Sermon: The Healing Presence of God

This sermon was delivered by Rev. Sally Howard, Associate for Pastoral Care, All Saints Church on Sunday, December 28, 2014. Sally Howard found her way to All Saints Church as a parishioner in 1983, drawn to the church’s passion for inclusion and social justice. The centrality of the Eucharist resonated with the hospitality and gathering around lovingly prepared food, ways of life her mother and grandmothers had embodied, and the Episcopal Church her spiritual home. Over the years, Sally has been involved in a number of ministries at All Saints, including the Human Sexuality Task Force; the Shell boycott; Union Station; Adult Ed; Slow Food; Lay Counseling Ministry; and teaching Godly Play Sunday School.

Sally and her husband Peter, are proud parents of an interfaith, intercultural, and interspecies family of three children and a Labrador retriever named Tess. Sally has an M.A. in Theology, a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Seminary, and a Psy.D. in Psychoanalysis from the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis in Los Angeles. She has been in full time private practice in South Pasadena since 1989, working with individuals across the life span, and has a special interest in couples and family therapy. Sally has served on the faculty of Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, and taught at several psychoanalytic institutes in the Los Angeles area. She has published in the areas of the treatment of bi-cultural couples, and on the recovery of hope post dehumanizing trauma.

Sponsored for ordination by All Saints, Sally was ordained as a priest in January 2014 and she is a part time member of the clergy staff, bringing a focus on healing of psyche and soul; whole and holy development across the life span; interfaith healing traditions; and interfaith couple and family development.

All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena, (626) 796-1172 or visit allsaints-pas.org.