Introducing Rev. Molli Mitchell

Here’s a little bit about me: I come from snowy northcentral Wisconsin, the daughter of a house painter and the sister of a woman with Down syndrome who has a killer sense of humor. I absorbed much about mutuality from the “church of the woods” as my spiritual foundation owing to my parent’s religious traumas and the church they had hoped to raise us in effectively telling them that my sister wasn’t welcome there. The vast web of interconnectedness that was so apparent then informs my ministry now.

I hold a BS in Human Development and Family Studies and an MS in Social Work, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In my professional career, I served for over 20 years in community-based nonprofit leadership, led justice teams and initiatives, and facilitated transitional deep listening projects including here in the UCC’s Central Pacific Conference. After surviving breast cancer and its treatments, I pivoted my career and completed an MDiv with a diploma from Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School where I received both the Jonathan Edwards prize for excellence at the intersection of ministry and theological scholarship as well as the Rev. Frederick J. Streets prize for making a particularly distinguished contribution to the advancement of social justice during my time as a student.

I currently serve very part-time as a per diem hospice chaplain in Vancouver, as well as a Community Minister and Development Director for the San Francisco Night Ministry. I recently became licensed as a psilocybin facilitator and will be accepting patients at 7 Gates Sanctuary. I am joyfully child-free and lovingly split my time between the verdant green of the Pacific Northwest where my best friend since first grade, Leah, lives and the vibrant Bay Area where my partner Steve lives.

While I do have quite a few things on my plate, I look forward to immersing myself in Waverly’s culture and people as we continue to get to know one another. I hold an open-door policy and would love to connect with you over tea to learn more about what weighs on your heart and how to best support you in this incredibly trying time in our nation’s history.

With you in heart and faith,

Rev. Molli