Hi, my name is Rev. Dr. Sharri Johnson, and I am the Senior Minister and lead faculty for One Heart Retreats. This is how I came to be here:

I have spent my life in search of spiritual understanding, as an educator, mother, friend and practitioner.  My goal is to continue that search, to be like a spiritual tree – as my high school biology teacher said, “Trees never die from old age, they only die when some outside force causes them to stop growing” –  to me that is the epitome of “staying open at the top”. In fulfilling this goal, I hope to be a model, a teacher, and a facilitator of growth for all who cross my path. 

Although I was born in Junction City, Kansas, I have lived in 37 states, and been the “new kid in school” 38 times, not counting teaching appointments.  I graduated from high school in Irving, Texas.  After two marriages, each producing one child, had ended in divorce, I realized I really needed to go back to college and get a degree that would enable me to support and educate my children. I enrolled at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and completed a B.S. in Mathematics in three years, working 40 hours per week at the same time. By the time graduation rolled around, I had married a professor, who adopted my daughter and I prepared to go to graduate school, so that I could teach college.  I completed my Master of Computer Studies degree in 14 months by taking classes in the summer, followed by fall and spring semesters, and finishing up in the second summer.  I then taught college for 17 years, even going so far as to write a Computer Science textbook, before I discovered my true calling of ministry. 

A great deal happened in those 17 years: my husband, who was in the throes of alcoholism, and unwilling to consider any spiritual path, reached rock bottom, and I went through a third divorce.  I had an automobile accident that was my responsibility and the man in the other car died.  My first grandson was born.  My son, his father, who had been diagnosed as bipolar, but refused to take medication, took his own life.  In my life I have been exposed to addiction in a spouse, bipolar disorder that eventually led to my son’s suicide, bankruptcy and divorce. My youngest sister a lesbian who just married her partner of 27 years, so I have experienced, through her, the is challenges of sexual discrimination. All of these experiences seem to me to be wonderful on-the-job training for ministry, and that has helped me to thrive and to help others thrive as well. 

When I finally accepted the call to ministry, with some trepidation, I asked in prayer for guidance regarding my ministry (I did not see myself as a pulpit minister) and I received an astounding and detailed vision of a retreat center in the mountains. I followed that vision for over 20 years, convinced that it came direct from the Divine Mind. I even found a husband who was at the end of a 40-year career in hotel management, and saw my vision of ministry as the next logical and spirit-driven step for him. He supported me through Ministerial training and spent most of his time searching for the “right” site. In my final term of seminary, he found a site outside Marshall, AR.

 My husband and I liquidated all of our assets, sold our house and most of what was in it (I even sold most of my 30-year collection of dragons!), in order to bring this vision into manifestation. Then we set out to purchase and equip One Heart Retreat Center outside Marshall, Arkansas.  We moved here in the middle of October, 2017. There were physical and financial challenges with the property, but we KNEW this was where we were meant to build.

On February 19, 2018, my husband was quite unexpectedly diagnosed with acute small-cell lung cancer that had metastasized to his brain, his spine, his liver, and his adrenals. On March 19, 2018, he made his transition.  He chose not to have a memorial service, donated his body to science, and requested that donations be sent to One Heart Retreat Center in lieu of flowers. His only request of me was that I keep One Heart alive and fulfill the vision we had shared for so long.  The rest, as they say, is history!

Bennette Seaman was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas. Bennette and her husband Bob have raised 6 children and now have 5 grandchildren. She attended the University of Kansas when her youngest child reached age 5, where she studied Political Science, Philosophy and Religion. She is currently managing her husband’s dental practice on a part time basis, to allow time for work she is passionate about.

As the Public Relations Officer for the Church of Scientology of Kansas City, a member of the Justice & Dignity Center Coalition, and GYRL (Giving Yourself Real Love) in Kansas City, Bennette works to bring people together on work to improve conditions in the city and establish stronger relationships between churches and other like-minded groups.  She organizes and participates regularly in events from disaster response work to forwarding the message of human rights. Having a large and diverse family, she truly appreciates the good in all and seeks to bring others together in the same spirit.

Ira Sirkar has served as the Sufi Faith Director with the GKC Interfaith Council since 2011. He has been a student of Sufism since 1976 and is an ordained minister, a Cherag, in the Sufi Universal Worship, a concentration that brings the world’s religions together to promote understanding and spiritual awakening for humanity in a prayer service.

He is also a leader of the Dances of Universal Peace, which uses sacred phrases from the world’s faiths traditions, attunements with embodiments of the divine, music and simple dances in a moving mediation and tantric practice.

He has also served as the Kansas City program coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker-based peace and justice organization since 1986.  In that capacity he has organized programs on conflict resolution, social and economic justice, opposition to war, promotion of peace and youth civic engagement and leadership.

He has a master’s degree in conflict resolution and bachelor’s degrees in art/environmental science and elementary education. He is an avid gardener and was the founding director of the KC Community Garden Project. He is happily married and lives and gardens with his wife, Leila, in south Kansas City.

Rev. Dr. Matthew Silvers is a pastor at Lee’s Summit Christian Church (DOC) and has served that faith community since 2009. He has been part of the People of Faith for Peace since its inception and has participated in various interreligious gatherings across the city. He completed a Doctor of Ministry project entitled “Tables of Peace: Constructing a Theology of an Interreligious Welcome Table.” This project focused on the challenging yet necessary work of practicing hospitality within one’s interreligious context by sharing food, fellowship, and interfaith dialogue. While tolerance may be a first step on the journey, he believes we should not stop at mere tolerance; rather, we must strive for true community and deeper relationships with friends from all faith traditions. In this pursuit, the goal of peace, civility, and community are possible. In the future, he hopes to find ways to continue building community and deepening relationships with people of all faiths.

Teresa is a Pastoral Minister at Visitation Catholic Church in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph who has also ministered in Houston, Jefferson City, and Boston; after earning a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.A. in Theology. For over 25 years her academic and personal focus has been in religious literacy, interfaith dialogue and peacemaking; beginning with combating anti-Semitism within the Church. She has served on nearly a dozen interfaith commissions and is a vowed Lay Associate of the Congregation of Notre Dame de Sion. Through this work she regularly confronts racism and xenophobia through allyship and the religious education she directs at the parish level; including being a founding board member of Kansas City Catholics Addressing Racism established in 2021.

Read more about Teresa here.

Geneva Blackmer is a five precepts lay Buddhist within the Kwan um School of Zen since 2014. She is a Ph.D. Candidate at Amridge University, earned a Master’s of Ecumenical Studies from the University of Bonn in 2023, and a Master of Arts in Religious Studies in 2019 from Athens State University. She is the current Interim Executive Director for the Interfaith Center at Miami University, and a Research Assistant at the University of Bonn in the Seminar for Religious Pedagogy (previously in the department of Intercultural Theology). She has served as a Global Council Trustee for the United Religions Initiative (URI) North America since 2020. Her background consists of interreligious and ecumenical cooperation at a grassroots level, working with numerous other interfaith organizations in varying capacities, including the North American Interfaith Network, the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada, the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington DC,  Faith Communities Go Green, Interfaith Cincy, the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, and the World Faiths Center for Religious Experience and Study (CRES). In 2019, she founded the Kansas City Interfaith History Project, with guidance from the Rev. Vern Barnet, DMn, and the Rev. Larry Guillot, sacrae theologiae doctor, to preserve the unique and rich interfaith history of the greater Kansas City region.

Barb McAtee has been a member of the Baha’i Faith since 1966. She has served on the local Spiritual Assemblies of Kansas City, MO, Evanston, IL, Manhattan, KS, and Overland Park, KS. She also served at the office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States in Evanston, IL for two years. She has traveled extensively, including a nine-day pilgrimage to the Baha’i World Center in Haifa, Israel and to other holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Cairo, and London.

Barb is a trained study circle tutor. She has also taken various classes regarding the Baha’i Faith and other faiths through Wilmette University, an online academic institute. She is trained in CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management). She served on the CISM team and the Diversity Advisory Council at KU Med; and was a founding member of KUMC Interfaith at KU Med, where she retired in 2003. In addition to being a member of the board of GKCIC, she is:

• Member of the Board of Directors of Cultural Crossroads
• Member of the Board of Shawnee Mission Hospital’s Institute for Spirituality and Health
• Dialogue Racism Facilitator
• CPR/Advanced First Aid Trainer for the Red Cross
• Explorer Post Advisor
• Cub Scout Den Mother
• Interfaith Advisory Council at Kansas State University
• 2011 recipient of the Vern Barnet Interfaith Service Award in 2011

She majored in Criminal Justice at Washburn University. She was a legal secretary for four years and a police officer/detective for 24 years. She is currently employed by Fire Consulting International, Inc., a fire consulting and investigation firm.

She and her husband Rob enjoy biking, hiking, traveling, wilderness camping, whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, dancing, music, and playing with grandchildren. They host interfaith devotions at “Camp Harmony” each year during the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. For several years, Barb wrote music reviews and interviews of bluegrass entertainers for the former publication, Cross Country Magazine.

Lama Matthew has been practicing Buddhism since his 20’s and as says, “The only accomplishments I can claim about my mediation practice is that it is slow and steady and stuck in first gear. Studying mainly the Tibetan system for Buddhism I have developed an appreciation for the Rime approach towards the different schools with a particular fondness for the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions.” He admits he has been very fortunate in being able to share the knowledge he has gained with others, while his primary practice, off the cushion, is trying to bring a peaceful and joyous mind to all those he meets.

At the beginning of 2016 Lama Matthew became the Spiritual Director of the Rime Buddhist Center & Institute of Tibetan Studies. In this role he is the administrator on a day-to-day basis, yet also teaches classes on meditation and Buddhism and performs Buddhist ceremonies, including weddings and funerals. Matthew is the Buddhist Director on the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. He is also a member of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.

Rev. Michael Stephens grew up in Kansas City and has experience in the Christian Church (DOC), United Methodist, Episcopal and Southern Baptist circles. Since 2002, he has been the pastor at Southwood United Church of Christ in Raytown which is very progressive theologically and works toward social justice in many areas symbolized by the full inclusion and affirmation of LGBTQ people.

Michael has been a part of and held leadership positions in ministerial alliances in every community where he has served as pastor. Raytown’s ministerial alliance had voted to become an interfaith alliance right before he came. Ever since, he has been a prominent voice insisting they truly live into that vision. When providing leadership for MLK Celebrations, Mayor’s Prayer Breakfasts, Community Thanksgiving Services and prayers at the City Board of Alderman gatherings he has consistently been sensitive and given voice to the many faiths practiced in our community.

Michael feels truly honored to have a seat at the GKCIC table each month. The vision of that table is a continuing fulfillment of what he sees as a sacred dream for the human family. Unfortunately, we do not always live out the best expressions of ourselves. Michael recognizes a certain tension representing the vastness of Protestant Christianity with a past and present that is not always welcoming of other faiths. While his congregation’s faith leads them to a far more open, welcoming and progressive theology and practice, he is committed to strive to faithfully represent Protestantism in its history, faith, theology and diverse practice. Learn more about the church Michael serves at  www.ThatChurch.us.

Usha Saha, Ph.D., was born in Vijayawada, India in a Hindu family and practiced “Hinduism’, which is more than a religion. It is a culture, a way of life, and a code of behavior. She comes from a family of professionals. Her father was in the Air Force and her mother was a school principal. Her siblings are doctors, educators, and engineers. Married in 1990, she and her husband came to the U.S. in 1991 as postdoctoral fellows after completion of their Ph.Ds. Their son was only six months old at the time. Later she changed from research to public school teaching so that she could devote more time for her son. Her passion for learning did not stop. She earned two master’s degrees in education from the University of Missouri in Kansas City (UMKC) before beginning work in school administration.

She is active with the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center (HTCC) in Shawnee, KS where she is the Director of Outreach and also served in various capacities for over 20 years including the president of HTCC in 2017. Dr. Saha and her husband are very proud of their son who is an M.D. from UMKC School of Medicine and currently pursuing a fellowship in Child Psychiatry at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO.

Dr. Saha has been representing the India Association of Kansas City (IAKC) as the ethnic commissioner for more than a decade to Kansas City Mayor’s Ethnic Commission. She is also a member of board of directors at the United Nations of Kansas City, Missouri Chapter, and International Relations Council (IRC) in Kansas City. She brings diversity to the UN and IRC and fosters relationships with the Indian and Asian community. She is determined to bring different cultures together and close the gaps. Her professional life has no limits in mentoring and educating high school students and preparing them as respected global citizens.

Zulfiqar (Zulfi) Malik is a founding member taking a leading role in the establishment of the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City and its institutions such as the Islamic Center of Greater Kansas City, Mid-America Muslim Cemetery and the Islamic School. He is the editor of the Muslim community newsletter.

Alan Edelman is a native of Kansas City. After receiving a B.A. in Child Development, Alan attended the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he received a Master’s Degree in Jewish Education. Since 1977, he has served in a number of professional capacities including congregational educator, regional director for the Conservative Movement and executive director of the Central Agency for Jewish Education. Beginning in 1994, Alan served as Associate Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City with the portfolios of Jewish Education, Leadership Development and Israel & Overseas until his retirement in June 2017 to devote more time to volunteering. Alan and his wife, Debbie Sosland-Edelman, have four children, Alex, Katja (and husband Ari), and Jonathan. Our first grandchild, Noa Dorit, came into the world in August 2017.

Karta Purkh has been a member of the Sikh path, or Panth, for 50+ years. He came to the teachings of Guru Nanak as the result of his practice of Kundalini Yoga and meditation. The logic and precision of his yogic practices, discovered after a number years of searching for a “spiritual path” blended perfectly with the beliefs of Sikhism and his own personal beliefs developed over the years.

Sikhism requires meditative remembrance of God through chanting and repeating God’s name on a daily basis. It also requires the Sikh to work by the sweat of his brow and NOT profit by the sweat of others. An honest living must be earned honestly and righteously. Additionally, a Sikh is obligated to share these blessings with those less fortunate.

Karta Purkh rises each day (usually) at least two hours before the Sun. He bathes (usually) in a cold shower in preparation for prayer, yoga, meditation and scriptural reading. It is through this process that he has been able to adjust and change his life from one that might be called dissolute into a life of effort towards excellence.

One of his favorite quotes from his teacher Yogi Bhajan is, “Never be right or wrong, always be neutral.” Karta Purkh sincerely believes that while living this kind of life is neither simple nor easy, it is worthwhile. He believes that all of life is merely training for us in how to die with the Remembrance of God in our hearts, minds and on our lips.

Linda Prugh is a member of the Vedanta Society of Kansas City, where she has served as secretary since 1980. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in English and Masters of Arts in Reading Education from the University of Missouri. She taught English in a public high school for five years and managed a private tutoring clinic for six years.

The first Vedanta Societies in the United States were founded by Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), who travelled from India to speak on Vedanta at the World’s Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893. The swami taught in the west for some years, then organized the Ramakrishna Order of India, a monastic organization named for his spiritual teacher, Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886). Brother disciples of Vivekananda as well as their spiritual descendants also taught in the west. Today there are 17 Vedanta centers in the United States and centers on every continent.

Linda is the author of a biography of a bold, vivacious American woman who met Vivekananda in New York in 1895, became his disciple, and helped him carry the message of Vedanta to other U.S. cities as well as England and France. The book, Josephine MacLeod and Vivekananda’s Mission, was published in Chennai, India. Linda has also authored numerous articles on Vivekananda, Vedanta, and related topics, most of which have been published in journals of the Ramakrishna Order. She has also assisted others in research and editing for Vedanta books and articles. Currently she is working on an article devoted to the universality of Vedanta, as taught by Swami Vivekananda, and she is editing a series of articles on Vedanta and Christ.

Linda is a Vedanta student, claiming no expertise in any aspect of Vedanta teachings. However, she loves Vedanta as a philosophy, a spiritual path, and a way of life. She is married to Bill Prugh, an attorney and they are members of a Methodist church in Overland Park, and have a grown daughter in Chicago.

Rev. Kelly Isola, MDiv., is passionate about supporting people and organizations to live and love more authentically – to move toward a better version of themselves so they can make their mark on the world. She is masterful at relating concepts across her various life experiences, which allows her to connect with and support audiences from all walks of life.

Rev. Kelly Isola is a one-of-a-kind force of nature, a genius with words, a brilliant thinker, and a professional excavator of individual and collective souls. She also masquerades as a consultant, teacher, author and transformative mentor.

She shares her passion for living the two-fold path of an engaged spiritual life – embracing the inner path of wisdom, as well as demonstrating the outer path of compassionate service in order to experience healing and transformation through the wholeness of the human experience.

Kelly’s has spent a lifetime dedicated to interfaith healing. Kelly grew up all over the world, being exposed to other cultures and religions at a young age. This showed her the need for greater understanding between faiths, and their inherent oneness. As Kelly is often heard saying, “If you go to the heart of your own religion, you will go to the heart of every religion.” Her commitment to interfaith understanding is extraordinary and has a global impact.

Rev. Kelly embodies interfaith ideals. She’s one person, yet her commitment to interfaith work helped create a system of governance for global peace efforts. Through the GKCIC Table of Faiths event, she invites people of all faiths to break bread together and find belonging with each other, while celebrating the differences and the sacredness of another’s faith. Through exceptional commitment, leadership, courage and capacity for inspiring others to embrace vulnerability and compassion, Kelly provides a personal interfaith touch with a global reach.

In 2009, Kelly facilitated the creation of an organized governing body and governing system for the Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace. Through Nonviolent Communication, Appreciative Inquiry, and other interfaith strategies, she facilitated leaders from across the globe, having different languages, cultures, and religious backgrounds, in creating the structures that support their work to this day, with representatives in 25 countries.

Through “Seva Journeys,” Kelly coordinates affordable trips around the world. Participants not only tour their destination but serve the local community and explore the variety of religious perspectives among group members and the religion of the country in which they travel. She courageously brought one of the first tour groups through Egypt after the revolution, exploring Islam and Egyptian theology.

Of course, interfaith work is pervasive through every life experience, just as individual religious experiences are in the makeup of who every individual is. One area of life where this is demonstrated is in disaster relief. In a disaster, the Jewish home is destroyed right along with the Muslim, Hindu, and Christian home. Disaster relief work is interfaith work. This became abundantly clear to Kelly when she was aiding in disaster relief after Katrina and, more recently, devastating tornados in Joplin, Missouri. As a spiritual leader, she worked with all faiths impacted. It takes courage to walk into the devastation of a tornado or hurricane. It takes great courage to cross the religious divide and provide spiritual support in such difficult times to those of many faiths.

She has written numerous articles for Unity magazine, various booklets, and a number of online magazines. She is also the co-author of the bestselling book, “Who Have You Come Here To Be: 101 Possibilities for Contemplation.” Read more about Kelly at www.kellyisola.com

Dr. Nakao was raised in the Methodist faith, and began her search for unification with the heart/mind of God at a young age, encouraging her parents to attend church as a child, even when on vacation in other states. After finishing her Ph.D. in Art Education at the University of Missouri, she was led to the practice of Sukyo Mahikari through a colleague at Northern Kentucky University. 

She has now practiced this spiritual path, which is compatible with many faiths and teaches the importance of interfaith collaboration for achieving the ultimate goal of God’s Plan on earth, for about thirty-five years.  She was formerly a center director for Sukyo Mahikari in at the Kentucky Renrakusho and the Cincinnati Okiyomesho, and a North American Regional Jun Kanbu (assistant staff).  She now serves as a “pioneering member” in the Heartland and gives purification by God’s Light at Light Circles in and around Kansas and Missouri. She was also one of the founding members of the Caucus on the Spiritual in Art Education (CSAE) of the National Art Education Association, and served as the Assistant Chair from 2009 – 2011 and the Chair of the caucus from 2011-2013.

Rev. Dr. Zac Harmon-McLaughlin is the director of the Community of Christ Seminary at Graceland University where he also serves on the faculty of religious studies. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Religion in 2008 from Graceland and Master of Arts in Religion in 2010 from Graceland’s Community of Christ Seminary. In 2019, he completed his Doctorate of Ministry in Executive Leadership from the San Francisco Theological Seminary.

Zac is an ordained minister in the Community of Christ and holds the priesthood office of Seventy. He has served as a full-time pastor, missionary coordinator and Mission Center president in various regions and states in the United States. He currently serves the church as a member of the Interfaith and Ecumenical Team and represents Community of Christ as a member of the Church World Service Member Board. He has had numerous publications for Community of Christ through Daily Bread and the Herald. Most recently, Zac was the regional development executive director for Community of Christ in Northern California and Western Nevada.

“I stay engaged in leadership development and practical ministerial application through religious education. My deep hope is to empower and inspire future innovative leaders and ministers to cultivate and create authentic, loving and transformative Christian community.”

Harmon-McLaughlin is passionate about peace and justice, environmental justice, and belonging. His research and study focus on post-church and radical ecclesiology. Harmon-McLaughlin considers himself a practitioner-scholar. His favorite quote is from theologian Anne Lamott, “The opposite of faith is not doubt. The opposite of faith is certainty.”