Michael was born and raised as a Baptist in a small steel mill town in northeast Ohio. At the age of twelve he was ordained as a youth minister at his local church. After graduation from high school Michael served in the U.S. Navy and thus began the journey that brings him here now!
Professionally, Michael is a Certified Surgical Technologist with about 30 years of experience. Michael has worked as a Surgical Technology Instructor and Program Manager at various career colleges around the country.
He often says that his experiences as an independent contractor for hospital based surgical departments is a large factor in his love of diversity in life. Michael currently serves surgical patients as a senior Surgical Technologist on the off-shift specialty team at Mayo Clinic here in Jacksonville.
His community building experience includes welcoming diversity and conflict resolution work with the National Coalition Building institute (NCBI) in upstate New York and Toronto and Inward Journey Inc. in Memphis and Chicago.
Michael has been a member of UUCJ for five years and currently serves as Chair of the Adult Religious Education Committee (which he fondly calls the Adult Religious “Experience” Committee).
As part of his diverse spiritual journey Michael consults with local Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors as a physical health practice and works on his spiritual and emotional well-being by participating in sweat lodge rituals in the Lakota Native American/indigenous people’s traditions.
Spiritually speaking, Michael is an admitted Taoist that worships as a Khemitic Spiritual Philosophy Initiate under the teachings of the Ausar Auset Society International. Throughout his journey Michael has learned from, prayed, and meditated with Japanese, Lao, and Thai Buddhist monks, African priests and priestess, and native American shamans.
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