Spiritual Companion.
Ritual Innovator.
Essayist.
Sacred Space Convener.
Frances S. Lee (they/them) strongly believes that everyone, especially those outside of organized religion, deserves spiritually rich and meaningful lives.
They are the co-founder and lead convener of The Greenhouse, a BIPOC Healing Sanctuary and Ritual Lab, a 2023-24 grant recipient of Harvard Culture Innovation Lab. At The Greenhouse, Frances creates embodied rituals, and facilitates storytelling, and fosters spiritual leadership in religiously unaffiliated students.
Frances comes from three generations of ministers from China, Taiwan and the US. They received their Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School in 2024. Their areas of study were interfaith chaplaincy, Buddhist ethics, and ritual theory.
Frances served as an Interfaith Chaplain Intern (Clinical Pastoral Education Unit 1) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA in 2022-23. They worked as a graduate student Interfaith Chaplain at Tufts University in 2023-24.
Through their writing, Frances infuses spiritual wisdom into movement building communities. Their 2017 essay, “Excommunicate Me from the Church of Social Justice,” ignited a national conversation about the need for more humility and grace in movements for justice.
Prior to becoming a spiritual director, Frances worked for more than a decade in non-profits, tech, and higher ed. They have a passion for the creative arts and served on several advisory boards for arts organizations in the Seattle area (Coast Salish land).
Why I’m a Spiritual Companion
“Spiritual direction aims to help us experience the eternal and the infinite aspects of our true nature through the wise, experienced and compassionate company of another human being.” (SDI)
As a queer and trans Chinese American who grew up in the evangelical Christian tradition, I have survived the application of rigid theological frameworks that don’t account for my expansive and fluid personhood.
For a variety of reasons, traditional religious structures do not work for many people. Yet we all possess spiritual needs and deserve to have them met without having to affiliate with a religion. As we have felt from the last few years of interlocking global crises, spiritual health is just as critical as mental, emotional, physical and other kinds of health.
I am passionate about supporting people with this experience who simply need activist culture to be much more life-affirming. Using tools from Cultural Studies and spiritual care, I help by infusing spaciousness where there is narrowness and choicefulness where there is rigidity. Then, the inner voice and sacred energy can begin to bloom.
Check out my upcoming workshops.
Read my spiritual biography.
Testimonials
“As I wrestle with the uncomfortable experience of being a human being trapped in systems of violence, Frances has been there supporting and affirming my struggle. Our sessions have been one of the very few places I’ve found where I can freely discuss the intersection of my spirituality and my politics, which is at the very core of my being.”
– K.
“Frances provides a deep container for values-aligned and intentional self-inquiry. Working with them gifted me with new tools to decrease judgment and increase curiosity as I relate to myself and others.”
–M.
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Disclaimer: Spiritual companionship and chaplaincy are not substitutes for counseling, psychotherapy or mental health care. If you are in need of professional psychological diagnosis and treatment, please reach out to a licensed physician or licensed mental health professional or psychologist. Visit NQTTCN to search for queer therapists of color in your area.
FRANCES S. LEE 