Joy Wagler
As a Jubilee Leader:
designated lay ministry
expressive artist
SoulCollage facilitator
spiritual accompaniment
As a Spiritual Companion:
I was raised in the Mennonite Church, the daughter of a minister. As an adult my journey has taken me through varied landscapes of beauty and struggle. My husband and I returned to Waterloo Wellington in 2020 after living in Owen Sound for thirty five years. Those years were formational, especially as I served as DLM - Designated Lay Minister in the United Church of Canada at First United, for seventeen years. The church generously supported my continuing education. Highlights of this education included the Jubilee Program under the leadership of Miriam Frey, the Expressive Arts Program at the Haliburton School of Art and Design, and training for SoulCollage facilitation. Allowing my inner invisible experience to become visible through creative expression is soulful, nourishing work.
Our family has known the struggle of long term pain and illness, and the grief of losing a beloved son to sudden death since returning to this area. God’s presence and absence are felt acutely in times like these and it is a gift to walk with others as life unfolds in mysterious ways.
The marriage of Spiritual Accompaniment, expressive arts and mindfully being in Creation, is a sacred one to me. It is a privilege to accompany individuals through landscapes of the soul and landscapes of the land by walking local paths together.
I take great delight in choral singing, (“Those who sing, pray twice” Augustine) circle dancing, and especially living in the same community as my grandsons, and their parents…. singing, dancing and playing together!
