Our very own Youth and Family Minister, Rev. Jackie Green, was one of five local heroes awarded a 2015 Spirit Award. Way to go Jackie! We are so proud of her, and now the rest of Spokane knows just how wonderful, spirit-led and dedicated she is.
Here is what Darin Burt of Prime Spokane Magazine had to say about Rev. Jackie…
On the door to her office at Unity Spiritual Center Spokane is a name plaque reading, “Jackie Green, Director of Family Services.” But to Jackie, it’s kind of a formal title for what she really does: serving as a presence in the church for children, families and adults who work with the young people.
Everybody is a part of the congregation, and everybody is influencing what is happening in the ministry by their presence. It’s not so much that the young people are going to be the leaders of our church community in the future—they’re making a difference right now,” says Jackie, who has been a member of Unity since 1972.
Jackie, 75, began as a volunteer with Unity youth, and in1979 she was hired by the Northwest Region of the Association of Unity Churches to serve as Youth Education Consultant, a role that she continues to hold.
With so much stress and pressure on kids these days, Jackie sees the importance of young people becoming aware of their own unique place in the world, and in taking responsibility for their own actions. Her teaching is to “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
“By the very light that we are when we are born into this world, we are valued, unique and important, and can connect with our higher power. We all have the divine within us . . . it’s not like there’s somebody out there telling us what to do; if we’re listening we’ll know what to do,” says Jackie, who was ordained as a Unity Minister in 2004.
“People often ask me, ‘Are you still working?’ and I’ll say to them, ‘It feeds me and revitalizes me.’ Some of my reward is that I feel like I’m still growing and waking up to the possibilities of life.”
Read the full article here.
