Laura Collins is guiding our Sunday celebrations and holiday services through Via Negativa and the end of the 2022, organizing and delivering inspiring services during this time of letting go of old expectations to make way for exciting new visions of our community’s future. Laura served as Jubilee!’s minister of transition from August 2020 to November 2021, providing wise, heartfelt leadership during the turmoil of the pandemic. A long-time Jubilant, she is an ordained Presbyterian minister who has worked with many faith-based organizations – including Presbyterian, Quaker, Catholic and Unity – while her own spiritual journey includes retreating with yogis, Sufi dancers and various healing traditions. She most recently served in the challenging position of opening the Lutheran Services Carolinas office of refugee resettlement for newly arriving Afghan refugees in Asheville. This diverse background provides Laura with a unique vision that is well aligned with our community’s spiritual values and commitment to social and environmental justice. Visit Laura's website.

Jay Joslin, Minister of Ritual, Teaching & Counseling

Here is what Jay has to say about his role as Minister of Ritual, Teaching & Counseling:  "There's a lot of words in the title, and wordiness is something I try to avoid in ritual. Ritual does not need to be filled with activity...it needs space for listening. I find that listening and reflecting back is essential in any aspect of ministry. As a Qualified Mental Health Professional with most of my career focused in trauma and crisis, and a Board Certified Addictions Counselor, I've been most informed by working 'in the trenches' of the Holy. As a child, I had an insatiable curiosity to learn about belief systems, perhaps to fuel my imagination. That's where creation comes in. If we're making it up as we go along, perhaps the Divine is as well. That's what excites me about Jubilee!. We've been making it up as we go along, just like the Universe. As above, so below, after all."  

For centuries the Tsa la gi yi A ye li (The Principle People/Cherokee) have called the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina home. Yona FrenchHawk is of the BirdClan and tribal member of The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). It has long been their vision of the coming together of all tribes of Mother Earth. A return to nature, balance and harmony with the understanding that the Great Mystery of life is forever evolving and revealing. As a ceremonial leader, singer and storyteller, Yona’s life work is dedicated to helping to bridge the Ancient Future with the Ancient Past. Helping us to return to the first language of life that was taught to us by Mother Earth, and reminding us of the depth of love and gratitude for all living things and beings that contribute to the sacred Hoop of Life. Spiritual connection to who we are as One Indigenous Tribe of this planet is vital to knowing what seed we are to feed and sustain our future generations. In a good way.

Howard Hanger, Founder & Minister Emeritus
A graduate of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Howard relocated from Detroit to Asheville and joined the staff of Central United Methodist Church in Asheville, where he formed a nondenominational worship service that he called “experimental ministry."  This is where he planted the first seeds for what was to become Jubilee! Community in 1984. Attendance grew rapidly, prompting Howard to leave the Methodist church and form the independent Jubilee! Community in 1989.  He also founded the Hanger Hall for Girls middle school in Asheville. Howard retired in August 2019, but officiates (by request) at baptisms, marriages and other ceremonies – and is often seen (in plainclothes) at Jubilee! celebrations.  Howard once formed a band that toured nationally.  He has a thing for bananas.

Based in Charleston, SC, Cathryn leads guided movement and dance as a living embodiment of prayer.  She is co-founder of The Joyful Revolution, an effort to highlight people, planet and pleasure with singing, dancing, parading and connecting for justice.  Cathryn serves as a celebrant for weddings, funerals and sacred rituals. www.cathrynthegrateful.com 

From 2008 until COVID-19 safety precautions temporarily closed the Nurture Program for Youth, Vicki served as the Nurture Coordinator and Curriculum Specialist at Jubilee! With a strong background in childhood development and education, she received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Brown University and Ph.D. from the University of Alabama.  She previously taught a variety of courses  at Warren Wilson College, where she served as chair of the Psychology Department.  Vicki is also the author of "We All Have Sacred Spaces," a children's book exploring the sacred sites from seven of the world's major faith traditions.

After decades spent in social work, applied social research, video production and political activism, Daniel returned to music and soon found himself bringing a wide array of music into Jubilee! celebrations in 2001.  In addition to accompanying services with the incredible Howard Hanger for 19 years, he facilitated numerous Cosmic Mass rituals and extended Vision Quest encampments.  For over 10 years he led an events band and did improv music and acting for Asheville Playback Theatre.  In 2015, he created I Am Sound LLC to help people who feel stuck and out of tune to inhabit their authentic, creative selves on piano and elsewhere in their lives in the midst of reality.  He loves witnessing when somebody else “gets” that they’re naturally musical too.  Daniel retired as Jubilee!'s band leader in 2021.

Jackie Dobrinska, Minister of Community Life

Jackie is a holistic health educator, wise woman practitioner, yoga therapist and author. She has mentored with some of the world's preeminent teachers, scholars and visionaries in mystical traditions, weaving together wisdom from around the world. She has taught regionally at universities, hospitals, studios, businesses, national conferences and festivals, passing on tools that empower individuals in their own health, transformation and evolution. She is also a teacher and writer for Yoga International. Jackie left her staff position at Jubilee! in 2021 to work for Ram Dass' Love, Serve, Remember Foundation. 

Candace is a leader of celebration and ritual, songwriter and author of Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians (2008, Jossey-Bass).  A graduate of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, she leads workshops on writing, spirituality and metaphysical topics such as A Course in Miracles.  She is active in the fight for LGBTQ rights and other progressive causes. A former journalist with over 30 years experience, including a six-year stint at CNN, Candace is the founder and editor emeritus of Whosoever: An Online Magazine for LGBT Christians, which began in 1996 and is back online with new leadership and vision. She enjoys time with her dogs, Pax and The Lord (a German Shepherd, so yes...“The Lord is my shepherd”) and her three cats, George, Salix and Rumi.

Chris Andrews

Chris is leader of the Jubilee! Pioneers, the Jubilee! community in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A community activitist, he is executive director of Rebuilding Together Baton Rouge (RTBR), a non-profit with the mission of helping elderly homeowners remain in their homes and age in place. RTBR addresses safety, access, and efficiency issues that impact the quality of life of the homeowner.

Justin is an an ordained Jubilee! minister and an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, who is currently keeping the main thing, the main thing at Caldwell Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC. He was a student at Wesley Theological Seminary and studied  World Religion at Warren Wilson College.  He has an amazing wife who is busily saving the world as an environmental attorney, and three rambunctious children.

Alba is a Queer Evangelical Femme who lives and loves in la Lucha with QTPOC folks as a Spiritual Healer and Bruja Troublemaker to combat spiritual terrorism, reclaim the Divine, and eradicate shame and fear wherever they are found.  The Spiritual Strategist for Soulforce and a Co-founder of the Sexual Liberation Collective, Reverend Sex works with individuals and small groups to decode white Christian Supremacy, heal internalized religious-based trauma, rebuild our ethics, and reclaim our sacred desires and spiritual practices. 

Barbara Brady

With a strong belief in “One God, Many Paths," Barbara has been on a spiritual growth path for the past 25 years, and has studied Christianity, Buddhism, Sukyo Mahikari, Metaphysics, Creation Spirituality, what she likes to call “Jesusism” (separate from religious dogma), meditation and symbolism.  Ordained as an Interfaith Minister, Barbara is a Celebrant Leader, Transformational Coach, Certified Grief Recovery Specialist, writer, painter, Jubilant, and much more.