Our Faculty (listed alphabetically)

Erva Baden -The Divine Feminine
She has been facilitating deep emotional process work with women and men for more than 15 years in the United States, Canada, Europe and South Africa. She is also a consultant and trainer with extensive experience working within non-profit, national and international organizations in the US, Canada, Europe, South Africa and Thailand with a focus on communication skills, personal empowerment and leadership, and multi-cultural awareness. She maintains a private practice in Philadelphia as a spiritual counselor. Her workshops are gentle, compassionate and fun.

Bette Jo Benner - The Rosecrucian Fraternity
Bette Jo is an ordained minister of The Church of Illumination, the church of the Rosecrucian Fraternity, and Priestess of Melchizadek. She is also a CPA. She has been a student of the Rosicrucian Fraternity for over forty years and has lectured on many topics including Rosicrucianism, Alchemy, Hermeticism, Occult Laws, Kabbalah and Metaphysical Bible Interpretation. She is currently the Treasurer-Controller of the Beverly Hall Corporation (the holding company of the Rosecrucian Fraternity. She is the author and editor of "The Spiritual Venturer", a monthly spiritual magazine.

Rabbi Sigal Dagan Brier - Judaism
Rabbi Brier is the rabbi of Congregation Tzedek v'Shalom in Newtown, PA. She is a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (Wyncote, PA) and also earned a Master degree in Organizational Psychology. Trained as a Chaplain, she is also a musician whose work is available on two CDs. She teaches Kabbalah and Mysticism at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. She teaches at synagogues, retreat centers, and yoga centers around the country.
She is the creator of Integrated Practice: the art of moving through prayer. At her workshops and rituals, she uses integrated spiritual practices of study, movement, yoga, chanting, meditation, and prayer. She has also written and published works on women's careers, and creating community in the workplace.

Reverend Gary Culp - Orientation, Esoteric Studies and Individual Spirituality
Reverend Culp who was coordinating minister at Pebble Hill Church for seventeen years, comes to serve from a rich background. He attended Drew Theological Seminary, The University of Edinburgh Theological Seminary in Scotland, as well as Princeton Theological Seminary where he completed a Master's Degree in Theology. Gary also taught public school for many years while focusing on alternative education. He served as pastor in several United Methodist Churches until his ministry at Pebble. Reverend Culp has been involved in learning and teaching everything he could about the common thread of spiritual truth that weaves through all the world's religions and he has used this information to guide Pebble into its new role as an Interfaith Celebration Community.

Reverend Denny Daikeler - An Alternative Approach to Feng Shui
Reverend Daikeler is an interior designer, lecturer and writer along with being an interfaith minister. She was educated in design at Drexel University and has extended her studies and research into psychology and human behavior. She conducts seminars across the country on "creating meaningful spaces from who you are", and is also a trainer in conflict resolution for the American Society of Interior Design. Denny has been featured an AM Philadelphia, Channel 6 News, and the Discovery and House and Garden Channels as well as writing for national and local periodicals. She has recently conducted workshops for the American Cancer Society on creating healing environments. Her book on creating your inner blueprint is soon to be published.

Vincent DiPasquale - Twelve Step Traditions
A well-known and noted lecturer and educator in the tri-state area, Vincent DiPasquale, MA has been active in the field of addiction for the past twenty-seven years. He is co-founder and director of The Starting Point, Inc. in Westmont, New Jersey, and outpatient-counseling center, specializing in the area of dependencies. The Starting Point with its wide range of therapies, functioning as a support system for an individual's personal growth.

Rev. David DiPasquale - Yoga, Meditation & Spirituality
Graduate and member of the advisory circle of The School of Sacred Ministries, past president of council at Pebble Hill Church and teacher of Yoga & Meditation. David has been teaching classes in yoga & spirituality for the past 20 years to adults, teens at risk, and families. Subjects include postures, breathwork and meditation. An overview of the various Yogic traditions are included in the class as well as experiential samplings of the practice.

David says that his approach to the subject has been shaped primarily by his two teachers; one from the west and one from his travels to India.

Rev. Karen A. Fairman, RN - Healing Angels, Energy Therapy, Sacred Relationships, Life Empowerment Counseling
Karen Fairman is walking the path of sacred union, within herself, humanity and all creation. Her journey has brought her to deep connection within the angelic realm, the Councils of Light, the I AM presence and St. Germaine, and the sacred union of the feminine and masculine Cosmic Christ energy. She learns and grows with the guidance of the Mystical Rose energies of Mother Mary, Mary Magdalen, and Anna (Marys mother), and many other forms of the divine mother. She has founded the Peace Valley Healing Center and offers personal life empowerment counseling and healing through Integrated Energy Therapy (Healing with the Energy of Angels) sessions and classes,

Heart and Soul Healing sessions, I AM Discourse study groups, and community classes and support. Her previous life experiences have led her to 21 years as a Registered Nurse in active practice and teaching, 10 years as a Certified Health Educator teaching high school and college students, and certification as an Integrated Energy Therapy Master Instructor and Heart and Soul Healing Practitioner. Karen was ordained by the School of Sacred Ministries in December of 2000.

Qadir Bibi Hackett - Sufism
Ms. Hackett is originally from Sweden. She was called to the life of the Spirit from an early age. Following this call led her to learn weaving and eventually to become master weaver and teacher. From this learning, she discovered patterns of the spirit and the body, which then led her to seek a purer encounter with the Divine and her place in it. This search led her to a year of meditative solitude in the Canadian wilderness as she worked to discern and uncover the presence of God within her own life. In 1981 on a journey to Sri Lanka, she met Sheik M.R. Bawa Muhaiyadden, and she has studied Bawa's teachings since then. She is Rick Hackett's wife and partner. Qadir is actively teaching the principles of Islam and Sufism to many groups that visit the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, where she also runs the bookstore.

Sarah Halley - Our Religions of Origin
Sarah has been leading trainings and interactive theatre for the past 12 years. Ten years ago she brought Playback Theatre to Philadelphia and since then has led hundreds of performances and workshops for a diverse range of organizations and audiences. She is a graduate of the Multicultural Training and Research Institute (MCTRI) at Temple University, and has trained with The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond, The National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), Training for Change, and Good Shepherd Mediation House. She has also studied psychodrama, sociodrama, Process Work, Theatre of the Oppressed, group process facilitation, and has a passion for bring together creative methods and social justice work.

Rev. Ellyn Kravette
Rev. Ellyn is an ordained interfaith minister and the co-founder of the Church of the Divine Consciousness in the Pocono's. Her ministry focuses on motivational counseling, and the celebration of sacraments and services with the understanding that all paths are spiritual and that life is a workshop for the nurturing of our souls.

Rev. Ellyn is the president of a personal and professional development organization. Under its umbrella, P.E. Light & Associates provides professional training, workplace substance abuse, CISD and mental health services; and operates Open Door Ministries, which educates and counsels religiously affiliated and non-affiliated clients - promoting the integration of personal ethical, spiritual and material concerns, without imposing religious bias.

Rev. Ellyn has a Master's Degree in Social Work, Credentials as an Employee Assistance Professional, and is Certified in Addiction Counseling in both New York and Pennsylvania. She was a member of the Transworld Airlines Diversity Council, the NY Women's Agenda Citiwatch Committee's Diversity Project and the NOW Feminist Psychotherapy Committee. Forever a student, she is currently a participant in the Clinical Pastoral Education Program at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, PA.

Lynn Miller - Arts & Spirituality
Lynn is a vocalist, guitarist, dancer and visual artist with a passion for improvisation, "creating in the moment." She is on staff for Music for People, an international music improvisation training program with the belief that we all have music potential. Lynn worked as an adjunct faculty member in Music Therapy at Immaculata University and is co-founder of Expressive Therapy Concepts, a non-profit organization with the mission of bringing the healing power of the arts into the community. Nationally and internationally she builds community through singing workshops, community-built mosaic murals, Giant Puppet builds and parades. She works as an expressive arts therapist with diverse populations and ages empowering people through the arts.

Asma'el Ibn Muhaiyaddeen, MSW (Rick Hackett, MSW) - Sufism
Asma'el has traveled extensively around the Middle East, living in Jerusalem and Israel. He has traveled through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. He has a degree in comparative religions and a Masters of Social Work. He studied with his guru, Islamic Sufi Sheik M.R. Muhaiyaddeen since 1972 until his transition. Asma'el has written a number of articles, notably in the "Journal of the Muslim Peace Fellowship". He is also active in work with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and interdenominational group working for peace; and with the Interfaith Voices for Social Justice, sponsored by Jewish Community services and the Ecumenical Interfaith Group of the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Shirley and Dar Khabbaz - Lakota Traditions
Shirley specializes in working with death practices and is of Cherokee descent. She is currently working with Jane Ely in starting a Shamanic School. Shirley has an MS in Education, has taught twenty-six years in the public schools, and was voted one of the top teachers of the gifted in the state of Pennsylvania in 1986. She has worked with Lakota elders on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota for the past twenty years. She has been working with shamanic teachings from South America for the past five years and has studied ancient Egyptian healing practices and Kahuna healing. Shirley is a Ceremonial Leader, a grandmother and is especially interested in empowering abused women.
Dar, Shirley's son, is an expert in the Lakota tradition and is also of Cherokee descent.

Christopher Largent - Origins of Spirituality
Christopher taught university-level philosophy and comparative religion for twenty years and has lectured on practical spirituality and the interface of science and religion all over the United States, Canada, and England. He was an advisor for interfaith studies and graduate degrees on mysticism and gave seminars at the New York Open Center, the School for Practical Philosophy in New York. Mr. Largent has also lectured at Chicago's Crossroads Center for Faith and Work, the World Business Academy, the Global Structures Convocation in Washington DC, the American Academy of Religion, the Foundation for Global Community in Palo Alto, the Wainwright House in New York, the Global Renaissance Alliance in Seattle, the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economies, the American Society for Quality Management, and the Omega Institute. He has also spoken at The Meadows, the famed treatment center in Wickenburg, Arizona.

The author of many articles, he is co-author of The Soul of Economies, The Paradigm Conspiracy, and Love, Soul, and Freedom. He contributed to Georg and Trisha Feuerstein's Voices on the Threshold of Tomorrow, Marianne Williamson's Imagine, and From the Ashes: A Spiritual Response to America's Tragedy.
He is a coach-counselor and runs his own consulting business for management, workforce development, communication, and conflict resolution.

Tom Legere, Ph.D., CAS - Esoteric Christianity; Jungian Implication and Theory; Depression and Suicide; Techniques of Counseling.
Tom is a spectacular teacher of esoteric Christianity and psychotherapy. He has degrees in philosophy, theology and spiritually, in addition to a Ph.D. in psychology. The author of two books, Tom's work is truly holistic. He is a highly regarded speaker on television and in workshops. He is a wonderful spiritual mentor.

Rev. Melissa Guite Mantha
Rev. Melissa is a versatile and enthusiastic Interfaith Minister who trained at the School of Sacred Ministries and was ordained December 2000. She has a diverse background with a BA in Chemistry, 9 years as a Corporate Sales Professional, Practitioner level Shiatsu therapist and currently serves as the Administrator for the School of Sacred Ministries.

She co-founded Spirited Ceremonies, a marketing and advertising group for Interfaith Ministers from the School of Sacred Ministries. Through that effort, she has worked with couples to create truly unique and personal wedding ceremonies, baby blessings and has also been a guest Celebrant at Pebble Hill Church.
She created and teaches a seminar series, Creative Business, to Bodyworkers and Ministers at Lourdes Institute, International School of Shiatsu, and the School of Sacred Ministries that helps students find their expressive purpose and creative business skills.

She has had many wonderful teachers along her path that have led to a deeper spiritual understanding of the world. Her biggest teachings have come from her family and travels in the world. She has been married for over ten years and has learned to blend, bridge and create new traditions for her multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious family.

Rev. Melissa is a Spiritual Gypsy spreading a bright beauty message full of fire and transformation.

Scott McBride - Buddhism, Mindfulness
Scott McBride has been practicing Buddhism since 1971 and teaching Buddhist philosophy, psychology and meditation since 1978. He has practiced and studied widely among the major traditions of Theravada, Zen and Vajrayana Buddhism. Since attending the Vajradhatu Buddhist Seminary in 1978, he has studied with many of the greatest living Tibetan masters of our time and under their tutelage has received numerous empowerment and instruction on the highest Buddhist teachings. He is one of the founding members as well as the first director of the Philadelphia Shambhala Center. In 1997, he and his wife completed a traditional three-year retreat during which time they took temporary monastic vows. He previously worked at Graduate Hospital as a core instructor of the Medical Stress Management Program. Scott is currently in private practice as a psychotherapist, healer and teacher of personal/spiritual growth and development.

Lesley Tao Mowat - Shamanism
Tao is a Shamanic Healer and teacher of Shamanism, Sacred Sound and Ritual. She uses a mystical form of core shamanism as her spiritual and healing path; her heart aligned with the earth, spirits of nature and the formless energy of All That Is. Since childhood Tao has studied and experienced spirituality in many forms, considering herself truly interfaith. She was named Tao by Osho in 1982. She has studied shamanism extensively with Michael Harner and Sandra Ingerman as well as with other teachers. Tao is also a musician and has done much research using drumming and other sounds for healing and meditation. She will be ordained an Interfaith Minister by The School of Sacred Ministries in December 2004. She is currently a Minister in The Circle of the Sacred Earth and a founding member of The Society of Shamanic Practitioners.

Reverend Jon Mundy - A Course in Miracles
Jon Mundy, a popular speaker and workshop leader nationwide, is also the author of several books including "Awaken to Your Own Call", and "Listening to Your Inner Guide."  He was introduced to "A Course in Miracles" by its principals - Drs. Helen Schucman, Bill Thetford and Ken Wapnick - a year before it's publication.  He is co-founder of the Interfaith Fellowship in New York City, and co-founder of "On Course" magazine.

Kofi Asare Opoku - African Religions
Born in Ghana and a Graduate of Yale University, Professor Kofi is currently a professor at Lafayette College, teaching African Traditional Religion, Death in Cross-Cultural Perspective, The Black Experience, and Religions of the World and many other topics. He also teaches at the University of Ghana. He has authored numerous books on the topics of religious beliefs of the African people and Akan proverbs. Kofi, as he likes to be called, is a superb storyteller and instructor.

Rabbi Rayzel Raphael - Judaism, Kabbalah, New Ritual, Song Writing
Rabbi Rayzel has a gift for bringing light, insight and profound wisdom to our classes and retreats. Her wit has left us breathless. She is a Reconstructionist Rabbi at Leyv Ha-Ir Synagogue. Rabbi Rayzel studied at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she was ordained. She has been awarded the Wexner Graduate Fellowship and a scholarship in the Melton Senior Educator's Program at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She has studied at the Pardes Yeshiva in Israel, Brandeis and Indiana Universities. Rabbi Rayzel mentored under Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Her liturgy highlights women of the Bible, Rosh Hodesh, Shechinah, "new ritual" and Kabbalah. She is currently Director of Graduate Student Projects at Hille of Greater Philadelphia and was also the director of the Jewish Student Federation of York University in Toronto (1977-1988). She has been a mentor and guide to our school.

Peter Roche-De Coppens, Ph.D. - Esoteric Aspects of Religion
Peter is currently Professor of Sociology/Anthropology at East Stroudsburg University. He has also held teaching positions at Fordham University where he was an Instructor of Sociology. He has served as a spiritual advisor to NATO. He is a well-known author on esoteric Christianity, writing books and numerous articles in professional journals, magazines and newspapers in various countries and languages. He currently has a weekly rubric in Amica and writes for Energies, Il Cittadino Canadese, The Quest, D"Ames & D" Hommes. Peter is also the creator of several television series that have aired in the United States, Canada and Italy and on Swiss Italian National TV.

Susan and Bill Schoonover - Imago Therapy
Susan and Bill are certified in Imago Therapy, which was developed by Harville Hendrix. They are also certified in Social Work and Alcohol and Drug Abuse. They co-founded and now direct the Couples Counseling Center in Watchung, New Jersey. Bill is a private clinician with the NFL.

Muhammad B. Sherif - Islam
Born in Monrovia, Liberia, he is of the Mandingo ethnic group (tribe). While in Liberia he served as an Executive Member of the Inter-Religious Council of Liberia where he worked to coordinate and reconcile differences between and amongst various religious groups of Christian and Muslims as well as other non-religious social and interest Groups in the country (It is this group that initiated Liberian Peace process in 1990 between the then Liberian government of Late President Samuel Doe and the notorious Rebel leader, Charles Taylor, which culminated in Presidential elections in 1997. This peace initiative now serves as a world wide model for conflict resolution).
He later worked at LIURD INC. (Liberia Islamic Union for Reconstruction & Development), ending up as it's Executive Director, where he coordinated Humanitarian Relief Delivery Services to war affected and traumatized Population; often partnering with the United Nations Agencies and International non-governmental Organizations. He also worked at the Muslim Congress of Liberia (One of the oldest Islamic organizations in the country that runs a number of schools and mosques), eventually serving as it's Assistant Secretary General.
In 2000 he received the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Citizenship Award (In recognition of his contribution to Liberian Society in furtherance of Dr. King's ideals of fostering non-violent social change). This award was organized by the U.S. Embassy.
In May 2000, he was admitted as an Attorney-At-Law in Liberia. He came to the US in 2003, with his wife and six children. In addition to his work, he currently volunteers as Executive Secretary of the African Islamic Community Center (AICC) of Philadelphia.

John Welshons - Death and Dying
John is author of Awakening from Grief, the Road Back to Joy. He is a gifted counselor and teacher, working with his friends Ram Dass, Stephen Levine, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Pat Rodegast, Judith Stanton, Dale Borglum and many others setting up lecturers, workshops and retreats, many of which have been focused on people who were terminally ill and people in grief.

John holds an MA in History of Religions from Florida State University where he also taught courses including "Death and Dying" and "Religion in America" He has studied in India, the former Soviet Union, England, France and Italy. John is founder and president of Open Heart Seminars, and organization dedicated to enhancing spiritual education and awareness in our society.