Our Trainers
Reverend Jennifer Innis
Spirit Play Director
The Rev. Jennifer Innis’ background includes service as an interim director of religious education and four years as a minister in religious education. After growing up as a Unitarian Universalist, Jennifer attended Harvard Divinity School for her preparation as a minister. She learned to “talk the God talk” with congregations in Massachusetts, Maine, Alabama, South Carolina, Illinois and Texas. She is a certified Spirit Play Trainer. She now serves as a parish minister for two churches in Texas. She lives with her husband and two children in Plano, Texas.
Contact Jennifer at revjinnis@gmail.com.net.
Joy Silver
Canadian Trainer
Joy Silver has been working with the Spirit Play Program since 2005 in her small-sized Beacon Unitarian church in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. Joy’s delight and enthusiasm for this multi-sensory, child-friendly program got her advocating for the program in Unitarian churches and fellowships across Canada. She presented introductory workshops in three British Columbia communities and got an overwhelming endorsement to become a certified Spirit Play Trainer.
Subsequently, Joy completed the year and half internship and is available to give full training to interested participants across Canada. Joy will lead you comfortably through the history, philosophy, and hands-on methodology of the program in such a way to open your spirit as it does the children.
Joy will accept Canadian dollars equivalent to the USD fee.
Travel expenses: round-trip airfare to and from Vancouver, BC, Canada or other location depending upon travel schedule, fly in Friday as early as possible to set up classroom and materials at church, fly out Sunday after church service, coach fare fine, as few stops as possible, taxi to and from airport in Vancouver if necessary, to church and back to hotel unless other transportation provided. If within driving distance, cost of tolls, $.60 USD a mile car costs. In some cases, instead of airfare, the cost of a rental car will be included in transportation costs. If necessary, sometimes flights will be combined to next training. Must be reserved under Elizabeth Joy Silver.
Phone: 604 941-2606 or email odetojoy@telus.net
Reverend Emily Manvel Leite
Emily is a minister and storyteller and has been a religious educator since 1986, when she began work in a tiny congregation in Providence, RI. She has since worked for five congregations of various sizes, learning about the needs and challenges of many different programs. As a credentialed Minister of Religious Education, Emily has supported the spiritual development of all ages since 1995, but she's a relative newcomer to Spirit Play, having launched her congregation's Spirit Play programs for Preschoolers-Adults in 2013. She believes deeply in the transformative power of story for all ages and appreciates the intergenerational opportunities that Spirit Play provides. Emily lives in Bloomington, Indiana and will be flying out of Indianapolis. She is happy to do a homestay and is a vegetarian. Contact Emily at mre@uubloomington.org or 812-332-3695.
Debbie Atkins
Within a few months of starting to attend Buckman Bridge Unitarian Universalist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, Debbie started as a doorkeeper in the Spirit Play class where one of her two children was attending. She fell in love with the stories and the Montessori approach. The following summer when there was an opening for a Spirit Play teacher, Debbie eagerly volunteered for the role and has been teaching Spirit Play ever since. She enjoys seeing how involved the kids are in the class and how the method gets them to think not only about the story, but also their reaction to it. With a professional background in the training development and delivery fields, Debbie is able to combine that expertise with her Spirit Play knowledge when delivering the training.
Air travel will be out of Jacksonville, Florida (JAX). Car travel will be reimbursed at the standard IRS mileage rate for business travel plus tolls. Debbie is happy to do homestays. Contact information: Debbie@debbieatkins.com, (904) 735-3081.
Online Training
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