(Rev) Sarah Bowen
Animal Chaplain | Spirituality Mentor
Ordained Interfaith/Interspiritual Clergy
Award-winning Spirituality Author (learn more)
Member of Spiritual Directors International
Member of the Association for Pet Loss & Bereavement
I confess. I was not always this spiritually put together.
It's true, I was born the daughter of a mighty fine preacher man. And for much of my early childhood, Jesus "was just alright with me." And so was God for that matter. Then came puberty. And I became a religion-phobic Gen-Xer who felt a void because I had become detached from my faith. In fact, I wasn't sure what my faith was or if I actually had any faith at all. I soon had an astonishingly long list of why religion didn't work for me. And so I stuffed the hole with all sorts of unhealthy things—until five years after my father's death, I began reading his sermons.
After 20 years of writing marketing copy to finance my travel addiction, I hunkered down to craft my first book, Void if Detached: Seeking Modern Spirituality through My Father's Old Sermons. Reading through the manuscripts of 1,500 sermons, I found myself on a fascinating spiritual recovery. I dove cautiously into the Hebrew Scriptures and Christian Bible, studying through courses at Open Yale, Emory University, and Reformed Theological Seminary.
Soon, I found myself able to say the "G" and "J" words without cringing—something I had not been able to do comfortably since my late teens. I realized I had found modern spirituality in those old sermons. Incredibly, I found myself curiously drawn to One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City, where I eventually enrolled to pursue the addition of Reverend to my name as well. Now came courses on two dozen of the world's religions, an overwhelming book addiction, and a shifting perspective, as I learned how to be of more service to this world.
And so, I entered the (proverbial) family business my becoming a Reverend... a modern one, with an interfaith/interspiritual/interspecies view.
Which means I'm interested in how you connect spiritually, not telling you how you should. I'm interested in helping you along your own spiritual journey, not picking the road for you. I'm not here to put up road blocks, I'm here to fuel your creativity. (As is my latest book, Spiritual Rebel: A Positively Addictive Guide to Finding Deeper Perspective & Higher Purpose.)
Of special interest to me is the animal-human spiritual bond, and how to help expand many religions' view of the role of animals. I'm passionate about the new field of Animal Chaplaincy, especially in helping people recover from the grief of pet loss and reducing suffering for animals kept captive in human systems. Having myself lost 3 cats within 6 months, I personally understand the pain of this very special kind of loss, and am interested in helping others through it. With the help of Chicago Theological Seminary, I'm working on a new project to help people explore the relationship between their spiritual values, animal welfare, and the fate of our planet.
Part minister, part ecotheologian, part animal lover. Beyond our frontiers of sexism, classism, racism, genderisms … I address the injustice of speciesism to ensure we aren't marginalizing otherkind.
So, that's a little bit about me. But I'm much more interested in hearing about you... so let's connect.
Animal Chaplain | Spirituality Mentor
Ordained Interfaith/Interspiritual Clergy
Award-winning Spirituality Author (learn more)
Member of Spiritual Directors International
Member of the Association for Pet Loss & Bereavement
I confess. I was not always this spiritually put together.
It's true, I was born the daughter of a mighty fine preacher man. And for much of my early childhood, Jesus "was just alright with me." And so was God for that matter. Then came puberty. And I became a religion-phobic Gen-Xer who felt a void because I had become detached from my faith. In fact, I wasn't sure what my faith was or if I actually had any faith at all. I soon had an astonishingly long list of why religion didn't work for me. And so I stuffed the hole with all sorts of unhealthy things—until five years after my father's death, I began reading his sermons.
After 20 years of writing marketing copy to finance my travel addiction, I hunkered down to craft my first book, Void if Detached: Seeking Modern Spirituality through My Father's Old Sermons. Reading through the manuscripts of 1,500 sermons, I found myself on a fascinating spiritual recovery. I dove cautiously into the Hebrew Scriptures and Christian Bible, studying through courses at Open Yale, Emory University, and Reformed Theological Seminary.
Soon, I found myself able to say the "G" and "J" words without cringing—something I had not been able to do comfortably since my late teens. I realized I had found modern spirituality in those old sermons. Incredibly, I found myself curiously drawn to One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in New York City, where I eventually enrolled to pursue the addition of Reverend to my name as well. Now came courses on two dozen of the world's religions, an overwhelming book addiction, and a shifting perspective, as I learned how to be of more service to this world.
And so, I entered the (proverbial) family business my becoming a Reverend... a modern one, with an interfaith/interspiritual/interspecies view.
Which means I'm interested in how you connect spiritually, not telling you how you should. I'm interested in helping you along your own spiritual journey, not picking the road for you. I'm not here to put up road blocks, I'm here to fuel your creativity. (As is my latest book, Spiritual Rebel: A Positively Addictive Guide to Finding Deeper Perspective & Higher Purpose.)
Of special interest to me is the animal-human spiritual bond, and how to help expand many religions' view of the role of animals. I'm passionate about the new field of Animal Chaplaincy, especially in helping people recover from the grief of pet loss and reducing suffering for animals kept captive in human systems. Having myself lost 3 cats within 6 months, I personally understand the pain of this very special kind of loss, and am interested in helping others through it. With the help of Chicago Theological Seminary, I'm working on a new project to help people explore the relationship between their spiritual values, animal welfare, and the fate of our planet.
Part minister, part ecotheologian, part animal lover. Beyond our frontiers of sexism, classism, racism, genderisms … I address the injustice of speciesism to ensure we aren't marginalizing otherkind.
So, that's a little bit about me. But I'm much more interested in hearing about you... so let's connect.
WHAT I'M UP TO
GUEST CO-HOSTINGGeeked to join Unity Online Radio's Jim Lefter to interview Don Miguel Ruiz, Jr., Royce Christyn, James Redfield, & Victoria Price
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FINISHING THE AUDIO BOOK!Yoga teacher Nicole Losie joined me in narrating Spiritual Rebel for Audible.
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SPIRITUAL REBEL RETREATJoin me in New York's Hudson Valley, August 2021 for a spiritually rebellious weekend full of spiritual practice, fun, and friendship.
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...aspire to act with the eyes and heart of compassion, to bring joy to one person in the morning, and to ease the pain of one person in the afternoon.
