| For Immediate Release Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026 Columbia, S.C.—Cherry Hill Seminary held a service of ordination on Saturday, March 21, 2026 for five of its graduates: Vanessa F. Hurst, CMC; Jeffrey M. Keefer, Certified Spiritual Director; Julie Olson, CMC; Troy Alan Robinson, CMC; and Jenny Zappala, CMC. Each of the ordinands completed a thorough course of study, including a supervised internship local to them. A Clergy Review Committee which included Rev. Wes Isley, MDiv, HPs Carol Kirk, Rev. Karen LeBlanc, MDiv, Rev. Cedar Monroe, MDiv, and Dr. Robert Patrick, MDiv, reviewed applications and interviewed each candidate before approving them for ordination. Prior to this review the Seminary contracted with an outside firm to conduct extensive background checks. “We’ve been asked about ordination for as long as I’ve been with Cherry Hill Seminary,” said Holli Emore, Executive Director. “That’s been 20 years, and last year we began to hold discussions about what it means to be ordained, or to be the ordaining party,” she continued. Robert Patrick, a member of the Clergy Review Committee, had more to say. “Pagans are largely solitary. We are ordaining Pagan-identifed clergy to minister to the needs of Pagan and nature spirituality folks in both their solitariness and in their groups. It’s really sort of unchartered waters, and that’s exciting. We are ordaining clergy for large swaths of people who don’t have easy access to clergy when they feel the need.” The world of contemporary Pagans has long debated terms like clergy, or the need for ordination, Emore noted. “My own thesis work showed that most people who identify as some variety of Pagan, or simply connecting to spirituality through nature, are on their own, but not always by choice. This means that our graduates are serving their communities in myriad ways, whether leading small groups, offering spiritual direction or pastoral counseling, holding public rituals, formal chaplaincy, or leading from a congregational pulpit.” Cherry Hill Seminary is not tradition-specific, and does not train students for particular traditions. Core elements of seminary training include ethics, exploring the student’s personal theology, interfaith leadership, ritual development and more. Candidates for ordination have demonstrated the understanding of and ability to support others spiritually. “In the end, we realized that our students both need and deserve the validation that comes with the rigorous process leading to ordination. It is also a strong message to the world outside the Seminary that this is a person who can be trusted,” said Emore. Those who wish to make a gift in honor of one or all the ordinands may do so here. Cherry Hill Seminary is the leading provider of education and practical training in leadership, ministry, and personal growth in Pagan and Nature-Based spiritualities, by providing transformative education and empowering students to advance academically and lead spiritually.. https://cherryhillseminary.org/ Media contact for more information: chs@cherryhillseminary.org or 1-803-862-9088. |
| top to bottom, left to right: Jeffrey M. Keefer, Jenny Zappala, Julie Olson, Vanessa F. Hurst, Troy Alan Robinson |
