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David M. Orr studied creative writing and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona in 1977. He was the managing editor of the University's literary magazine during his junior and senior years. Shortly thereafter, he embarked upon a long career (28 years thus far) with the US Government where he currently is a career senior executive with the US Department of Justice. After many years of creative writing in the bureaucratic context, he decided to follow his heart and pursue as an avocation more serious and fulfilling creative writing, such as poetry and a recounting of his own spiritual journey. He considers poetry to be prayer, where God draws near to hearts, listens to us, shares in our deepest feelings, and responds to us. In his view, poetry maps the poet's spiritual journey toward truth, and spiritual journeys are to be shared, as they show others our own ways to God. He collaborated with Kathy Brown in the writing of their book on the gift of spiritual friendship. He currently is working on another book with Kathy on the sacred call of laity to the vocation of ministry. community.
David lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Pamela, who is a homemaker and preschool teacher's assistant. They have 3 children; Lindsay who is 26 and married, Daniel who is 22 and a college student, and Brooke who is 11 and in middle school.
Kathleen Hope Brown, D. Min. is the Dean of Students at the Washington Theological Union. She is also an adjunct professor there. She teaches presiding for lay ministers as well as courses in spirituality. Previously, she was the Regional Director of the DeSales Spirituality Center in Washington D.C, and she has worked in parish adult education for more than ten years. Kathy is the author of, Lay Leaders of Worship: A Practical and Spiritual Guide published by Liturgical Press. She has also written several articles on lay ministry and spirituality for Ministry and Liturgy and Emmanuel. She has presented retreats, workshops and parish missions in this area, Philadelphia, and North Carolina. Last summer, along with colleague David Orr, she presented a workshop for parish ministers at Newman Theological College in Alberta, entitled "Companions on the Journey: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship”, based on their book by that title. They have since returned to Canada to give parish missions.
Kathy’s doctorate in spiritual formation is from Catholic University, and she has a Master of Pastoral Studies from the Washington Theological Union. She is married to Scott Brown, an economist with the International Monetary Fund, and the mother of two sons, Christopher and Stephen. Chris is a graduate student, and Steve is a senior in college.
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