiritual Advisor to our Board of Trustees. 
 
Barbara graduated from St. Joseph’s Hospital, Reading, PA, received a BS in Nursing from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh in 1964.  She is retired from a 50 year career as a psychotherapist, educator and administrator in the field of psychiatric nursing.  Barbara is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) and a Reiki Master Teacher since 1996.  She teaches Reiki at the Osher Lifelong Learning Center at the University of Connecticut in Waterbury and has created 29 Reiki Masters.  Barbara lives in Naugatuck. She is blessed to have a daughter, a son, and three beautiful grandchildren.  

 

Deacon Arthur L. Miller

Deacon, author, radio, and former television host, Viet Nam era veteran and veteran civil rights worker. Deacon Miller is the retired owner and president of A. Miller investments. Miller was ordained for the Archdiocese of Hartford in 2004. He recently retired as the director of the Office for Black Catholic Ministries. Besides his assigned parish, he is the Chaplin at Hartford’s Capital Community College and Adjunct faculty for Holy Family Retreat Center in West Hartford and Our Lady of Calvary Retreat Center in Farmington, CT.

Deacon Miller was arrested and jailed during the summer of 1963 as he sat in silent protest over the sustained use of racial bigotry to separate black Americans from the imbued rights of all Americans. Continuing the struggle for those oppressed he was arrested in October of 2015 in protest against the same racial injustices that continue to sully the dignity of America. A nationally known preacher of God’s Holy Scripture, he has traveled throughout the country raising the need of conversion to “Radical Love”. The kind of self-denying love that can only be accomplished through the grace and power offered to us through Jesus Christ. Deacon Miller has preached throughout the United States, from New England to the Katrina ravaged gulf coast of Mississippi, from the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico and Colorado, and the broad plains of Kansas, to the south side of Chicago, and the borough of Brooklyn in New York, he teaches and preaches Christ’s call to His life changing “Radical Love”. 

At public forums, houses of worship, schools and universities across the country, Deacon Miller addresses issues of social injustice. With firsthand knowledge he speaks to his audiences from the perspective of an African American who grew up on the South Side of Chicago in the 1940s and 1950s. Deacon Miller was 10 years old in 1955 when his schoolmate Emmett Till, age 14, was brutally murdered in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman—an incident that energized the nascent Civil Rights Movement. His recently released book “The Journey to Chatham”, details the historic events seen through the eyes of Emmett’s friends.

Deacon Miller is a certified trainer in Dr. King’s nonviolence philosophy as well as a Certified Spiritual Director and is a board member for Connecticut Center for Nonviolence. To this day he continues to addresses 21st-century examples of the societal tendency to embrace violence. Echoing the thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he believes that as part of the great human experience, no one can sit idly tolerant of the great injustices that happen anywhere in the world.

“If God were to give us an 11th commandment,” Deacon Miller proposes, “I believe it would read: Thou shall not be a bystander.”

 

 

Omar Tawil

Omar Tawil serves as an associate chaplain for Muslim life at Trinity College. He spent much of his childhood and early education in Chicago and Jerusalem. While attending college, he took time off to study classical Arabic in Amman, Jordan, where he began to develop a profound connection to the Islamic scholarly tradition. This compelled Omar to begin a lifelong study of the Islamic sciences with scholars and teachers in the Middle East and in the United States. It was when he returned to Chicago that Omar became deeply involved in community service and youth mentorship.  He obtained his bachelor’s in Islamic world studies from DePaul University.  Omar is currently pursuing a master’s in Islamic studies and chaplaincy at the Hartford Seminary, while serving as an imam and youth minister at the Farmington Valley American Muslim Center.

 

 

 

Rev. Toni G. Boehm

Rev. Toni G. Boehm is an inspirational and dynamic speaker, author, minister, certified organizational and life coach, nurse, poet, and known for her passionate teaching style and her expert facilitation of personal empowerment and transformational retreats and workshops. Rev. Boehm is retired from everyday corporate life and is in sacred service to the expansion of conscious awareness of spiritual teachings, and quantum-spirituality.
     Rev. Boehm serves as adjunct faculty at Unity Institute, Unity Village, MO and is certified as an organizational and life coach (I.C.F.), Peace-Maker and Transitional Consultant, as well as a coach for Spiritual Intelligence.
     Teaching internationally, Rev. Boehm facilitates classes and seminars on self-empowerment and transformation, prosperity, leadership skill development, and Transformation Coaching©, introducing students to the knowledge and skills necessary for living their lives from their highest innate potential. Her life work and mission is:
“I am a midwife for the birthing of the soul’s remembrance.” 
     Rev. Boehm holds a Bachelor of Arts in Health Care Education, Masters of Science in Nursing, Ph. D. in Religious Studies, and is an ordained minister (1989) and a Family Nurse Practitioner.  She is the author of numerous articles and many books.

 

Rev. Alicia Leslie

Reverend Alicia is a Unity minister, ordained in 1992, and has served churches in Indiana, Texas, Virginia and Connecticut.  In 2011 she retired from the traditional church and moved her ministry online.  She is also an author of children's stories and articles published by Unity Magazine and has recently published a novel, Green Grapes on Silver Platters.  Look for Reverend Alicia on YouTube or visit her online at www.spiritofunitychurch.org. 
 

 

 


Jill Kamp Milton

An experienced leadership coach and presenter, Jill Kamp Melton has more than 25 years of experience helping managers and executives uncover potential they may not even know they have. Clients include executives in almost every government agency, the worlds of cyber security, entertainment, non-profit helping organizations and education. Jill is known as a "refresher, connector and coach" and many credit her with their relearning what leadership means as they achieved greater effectiveness in their careers.

 

 

 

Natural Healer Burke Lennihan, RN CCH

Burke Lennihan is a Harvard graduate and holistic practitioner at the Lydian Center for Innovative Healthcare in Cambridge, Mass. She is also the producer and host of the award-winning local TV show A Healer In Every Home, available on the GreenHealingTV Channel on YouTube. She has also written and co-authored several books and articles on natural health. With more than 40 years of experience in meditation, she teaches classes in heart-center meditation at Harvard University’s Center for Wellness and is a lecturer on holistic health at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Lesley University.
 

 

 


Rev. Todd Glacy

Reverend Todd Glacy, MA, is an Interfaith Minister, Spiritual Life Coach and Sacred Sound musician who takes great joy helping people live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives. He specializes in creating sacred space and offering transformational experiences which encourage and empower people to relax, tune in and reconnect with their truest and most authentic selves.  Please visit his website at www.sacredsoundandliving.com.

 

 



Reverend Scott Wesley Morgan

 Reverend Scott Wesley Morgan is an ordained minister in Divine Metaphysics and runs his own communication consultancy in Washington DC. With 30 years of broadcast experience, Scott teaches media and communication strategy to many think tanks and international organizations. Scott graduated from the University of California, Davis and authored the book Speaking about Science published by Cambridge University Press (2006). He is finishing up a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology at Columbia University and recently launched 3rdi, a levelbased app designed to bring mobile mindfulness to teens and young adults.  

 

Rev. Tony Cryer

Rev. Tony has been a musician, healer, spiritual teacher and preacher for over twenty years, bringing his message of the Divinity of all people to several countries around the world.  He has been an Ordained New Thought Minister for 24 years.  Besides music, Rev. Tony has been a teacher of A Course In Miracles for 20 years. He uses that and Unity Priciples of Truth as a springboard for his inspirational message of awakening and illumination for all Humankind.  Rev. Tony and his wife, Liliana live on Cape Cod Massachusetts and he is currently serving at Unity on Cape Cod.  You can find out more about Tony and his wife on the web at www.miraclencounters.com, unityoncapecod.org  and on YouTube Rev. Tony Cryer Channel.

 


Rabbi Ilana Garber

Rabbi Ilana C. Garber has served the community of Beth El Temple, West Hartford, CT since August 2005. She graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, with a BA in Talmud, an MA in Jewish education, and rabbinic ordination. She also received a BA in religion from Barnard College. She is a past participant in STAR PEER: Professional Education for Excellence in Rabbis program, in a rabbinic cohort of Advancing Women Professionals, and in the Clal Rabbis Without Borders fellowship.
She serves on the board of Mikveh Bess Israel and co-chairs the Women’s Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly. Her writing about raising a child with Fragile X Syndrome has been featured on The Jewish Week’s New Normal, the Ruderman Family Foundation blog, the Matan blog, and Kveller.  A survivor of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, she blogs about cancer, survival, family, and Torah at www.ilanagarber.com. She lives in West Hartford with her husband and two young sons.

 


Joseph Firecrow went on to be with our Creator!  May we forever hear his music and embody his vision!

Special Musical Guest Joseph FireCrow - Rest in peace Our Friend-Ah ho

Joseph FireCrow is one the top 3 Native American flute players in the world today. Echodisc said in a review, “Joseph FireCrow is quite simply one of the most gifted players of the Native American flute”. Another reviewer described FireCrow as a “national treasure”. FireCrow has released 8 solo albums to date, 6 internationally. His accomplishments include a GRAMMY™ in the New Age category as a guest artist on David Darling's "PRAYER FOR COMPASSION', a GRAMMY™ nomination in the Best Native American Music Album category, 7 Native American Music Awards; Songwriter of the Year, Best Instrumental Recording and Flutist of the Year (3), Artist of the Year, and Song/Single of the Year; as well as a Telly award.  Please visit his website for more information:  http://www.josephfirecrow.com/index.htm.