aboutus

ABOUT ELISSA BISHOP-BECKER, M.Ed., LPC, NCC AND
THE REV. DR. RANDOLPH W.B. BECKER

A physicist ... a tinkerer ...a rabid non-theist ... an accordionist ... a sociologist ... a Thoreauvian ... a railroad engineer ... a father ... a Unitarian Universalist minister ... a world traveler ... an empirical rationalist ... a spiritual humanist ... a religious education consultant ... a grieving parent ... an eternal optimist ... a spiritual communicator ... my journey has passed through all of these descriptions. Some of the sights and resting places along my way from birth in Utica, New York as a baby boomer to residence since February 2007, in Key West, Florida have been:
Brandeis University; Eastman Kodak Research Labs; Meadville Theological School of Lombard College at the University of Chicago; Mayo Clinic; Providence, Rhode Island; Andover, Massachusetts; National Clown, Mime, and Sacred Dance Ministry Workshops; Long Island, New York; Paris and Avignon, France; National Council of Churches Family and Child Social Justice Working Group; Venice, Italy; Leadership Historical Triangle, Virginia. From 1995-2003, I was minister to the Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists, and then in 2003 moved to served the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in Park Forest, Illinois. In 2007, I became the first full time minister to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Key West. This religious community is one of amazing openness and acceptance, and this larger community is one which embodies the values I hold about diversity, inclusion, and vision. Today I would describe myself as a spiritual social change agent. Informed by the spiritual gifts I am being given by Rikkity, I am seeking to facilitate that paradigm shift, that change of world view, for which so many hunger and upon which our collective future evolution depends. I am ready for the change, and ready to work for that change.

Randy

I was born on July 20, 1947 in New York City, and spent most of my life on Long Island. I have always been a spiritual seeker. My father introduced me to Rosicrucianism when I was a child, and from there I investigated--with varying degrees of enthusiasm--Judaism, Christianity, the Seth material, yoga, meditation, dreams, astrology, Unitarian Universalism, and many other paths to spiritual growth and insight. I also had a near-death experience that gave me a glimpse of the afterlife. I was always aware of my high level of psychic sensitivity, but did not realize my abilities as a medium until my daughter Ericka's death on August 20, 1995--2 weeks after we moved to Williamsburg, Virginia. At that time, I began to cultivate and develop my abilities.

I am also a writer and published poet, and have written 2 books: one about my journey through grief and our communications with Ericka (now known as Rikkity in spirit) during the year following her death, entitled Handcuffed To a Rainbow, and another about an expanded theory of the grief process, entitled The Grief Spiral: Transformative Bereavement and the Power of Loss. Currently both manuscripts are being offered to publishers.

The third primary focus of my life has been helping others. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor (NCC) with a Master's degree (M.Ed.) in Community Counseling. I am the co-founder of the Center for Transformative Counseling, Inc., specializing in grief, loss, addiction, and spirituality. And I look forward to what the future will bring!

Elissa