Leaven Community
Sacred Presence & Accompaniment
(SPA) Team
Our Mission
SPA team members accompany and facilitate responses to the needs, opportunities and transitions of community members, the people in their lives and our community as a whole. We invite leadership in the creation and integration of rituals - prayer circles, community blessings, rites of passage - to accompany and mark transitions and life passages of all ages.
Email SPA Co-Chairs or Pastor Alison with inquiries and requests.
Rev. John Rodgers Email
Mira Wood Bolaños Email (Inglés y español hablado)
Pastor Alison Killeen Email
meal trains
Luz's son Cesar has been in the hospital with infections and pending surgeries. It is unknown for how long he will be hospitalized, so we are supporting Luz, beginning with ten days of food for her and her family while she visits her son after work.
Kaitlyn Devlin and Nick Crouch welcomed baby Wesley Eugene Crouch at 11:56am on September 21st (his due date!). 8 lbs, 7oz and 20.5 inches long. Please click the button above if you’d like to help with a meal!
Marcy is returning back to daily work as she continues recovering from a brain injury, and their family could use some extra love and accompaniment as they navigate multiple stressors in this time. One way we can do that is through twice-weekly meals!
ways SPA can accompany you
LIFE TRANSITIONS
Visiting with you and being present to your experience with a listening ear and an open heart
Creating ways to acknowledge milestones and life transitions (birth, coming of age, graduation, marriage, career change, mid-life passages, separation/divorce, retirement, dying…)
Hosting informal public gatherings for folks to share around life pressures and celebrations
GRIEF SUPPORT
Feel & Be Real in Community is a gathering for people to process grief in many ways. Folks walk the labyrinth, light candles and write/draw, concluding with the truth mandala practice developed by Joanna Macy. Gatherings are on third Fridays, 7-9pm, at Leaven Community Center, 5431 NE 20th Ave, Portland, OR 97211. Read more about the Truth Mandala Practice HERE.
ORGANIZING SUPPORT
Organizing meals when you are experiencing changes due to illness, the arrival of a new family member, etc.
Helping you form a personal circle of support/discernment (one-time, ongoing)
IMMIGRATION
Providing support navigating the immigration system
Accompanying you or a loved one to court or lawyer’s visit
SPA Team Members Pastor Alison Killeen, Mira Wood Bolaños, Jim Francis, Nancy Phelps, Rev. John Rodgers and Brent Wilson would love to connect with you and encourage you to reach out to any of us. We come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Communication is held in confidence unless you request to broaden your circle.