"I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people."
-Mahatma Gandhi
Our Board of Directors
Nickolas Jones, President
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Nick is a Colorado Native and grew up on a small farm outside of Longmont, CO. Coming from a farming background, the Wheel of the year always made sense to him, and after leaving the Catholic Church at age 17 and trying to find his own spiritual path for 25+ years he came to ADF and Mountain Ancestors. Nick is a entrepreneur and Limited Principal with a Asset Management Firm in Denver. Nick took over as Senior Druid in May of 2017. Nick's passion for people and building community led him to Mountain Ancestors Grove and his service with the Board of Directors. His vision is to grow a healthy and vibrant community in and around Mountain Ancestors, focused on right relationship with the land, our past, one another, and the Divine.
E-mail our President |
Jaime Stone, Treasurer
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Jaime, recently new to Colorado from South Carolina, was originally born in Japan, moving to the United States later in life. Since her arrival, she has lived in nine different states. As an adolescent she found Paganism and has since spent much of her life collecting experiences and traditions, some with the Church of All Worlds, and the Aquarian Tabernacle Church. She has also been responsible for founding small-group, Queer Witch circles. Originally, a student of the Woolsten-Steen Theological Seminary for Pagan Ministries, Jaime now studies at Front Range Community College, and is pursuing a degree in Anthropology. Her interests and passions include reclaiming Sacred Gender roles for trans & intersex folks; holding, creating & maintaining safe, sacred space for queer folx; as well as a vocation toward end-of-life ministry. Jaime’s future goals are to complete her Bachelor’s degree, work toward ordination, and attend a seminary or theological school to pursue her Masters of Divinity.
E-mail our Treasurer |
Axel Yantosca, Children's Programming Director
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Axel graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelors in Music and from Bowling Green State University with a Masters in Vocal Performance. She enjoys working with children and animals. She is a writer, weaver and avid knitter. She loves tea, hiking, and outdoor adventures, as well as a Star Trek and Simon Pegg enthusiast. In September of 2018, Axel successfully completed ADF's Dedicant Program, and is currently working on going further with her studies, and deepening her own practice as well as theological comprehension. Axel brings the richness and wisdom in our religion, born out of her own experiences, to the children of our church. Finally, she was unanimously elected the church's Volunteer of the Year for 2018 for her unyielding commitment to our most treasured resource, and for sharing so much of her time, talent, and treasures with us and our guests.
Email our Children's Programming Director |
Our Clergy
Rev. Melissa "Bee" Ashton, ADF-MB, MNM
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An Ohio native, Rev. Missy came to Colorado to share her remarkable talents with our Grove. A former editor-in-chief of ADF's international publication, Oak Leaves, a professional medical laboratory scientist, and mother of three, Rev. Missy became the first of ADF's Master Bards, founded the Order of Bardic Alchemy, and served as the national Member's Advocate for three consecutive terms. Her music is the spirit of our Grove. She is the keeper of our tales, the singer of our songs, our Bard… in the most sacred sense of the word. She was ordained in August of 2014, and consecrated in June of 2018. In December of 2017, Rev. Missy graduated with honors with her Masters of Non-Profit Management from Regis University, Denver. In August of 2018, she passed all trials and was welcomed into ADF's Initiate current. Rev. Missy's commitment to polytheist modernity inspires us whenever we're blessed to hear her. An accomplished cook and epicurean, you can find her sharing meals around her table with the folk on a daily basis.
E-mail Rev. Ashton |
Rev. Sara K. Blackwelder, ADF
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Recently of Manatee Oak ProtoGrove, ADF in Tampa, FL, Rev. Sara (and her daughter) have had quite the life-change moving from there to Colorado. Enjoying a place that celebrates all four seasons, she brings the gifts of two Bachelor degrees, one in Anthropology (focus on religious practices within the realm of cultural anthropology) and another in Religious Studies, both from the University of Central Florida. An extremely talented musician (pianist) and vocalist, Rev. Sara has worked from Disney to the exhibits & collections departments of museums. Joining ADF in 2008, she completed her Dedicant work in the spring of 2012, and around the same time, started her own ProtoGrove. In December of 2014, Rev. Sara received her ordination. Additionally, she has also served as national Treasurer, South East Regional Druid, Bardic Guild Chief, Scholar’s Guild and Bardic Order Preceptor, and most recently the Sacred Fires SIG Chief. Focusing her current work on Home Hearth Practices, Rev. Sara is an excellent resource for those wanting to deepen their home devotional work.
E-mail Rev. Blackwelder |
Rev. William E. Ashton, ADF (Rev. Badger)
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Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Rev. William attended Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado where in 2007 he graduated with a degree in Religious Studies, minoring in Psychology. Currently residing in Longmont, CO, he is one of the Priests and founder of Mountain Ancestors Grove. First joining ADF in 1997, Rev. William shortly thereafter went on religious walkabout for nearly a decade, taking time away from his polytheist practice. After much soul searching, he returned to ADF in 2009 with renewed perspective and awakened passion. On February 8th, 2014 he was ordained as a priest in ADF. He spends his time playing mandolin (and some guitar), writing, engaging in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and education, community service, and sharing a larger vision of how a polytheist perspective can lead to greater human understanding, acceptance, and gods be good, peace.
E-mail Rev. Ashton |
