There is a traditional Italian story about an old woman named La Befana who was the most renowned housekeeper in her entire village. She would happily spend the day with her broom sweeping the floor, cupboards, and front step. The...
Danáe M. Ashley
Biography
The Rev. Danae M. Ashley, MDiv, MA, LMFT is an Episcopal priest and marriage and family therapist who has ministered with parishes in North Carolina, New York, Minnesota, and serves as the Associate Rector at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Seattle, and a therapist at Soul Spa Seattle. Danae uses art, music, drama, poetry, and movement in counseling, spiritual direction, and creation of ritual. Her interfaith Clergy Care Circles directly supports diverse clergy in varied circumstances across the country. She is a proud alumna of Young Clergy Women International (YCWI). Danae is also one of the contributors to the book Still a Mother: Journeys through Perinatal Bereavement. Additionally, she produced the play Naming the Un-Named: Stories of Fertility Struggle with playwright Amanda Aikman; has written for Working Preacher: Craft of Preaching, Luther Seminary’s Faith+Leader, and Episcopal Café’s Speaking of the Soul series; writes and narrates podcasts for The Episcopal Church’s Sermons That Work; and has been featured on several podcasts regarding fertility struggle and faith.
Danae's favorite past times include reading, planning future travels with her husband, tending Alvie’s Memorial Garden, delighting in Sophie Grace (adopted pitbull) and her snuggles, dancing with wild abandon to Celtic music, and serious karaoke.
Filters
July 12, 2020
Let us begin with an invocation of the Holy Spirit by John Henry Newman: Come, O Holy Spirit. Come as Holy Fire and burn in us, Come as Holy Wind and cleanse us, Come as Holy Light and lead us, Come as Holy Life and dwell within...
April 6, 2020
Now the green blade riseth from the buried grain, wheat that in dark earth many days has lain; love lives again, that with the dead has been: Love is come again like wheat that springeth green. This is the first verse of hymn 204...
December 15, 2019
“Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us…” begins our collect for today. This sounds like one thing, but it means something else entirely, doesn’t it? It sounds like God is out at Hogwarts with Harry Potter,...
September 8, 2019
Imagine you are scrolling through your favorite social media site or looking at an article and you see an advertisement for a job. It catches your eye with its savvy fonts and colors, so you glance at it and read: Full-time, meaningful...
February 10, 2019
From September of 2003 through April of 2005, the television show Joan of Arcadia introduced viewers to a teenage girl named Joan, but with a twist: Joan’s character is loosely based on the life of the 15th-century saint, Joan of Arc....
November 18, 2018
In a church much like this one, a woman stays behind in the pews after the service. She is sitting at the back, off to the side, so no one notices her as they are tidying things up. Eventually, the priest comes back into the sanctuary to...
June 3, 2018
“During the bombing raids of World War II, thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they received food and good care. But many of these children who had...
November 25, 2017
The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and the season after Pentecost is coming to a close. It is the longest season of the church year, marking the time by reminding us what it means to live as a disciple, be good...
May 13, 2017
The Scriptures this morning draw us to reflect on what it means to be community. We each have our own communities that we come here from on Sunday, but we are part of the larger community of the Christian faith—a community in which we...
August 6, 2016
There once was a wise communications professor who had her students engage in an observation exercise. She handed out a picture of an elderly man sitting on some front steps. A young woman stood to his right, looking down toward him, and...
February 20, 2016
One moonlit night a Fox was prowling about a farmer’s chicken coop, and saw a Hen roosting high up beyond his reach. “Good news, good news!” he cried. “Why, what is that?” said the Hen. “King Lion has declared a universal truce. No...
September 12, 2015
On October 1, 1996 a book called The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks made its debut. Almost ten years later, on June 25, 2004, the movie adaptation came out with the story coming to life through actors Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling...
February 7, 2015
Sometimes it’s difficult to get a conversation started or bring discussion to a deeper level. Luckily, there’s a game called TableTopics that is meant to get conversation started between two people or group. TableTopics is a clear cube...
September 27, 2014
Imagine you are watching television and a commercial comes on. The camera pans out over a tranquil beach scene where a family is enjoying the sun and the water. One parent is helping a smiling child build a sandcastle, while the other...
