Steven Willsey

I am a retired clergy, my last post being the Spencerville Adventist Church in Silver Spring, MD, where I was an associate pastor with responsibilities for nurture and pastoral care. Since retirement I have conducted Critical Incident Stress Management workshops as an Approved Instructor for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF.org).

My wife's death in 1998 of ovarian cancer was a major trauma for me, but I have survived. I have three children: Amy, Angela and Mark; and two grandchildren: Rachel and Collin. Rachel has finished college and is a teacher in Maryland. Collin studies at Trinity College, University of Dublin where he is also big into Rugby.

With my family I lived in Guyana, South America, for five years where my children were born. Following Guyana we were in the lovely Caribbean Island of St Croix for three years. I have traveled widely in Europe and the Middle East and have also visited many of the Caribbean Islands, Peru, Kenya, South Africa, and Lesotho, Turkey, India and Nepal.

I earned a doctor of ministry degree with an emphasis in spiritual formation and am a volunteer at the National Cathedral in DC in the Prayer and Pilgrimage Center where I am a guide for three hours at least once a week during the summer months.

My spiritual pilgrimage has led me to believe there is a lot of mystery and that belief is not nearly as settled or as important as one's relationship with God. I am a liberal on social issues and a Democrat in a church community that is not.

I currently live in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, but return to Silver Spring, Maryland, for three months in the summer where I have a small apartment. Silver Spring has been home base since 1980, but I have become tired of the cold winter months and am thoroughly enjoying Florida.