I grew up in a peaceful and loving household in Laurel, MD.  However, it became somewhat less peaceful after I picked up the trombone in elementary school, and soon after starting playing punk rock tunes on my guitar with friends.  Fortunately, my parents were generous and supportive of me in my early noise-making. I professed belief in Jesus Christ as a youth, and my faith was formed at my church and at a summer camp in PA called Summer's Best Two Weeks. As an achiever, I excelled in school and music, but it was the realization that I could not be perfect that led me to encounter the free love of God in a life-changing way. After 20 years of hard work trying to measure up, I confessed my deepest sins to a friend and experienced the reality of grace. I graduated from St. Olaf College in MN with a degree in music and spent my first post-graduate year teaching music in Guyana, South America. Afterward, I spent two years building affordable housing through the AmeriCorps program with Habitat for Humanity in Baltimore.  My passions at Life Connection Church are to nurture excellence in music and art, to be a listening and caring presence, and to see lives transformed by Jesus.