The Practitioners

A native of San Diego County, Rev. Dr. Jerry Troyer has been a New Thought/Religious Science minister since 2007, ordained in 2009.  He holds a Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate from Emerson Theological Institute.

Jerry has served as auctioneer at the annual ANTN Conference/Retreat since about 2015.

He served as volunteer ANTN Administrator starting in 2017, then was hired in 2018 as an employee.  He resigned from that position in 2020, and was appointed to the Board.  Rev. Dr. Jerry was elected to his first three-year term in 2021.

As an independent minister, Rev. Dr. Jerry guest speaks at ANTN, CSL, Religious Science and Unity centers and churches around the country, offering workshops on pertinent topics including grief and loss, the process of forgiveness, money and finances, accepting and navigating change, and a new one, titled “Radically Content: Being, Doing and Having Enough.”  He also serves Om Center for Spiritual Living in the San Diego area as a guest speaker at least once per month.

Jerry is a founding board member and currently Director of Relationship Development for Urban Street Angels, an organization in San Diego that works to end youth homelessness by providing housing, employment and life skills training to homeless transition age youth, ages 18 to 24.  He served on the Board from 2012 until 2017, when he resigned to become a paid employee.

Rev. Dr. Jerry lives in La Mesa, a suburb of San Diego, with his English Cream Golden Retriever, “Maggie.” His son Brandon and family, including seven grandchildren, live near Eugene, Oregon.

Michele Whittington became an ordained minister in 1997, received her Doctorate of Divinity in 2007 and had the honor and privilege of serving the spiritual community of Creative Living Fellowship in Phoenix, Arizona, for 22 years as its Senior Minister. As a certified Real Love coach for over a decade, she has worked with countless individuals and couples to make the internal changes necessary to create loving, joyous relationships. And now as an Art of Feminine Presence® master teacher, she has added a set of practices and tools to amplify her own personal power and magnetism and to support others in doing the same.

Rev. Bill Marchiony is a co-founder and Spiritual Director of New Thought Philadelphia. He has been a practitioner of Practical Healing Prayer since 2002. His spiritual studies began six years earlier, and he received ministerial credentials in 2011 from the Emerson Theological Institute.

Rev. Bill is the author of "Practical Prayer for Real Results", available in Kindle and paperback versions at Amazon.com and other booksellers. It's a wonderful primer on the steps of Practical Prayer, with 40 complete prayers on a variety of topics that you can customize for your own immediate use.

This young convert was deeply impressed and determined to make these the rules of his life. From that day onward throughout his life he made it a rule to spend the first moments of his day alone with God and God's Word. Before he read a letter, looked at a paper or even read a telegram, he went first to the Bible, that the first impression of the day might be what he got directly from God.

Rev. Dr. Harold (Brock) Ford is an ordained Science of Mind minister through Emerson, as well as a Unity Prayer Chaplain through Unity of San Francisco.  He holds a Master’s in Interfaith Religious Studies from Emerson.

He also volunteers working with homeless people, as well as advocating for homeless dogs.

Brock works as a trainer, coach and realtor for Century 21/Alliance in San Francisco.

Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW is a career journalist and author, a licensed social worker and psychotherapist, ordained interfaith minister, speaker, Reiki Master, and PR professional. She is the founder of Hugmobsters Armed With Love.

Rev. Dr. Michelle Wadleigh is an inspiring and exciting Coach, Master Teacher, Speaker, Workshop and Retreat Facilitator, and sought after Prayer Practitioner. Michelle is the co-founder of Planned Happiness Institute and the PHI Coaching Academy with her husband Rev. Neil Pinkman. Michelle founded the Center for Spiritual Living North Jersey 19 years ago and continues to serve as Spiritual Leader and Pastor.

Michelle is an incredibly unique, practical teacher who is passionate about you mastering a fully expressed life. She is grounded in solid metaphysical principles and brings to her teaching a wide-open heart along with a sense of humor joyfully demonstrated through her laughter and her engaging style. Her focus as a teacher is empowering others for their own spiritual and emotional liberation through the application of practical tools and methods including the Science of Mind. She is a straight shooter who calls things as she sees them, while using her easy-going, personal style. Michelle brings a wealth of experience from having helped thousands of people to experience great transformation in their lives. Some of the lessons that she brings everywhere are: Everything is consciousness. Consciousness first, consciousness always. There is no other.

Rev. Sonja was Baptist before being introduced to New Thought teachings under Rev. Dr. Barbra King of Hillside Truth Center in Atlanta, GA, and Dr. Kennedy Shultz of the Atlanta Church of Religious Science (now CSL).

Sonja received a Master’s of Divinity from Unity Worldwide Spiritual Institute, Spring 2022 and served as President of the Unity Ministerial Student Association.

She is an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) with the National Guard and serves as minister with Unity Center of Tuscaloosa, AL, and Unity Village Chapel where she teaches a weekly online yoga class.

She graduated from the University of Georgia with a BBA, and has traveled to 22 countries.

Members of the New Thought Philadelphia Practitioner Core.