Naila Francis--Eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, northern Delaware. A child of the Caribbean, Naila grew up in St. Lucia and also lived in Barbados and Antigua.  She credits her island background for her love of celebration and vibrant connections, as well as for her joyous, open and empathetic approach to life. She is an ordained interfaith minister.  Naila is also the assistant features editor and music columnist for a daily newspaper.  Passionate about all styles of music, she has interviewed many musicians, both renowned and emerging, and also writes a music column on spiritually conscious music for Mystic Pop magazine (www.mysticpopmagazine.com ).  She is working on her first novel, writes poetry and is gifted at custom-created wedding poetry.  An unabashed romantic whose favorite movies are love stories such as The Princess Bride and The Bridges of Madison County, Naila particularly enjoys having the opportunity of crafting each couple’s love story and telling it to wedding guests.  She belongs to a faith community comprised of people of diverse spiritual backgrounds and traditions. Naila believes the highest spiritual practice is to honor all people and to consciously practice compassion, tolerance, integrity, gratitude and love in her daily life.

Irene Fulton—All Eastern Pennsylvania regions, Southern New Jersey from Princeton to Cape May. Irene’s eclectic spirituality ranges from traditional Christian to Native American to New Age as well as all interfaith traditions.  Even as she honors current wedding tradition, she is also our Renaissance and Celtic ritual expert and enjoys creating ceremonies that honor ages past.  Irene believes that the sight, sound and scent of the ocean to be healing and spiritual and will accept a beach wedding at every opportunity! 

Irene maintains her inner peace and serenity through the practice of yoga and meditation (which she also teaches).  She is a certified hypnotherapist, a master herbologist, a Reiki practitioner and is a life-long student of religion and psychology.  Irene loves all forms of dance.  She once danced professional ballet, owned a studio and founded a liturgical dance group.  Irene has a great sense of humor and is quick to laugh.  She enjoys sitting by the sea at any time of the year, ice skating, reading and spending time with her loved ones.  Irene has studied organizational management and applies those skills in her work with Journeys of the Heart as well as in the business world as a department manager.
 

Linda Noonan--Greater Philadelphia Region.
Linda will be on sabbatical leave from June 20 through September 1. She has been awarded a prestigious grant from the Lilly Endowment for this sabbatical and will be taking her two daughters, 11 and 12 years old, back to their South African roots in a trip that will take them through townships, game reserves, squatter camps, wine country and dusty, rural outposts, in addition to spending time in the Midwest and New Mexico doing photography and writing. Linda, a Chicago native, loves to step off the beaten path and has traveled to Chiapas, Mexico, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique and Kenya, and lived in Norway and South Africa. While in South Africa, she taught theology and church history to university students and Shakespeare and pop music to Zulu-speaking high school girls. An ordained minister, Linda currently serves as pastor in a local arts-based progressive church and has also served as a pastor in churches in Philadelphia and Chicago, and a hospice and pediatric hospital chaplain. She loves to sing, listen to stories and create personal ceremonies for people which express their deepest loves and hopes. Her reassuring nature fosters the intimate magic of wedding ceremonies.

Maria Odilia Romeu--Philadelphia and the Northern and Western Suburbs -- Maria Odilia was born in Africa, the child of a Dutch mother and a Puerto Rican father. She is intrigued and delighted by cultural diversity, and values the people she has met and the art she has explored during trips to the Pacific Northwest of the USA, Europe, Japan and Latin America. By day, Maria Odilia teaches at a Quaker elementary school and enjoys the challenges and energy of her young charges.
She is nurtured by the love she shares in her family life with her husband of 25 years, as well as their three unique and lively daughters. Maria Odilia enjoys walking, gardening, and visiting theatres and art galleries. She is committed to working for equality, simplicity, nonviolence, integrity and community responsibility. Maria Odilia describes herself as an attentive, happy and calm officiant and recognizes that each wedding that she is invited to be a part of also deeply enriches her own life. She is continually honored to share in these life events.

Diane Smith-Hoban--Greater Philadelphia Region -Diane Smith-Hoban, Administrator of Journeys of the Heart and Officiant--Greater Delaware Valley Region -In addition to officiating weddings and baby blessings, Diane is involved in the day-to-day administration of Journeys of the Heart. She has been described as an intuitive, light-hearted and joyful officiant. She finds immense satisfaction in helping couples plan wonderful and memorable ceremonies incorporating their very truest selves with love and delight.

She has a master's degree in social work from Temple University and has worked extensively in many areas of the child welfare field, most recently teaching child advocacy in the clinical program at The University of Pennsylvania Law School. Being drawn to working with and on behalf of children, and as the mother of two young sons of her own, Diane is adept at planning celebrations and ceremonies that include them.

Diane, her husband and children are avid Philadelphia sports fans, and Diane
loves watching, playing and discussing sports with them. She also enjoys
reading and discussing good books. While she is funny and loves to laugh, she has a deeply spiritual core that helps her remain centered and balanced.
 

Eleanora Sybesma--Chester, Lancaster, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and NJ – As a lover of all things in nature, El especially enjoys outdoor weddings and baby blessings. She also drives great satisfaction from funeral and grief rituals for the loss of animals. She is an ordained interfaith minister, an integrative body practitioner, wellness and spiritual workshop leader, yoga instructor at www.essentialwellnessctr.com.

Eleanora treasures time with her husband and five children and they enjoy family camping vacations together. A true animal lover, El oversees a household that is practically a menagerie, as at any given time it contains anywhere from nine to fifteen animals including dogs, cats, birds, fish, chickens and a bunny all lovingly tended to by the entire family.

Eleanora finds inspiration, balance and peace living close to nature as well as in drumming, dancing, hiking and skiing. Her spirituality tends toward Native American earth-based practices, Mystical Christianity, Angels and Spirit Guides. Eleanora holds all people and their spiritual beliefs profoundly sacred, and is conscious of the light we all share. The Essential Wellness Center offers a small ceremony space that can accommodate up to fifteen people for a wedding or other ritual for a modest rental fee.

Richard Binder--Metropolitan Philadelphia -- Richard teaches writing, speech and comparative religion at Drexel University. He has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Richard served in the Peace Corps in Iran. (Last year he was a wedding guest there.) Through his well-traveled background and his teaching profession he respects, honors and understands all religious and spiritual traditions and perspectives. He is active in his own faith community and a related component to that is ministry to incarcerated people. Richard is a movie buff and especially enjoys foreign films. The Philadelphia Film Festival is one of the highlights of his year. A native of the Chicago area, Richard has friends all over the United States and enjoys traveling to visit them. He brings an instinct for romance and ritual to wedding ceremonies, as well as a sense of lightness, laughter and joy. Couples frequently use the term “heartwarming” in reference to Richard’s weddings.

James McGlynn – Jim is a long-time high school teacher. He is a romantic and, as such, he facilitates relationship workshops in coordination with the Council for Relationships www.CouncilForRelationships.org  and presents relationship-oriented seminars to professional and religious groups. Jim and Elisabeth, his bride of 35 years, recently took a trip to China to celebrate that anniversary. They have two grown children. Jim is a movie buff and he and Elisabeth enjoy their free time catching newly-released films at one of their preferred downtown Philadelphia Ritz movie theatres. Jim loves talking about good movies, his all time favorite being the Irish film, An Everlasting Piece. A devoted fan of all sports with baseball being his favorite, Jim confesses to reading the Philadelphia Inquirer sports page before any other news.

An avid reader, Jim usually has two or three books going at the same time. He especially enjoys reading novels, biographies and theology. On his nightstand there are likely to be such books as A Chain of Voices by Andrew Brink and God After Darwin by John Haught. Jim makes it a point to walk three miles each day to stay in shape both mentally and physically.

A fan of “oldies” rock ‘n’ roll, Jim’s voice can be heard echoing through the high school halls, entertaining students with his own unique renditions of early rock ‘n’ roll hits.
 

Anita Bondi--Pocono Region, Lehigh Valley, Northern New Jersey.
Anita married "late in life", something that is very rare and was somewhat of a concern in her very strict, Italian, Catholic family. She was performing weddings for years, always intrigued by the love story that each couple shared with her, and pined for a wonderful story of her own. When she was almost 40, she met her beloved, Stan in the San Francisco Bay area and wooed him to the Pocono Mountains of PA. They have a wonderful life, which they share with their rescue dog, Scout, and their artistic creations in the world of performance art. Anita is a movement artist, teacher, healer and lover of ritual and ceremony. She sees each person's life as the greatest artistic creation and guides them as they open up to their own amazing creativity and desire. Anita has a PhD in Holistic Health and Movement Studies and runs Wellspring Holistic Center in Stroudsburg, PA www.wellspringholisticcenter.com where she has a private therapy practice, teaches classes and leads retreats and workshops. She loves hiking, running with her dog, and a good class of red wine, not necessarily in that order! She is currently looking for her dream house on a lake and will take any leads one can give her. Her couples love her warmth, enthusiasm, desire to create the unique, and the way all the guests feel included and engaged in the ceremony.
 

Laura Ford--Philadelphia Region -- Laura Ford's path has directed her to work with incarcerated women, where her maternal tenderness soothes and comforts. Laura is active in lay leadership in her faith community, where she developed a deep love of ritual and a grounded spiritual presence. Laura is one of the founding members of Journeys of the Heart.

Wilson Kratz – Philadelphia Metropolitan Area including upper Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Lehigh and Northampton Counties of Pennsylvania; Hunterdon and Somerset Counties in New Jersey.

Wilson admits to being an adventure junky who loves new and varied experiences, which may seem strange for a lad who was born and raised on a Mennonite dairy farm near Franconia, PA. After graduating from Albright College and teaching high school social studies for 3 years, Wilson and his bride, Anne Libbey, joined the Peace Corps and headed for India in 1966. The next 3 years abroad continued a sizzling romance which had begun when Wilson met Anne only a few months before she was scheduled to marry some other dude. While in India a bird nested in their bedroom and shortly thereafter Anne became pregnant (in keeping with Hindu folklore). Their son Keith was born in 1969 followed by twins, Jonathan and Julie, in 1971.

Wilson continued his high school teaching career which focused on world religions and Asian studies. During these years he received Masters Degrees from Temple and NYU, which took him back to India as well as Thailand, China, and Japan. In 1983 the entire family moved to India where Wilson taught at Woodstock International School in the Himalayas. In the late 80's new adventure called again sending him to Princeton Theological Seminary for an MDiv. which concentrated on Jewish-Christian dialogue. Wilson officiated his first wedding while serving as pastor of Perkasie Mennonite Church, from which he has since retired. Journeys of the Heart allows him to continue on the path seeking many additional new adventures. In addition to witnessing the births of his 3 children, Wilson considers wedding ceremonies among the most awesome experiences he has been privileged to share with so many beautiful folks. This devoted grandfather of grandson, Leland, will also be honored to celebrate the blessing of babies as well as other life passage commemorations.
 

Helen Burke--Montgomery, Bucks, Philadelphia, and Cape May Counties Helen will be on sabbatical September and October of 2008. Helen works as a hospice chaplain and so she appreciates the balance that celebrating weddings and baby blessings brings to her life. As an ordained interfaith minister, creating sacred ceremony for all life passages is one of her passions, and she is comfortable incorporating elements of traditional faith ritual to create unique, non-traditional ceremonies. As a wedding celebrant she sees her role as acknowledging and celebrating the union that has already occurred by the couple’s intention to join in marriage. Helen brings a background in theater, marketing, and motherhood to her ministry. She is a vocalist and enjoys photography, writing, travel, the beach, and hanging out with her grown children.

Marguerite Sexton, Founder--Greater Philadelphia Region--Specializes in Weddings and Funerals. Marguerite founded Journeys of the Heart in 1995, incorporating it in 1996.  She has presided at many hundreds of ceremonies including weddings, funerals and baby blessings.  She nurtured the ministry’s growth through the years from two officiants to the current eighteen.  Marguerite personally oversees the training of all new officiants and wishes to remain accessible to all clients served by Journeys of the Heart.  She founded Journeys of the Heart on the basic principals of hospitality which she first learned from her Irish Grandmother Bridget as a young child.  Marguerite’s heart is open to all people and she honors each one as a unique gift to her world and to the world of Journeys of the Heart. 

As the full-time Executive Director, Marguerite’s ceremony schedule is limited.  However, she is available for ceremonies upon special request.  Marguerite loves discussing religion and politics and is a ward leader in her Abington Township neighborhood, where she also recently started a civic association.  She loves good books and movie/dinner dates with her husband, Tom.  She enjoys travel with her husband as well as an annual vacation with her dear sister, Patricia, and their two best friends.  An Elvis Presley fan since age 14, Marguerite recently visited Graceland, something she had always wanted to do.  She and Tom are a blended family of five grown children and eleven grandchildren.  Marguerite finds something sacred as well as something funny in just about every situation life has to offer.  Marguerite believes that she is truly blessed in life and is grateful for all those blessings.

Marguerite Sexton, Founder--Greater Philadelphia Region--Specializes in Weddings and Funerals. Marguerite founded Journeys of the Heart in 1995, incorporating it in 1996. Marguerite’s blog: http://margeunleashed.blogspot.com