It is with tremendous joy that we share with you that the Board has hired Bis Thornton (he/him, she/her) to be Wildflower’s Chaplain! Bis will start on June 9 and will be present at our Zoom service that day, so please attend to welcome him!
A chaplain provides a caring presence for people. They offer spiritual guidance, education and resources. And they can support those who are experiencing a challenging time, or those who might simply need some extra care. We are aware that it may be difficult for a part-time chaplain to fully meet the diverse needs of our members, community, staff, and our diverse intersectional identities. However, based on Bis’s experience, we believe that he is the right person for the job!
Bis is an aspirant to the Unitarian Universalist ministry. She is a graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and received clinical pastoral education at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. He can often be seen serving as a volunteer chaplain during social justice actions or preaching from a local pulpit. Since 2016, Bis has been an organizer with Gender Unbound, an organization that uplifts and advocates for transgender and intersex artists. Bis’s interests include vegan cooking, Tarot cards, horror movies, drawing, making prayer beads and jewelry, and learning new art skills.
Bis has a lot going on this summer, so while she starts on June 9 (with very limited hours, including training and staff orientation, in parts of June and July), she won’t be fully available in the role until August 9, when she will begin working 5 to 6 hours per week. We’ll send a follow up announcement after Bis starts with his new email address.
We want to extend a huge THANK YOU to the Care Team Volunteers, Jan Austin and Amelia Koford for their time, energy and love in providing care and support to our congregants for the last year. We are extremely grateful for and appreciate our Chaplain Hiring Committee (Elke Baitis, Wendy Eickstaedt, and Cathy Cramer) and our Director of Membership and Spiritual Life (Simone Monique Barnes) for all their work!
We are extremely excited that Bis will be joining our Wildflower family!!
