Testimonials
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Rachael’s natural capacity to nurture is compelling. I’ve had the privilege of knowing Rev. Dr. Rachael Keefe since 1989 when we were at Princeton and I felt fully confident entrusting her with the care of my first child. Whether accompanying people through crises or, as more recently, offering guidance to someone navigating a complicated caregiving situation involving a minor child, Rachael attends to people with both clarity and courage, and a grounded pastoral insight.
Last month, she helped my friend’s family create a detailed health and safety plan that honors the emotional weight and layered realities involved. Rachael provides a steady presence that gives space for healing and practical next steps. I am grateful for the tender, professional care she continues to extend to those seeking healing and wholeness in difficult times.
When my research assistant funding ended and my health markedly declined, I didn’t even know who I was anymore. Teaching had already changed so much with generative AI, and I was feeling like I had lost all the things that gave me a sense of identity. I turned to Rachael feeling pretty depleted. She helped me see that my worth isn’t in what I do, but in who I am.
Rachael is smart, compassionate, non-judgmental, and honest. Her capabilities have helped me grow in my faith journey. When I have needed sound, spirit-based advice, Rachael has been a wonderful partner in prayer.
I trust Rachael. Over the years, I have called on her to guide me both personally and professionally through discernment. Rachael has a calm presence and listens deeply. Her guidance is thoughtful and intentional. She speaks the truth from love, which both uplifts and challenges me to think deeply.
Rachael’s compassionate presence and active listening have guided me in negotiating difficult life transitions and painful losses. Through caring discernment, she has been instrumental in helping me to ‘un-box God’, allowing me to be more attentive to the voice of Spirit. This has helped me to recognize and accept certain gifts that I was afraid to own. In embracing these gifts, I’ve learned to accept myself and bond deeper with Spirit.
Rachael helped me understand my unconventional call to ministry. She was a wonderful guide for me in my discernment process. She accepted me unconditionally both emotionally and spiritually, something I was not used to at all.
Rachael’s gift for listening deeply and compassionately encourages and supports me. She helps me to sift through the noise to the heart of my experiences so I can live into my values.
I am grateful to have spent many hours with Rachael discussing my spiritual battles. Having a daughter die from leukemia, I spent years being angry. Rachael helped me sort out the unanswerable questions and grief with compassion and a gentle guidance that was both supportive and therapeutic.
Rachael has been an advisor, a motivator, and a reliable touch point for reflecting about life. She is tough and she is real, and she is steadfast in her values and beliefs which has taught me a lot and helped me to grow. My mother was my world, and when she passed away, Rachael helped my sister and me figure things out. We had no one else, and helping us through that time was one of the most meaningful things anyone has ever done for me.
Rachael has been deeply supportive, holding space in a way that has allowed me to recognize the Holy Spirit in my own journey. As a neurodivergent person, I often make meaning and express experiences in ways that aren’t easily understood. With Rachael, I’ve felt seen, held, and honored.
While contemplating where God was calling me, and also trying to unpack my past, Rachael’s gifts of nonjudgmental listening and open questions allowed me to do deep spiritual work with authenticity and faithfulness. Her ability to meet me in my spiritual journey, and to sit with me in the long night of the soul with great compassion continue to support my spiritual walk. I am forever grateful for Rachael’s accompaniment.
Rachael is a wise, hopeful, and caring soul. She is intelligent, compassionate, and has a wonderful sense of humor. All of this, combined with her rich professional and personal life experiences, makes Rachael a treasured conversation partner.
Rachael’s exceptional organizational insight and expertise have been a tremendous asset to me and my congregation. When our church sought to enhance support for individuals with mental health challenges, she thoughtfully delivered comprehensive mental health and suicide prevention training to our congregational leadership and church members. This education has had a significant influence on our entire community. I deeply value Rachael’s accompaniment and wise ministerial guidance.
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