Our founder, Father Scott Baldwin from All Saints Episcopal Church in San Francisco, California, has said of the Community of Francis and Clare:
The Home Communities of Francis and Clare (informally organized as Third Order/also known as Householder Order) are post-denominational communities of persons who desire to share a common, yet individual, spiritual journey. Those who are and have been a part of this community come to us from a variety of traditions and have felt the deep stirring of the Spirit and sought out a safe place, a community, where these traditions could be freely explored, celebrated and shared in a climate of mutual respect. We are Christian, neo-Christian, Jewish, Pagan/Wiccan, Native American and more... it is our common desire to move beyond these labels in this developing post-denominational era... The well known and universal appeal of the creation-centered mystics, Francis and Clare of Assisi, has been the calling card which made it possible to bring this diverse community together...
Father Scott went Home to be with the Lord in 1998 and we carry on the tradition in our own way here at Lothlorien House. We welcome those who share our interest in deep ecumenism and the Franciscan style of spirituality to contact us.
Jamie Brown is a Sister in the Community of Francis and Clare and an Associate of the (Episcopal) Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity at St. Mary's in Santa Barbara, California. Sr. Jamie began doing yoga in 1976 at the age of 13 and has studied various forms of yoga including hatha, jnana, kundalini, bhakti, tantra and kriya. She was certified in kriya yoga by Self Realization Fellowship as well as Ananda Yoga Fellowship in the mid 1980s. She has had the privilege of studying with yogis including Ram Dass and Swami Kriyananda, and in 1989 received the Empowerment of Padmasambhava from the Dalai Lama. Sr. Jamie is a Heart of Yoga teacher and an advisor for Advanced Yoga Practices, certified by Expert Rating in Chandigarh, India and a member of Independent Yoga Educators of America. She received her B.A. in Philosophy from Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL and M.A. in Psychology from Sierra University in Costa Mesa, CA and wrote her Master's Thesis on "The Psychology of Nonattachment in the Bhagavad Gita."
Ivey Blount, a.k.a. "Hawk," is a Native American (Seminole/Creek), born and raised in Florida.
He is the owner of Fabulous Floors, LLC (www.FabulousFloorsLLC.com) and is largely responsible for the renovation/beautification of Lothlorien House including the wood dance floor and tile in the bathrooms. He also maintains the grounds, seeking to keep a balance between preserving the wildness of the land and respecting the wild creatures, with whom he has a special bond, while at the same time making the land accessible to our human visitors. Hawk enjoys taking visitors on walks through the woods and meadows and providing instruction in zen archery and tai chi.
We would like to thank Joseph and Gloria Brown, without whose generosity Lothlorien House would not exist.
