About

Kate has a Master of Arts in Liturgy from St. John's School of Theology * Seminary (Collegeville, Minnesota). She is the author of the Thean Psalter, Memory Stands Still, Life. Love. Liturgy., and numerous published short stories and poems. She is the Owner and Editor of Thea Press, an independent publishing company committed to publishing fiction and non-fiction works regarding the Divine Feminine.

Kate is a parent of two small children; she is also a partner. Her family are her constant joy and sustenance, revealing the presence of G-d to her in all their quirks, failings, smiles, determination, and abiding love. Together the Allens form the Thea House Church, which regularly celebrates liturgy under Kate's priestly leadership. Kate also leads Thean Evening Prayer every first Saturday of the month at 5pm at Pathways of Grace in Phoenix, Arizona.

Testimonials

Kate is a passionately joyful and spiritual person. Her spirituality is not separate from the rest of her life, but rather, it is intricately woven through her every breath, thought, and action. She shares this deep faith with everyone she meets and is able to enliven others with her infectious devotion to her beliefs. I feel blessed to have been touched by her faith and love.

~Betsy Lehman

Kate has the gift of bringing liturgy to life and involving our lives in liturgy. One of the most valuable tools that I learned from Kate while taking a course from her at Holy Names University was how to write a Collect, a prayer form that has enhanced my prayer life.

Kate is passionate about liturgy, is extremely well-read on the subject, and she makes anyone she comes in contact with love liturgy too!

~Betty Levin

I had the privilege of working side-by-side with Kate during our overlapping years at Saint John's School of Theology•Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota (2005-2007). During that time, each of us served a one-year tenure as Chair of the School's Student Liturgy Committee. In her time as Chair, Kate showed herself to be a competent, confident and collegial leader. Her ability to coordinate the Committee's efforts were exceeded only by her gift for enabling and equipping others to do the work with which they were engaged, in a non-anxious, non-domineering and non-threatened way. Everything needful was well done, without haste, without micromanagement, in a respectful atmosphere of mutual listening and creative consensus-building. The ability to lead in such a way is a real gift as well as a skill, and Kate has cultivated it as a faithful steward. In terms of practical ability, Michelle Kate is a most competent liturgist. She combines a commanding knowledge of liturgical history and liturgical theology, together with a refined sense of liturgical law and its application, and brings these to bear on her work in preparing for liturgical celebration. At the same time, and more importantly, Michelle Kate has a refined pastoral sense. She is able to listen to a community, supporting its members as they give voice to their vision and aspirations, and helping them to identify and prioritize needs and goals for practical achievement. In preparing for liturgical celebration, Kate has a strong sense of liturgical gestalt, and is able to harmonize musical selection, crafted and received texts, and worship space environment in a way that is at once humble and elegant.

As I said, it was a privilege to work with Kate; I would not hesitate to work with her again in the future, nor to recommend her wholeheartedly to others.

~The Rev. Cody Unterseher