Exploring The Sacred | Multifaith Celebration

Join us on Wednesday, September 21st, 2022, for another evening of general listening with James E. Trapp, Rev. Rick Harrell, Roger Guinee, and Rev. Jason Bense.

Join The Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/94740768320

Speakers

The Rev. Jason E. Bense

 The Rev. Bense serves as the Pastor of a two point parish the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer and Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Sacramento.  He is in his first call after studying at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (MDiv ’08) and Valparaiso University (BA ’01).  He served a vicarage in Kingston, New York, clinical pastoral education at Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago, a term of studies at Oakhill Seminary in London, England, and is a native of Columbus, Indiana.

Jason has a passion for urban ministry, ecumenical and interfaith work.  He served two years in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps working for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service to coordinate the Detention Watch Network in Baltimore, Maryland and the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education in Chicago, Illinois.

The Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer of which Jason serves has a nearly 60 year history in Sacramento of social activism including protesting the Vietnam war, calling and ordaining the first woman for Lutherans in the region, activism around racial redlining in the housing market, and taking a public witness in support of gays and lesbians in 1989.  The current focus of the congregation is confronting the abuse of the earth by working to create a community garden on its vacant acre lawn and encouraging study of local food systems. Gethsemane Lutheran Church has a long history of interfaith and ecumenical work.  Currently the mission emphases of Gethsemane are in support of those facing domestic violence and older adult ministries.

In addition to serving as a Reserve Chaplain to the United States Airforce (Travis Air Force Base), Jason has done work as an Associate Chaplain for Sutter Medical Center and served on the hospital’s Bioethics Committee and the Professional Consultation Committee for the Spiritual Care Department.  He has also been a member and officer of the Interfaith Counsel of Greater Sacramento and appointed representative on the North State Ecumenical Commission.  He has chaired the planning task force for the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center and is a speaker in the Center’s educational outreach, is a board member of Opening Doors which resettles refuges in Sacramento.  In the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA), Jason serves on the Policy Council of the Lutheran Office of Public Policy, has served as a Conference Dean and Treasurer, completed a term on the Candidacy Committee of the Synod, and serves on the synod’s Hunger Committee.  Jason sits as an invited member of the faith advisory boards of Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones and Sacramento City Police Department. An avid runner, Jason is a member of Frontrunners Sacramento and enjoys swimming and yoga.

Roger Guinee

Roger Guinee worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) from February, 1977 until he retired in June, 2015. During the early years of his career with the Service he worked at several fish hatcheries, raising Chinook salmon and steelhead trout, and was also responsible for the environmental education programs which included leading tours of school groups who came on field trips to the hatcheries. Roger moved to the Service’s Ecological Office in Sacramento in 1985 where his responsibilities included participating in several major river studies to evaluate and assess the instream flow needs for salmon and steelhead trout. Before retiring, Roger served as the supervisor of a Service team of biologists and hydrologists who were responsible for working with other natural resource agencies to protect the threatened Delta smelt in the Bay-Delta estuary, and implement flow objectives and habitat measures that contribute to Chinook salmon and steelhead habitat and ecosystem restoration in California’s Central Valley rivers and streams.

Since retiring, Roger has been doing service and participating with the Baha’i Faith community in study classes, devotions, racial healing discussions, and public meetings in Citrus Heights and the Sacramento area. He has been a Baha’i since 1972. His experience includes serving on the Spiritual Assembly of Citrus Heights since the 1980s, serving as a member of the Interfaith Service Bureau during the 1990s and facilitating educational programs on eliminating racial prejudice in the United States. He and his wife, Cathy have lived in Citrus Heights, CA since 1987, where they raised their three grown children, Dustin, Jason and Jonathan. His family has now expanded to include two wonderful daughter-in-laws, and three incredible granddaughters.

James Trapp

Rev. James Trapp is an inspirational speaker and strategic advisor to individuals and organizations on Enlightened Leadership.

He is currently the Senior Minister of Worship at Spiritual Life Center in Sacramento, California. He is also President of Star Human Capital, a consulting firm dedicated to applying Universal Spiritual Principles to inspire and instruct others to create their best lives and strategically improve their organizations.

He is former CEO of Unity Worldwide Ministries, the international association for Unity Churches dedicated to creating positive paths for spiritual living. James is an active participant in cultivating a global community and fostering mutual understanding and respect amongst spiritual traditions of the world and has participated in the Parliament of the World’s Religions held in Barcelona, Spain, and Melbourne, Australia.

He also served as Senior Minister at Unity on the Bay in Miami, Florida – a dynamic and diverse spiritual community in South Florida.

As a speaker and thought leader, he shares his message of respect, appreciation, and harmony with others in the global community. He has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences, meetings, and events.

In addition to being an Ordained Unity Minister, James has a bachelor’s degree in Economics and African American Studies from Princeton University and a JD Degree from the University of Florida.  He studied at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, where he enhanced his proficiency in practicing and teaching Mindfulness Meditation. He is also a facilitator of compassionate communication and the appreciative inquiry method for organizational change.

He is inspired by his son, Jaelan Mandela Trapp, a recent Howard University graduate.