Noel retired at
the end of 2007 from her position as Registrar of the University of Memphis
having completed 33 years in higher education administration. In May
2009 she became co-Guardian of the Rivendell Community, along with
Susie, having previously served as Companion in Charge
of Emmaus for five years.
She has been married joyfully to Herschel for over 30 years and is mother of
an adult son, Dan. She writes, "I am learning more and more about my life as a
contemplative Christian member of an intentional community... There are no
other people in the world that I love and trust enough to go to the darker
places of life with... and I trust God will be there with us.
"The bumper
stickers on my car indicate that I'm Blessed to be an Episcopalian, a member
of a women's organization supporting social change, that I believe that we
should COEXIST with members of all faith communities, and that God is not a
Republican or a Democrat... and I sometimes wear a t-shirt that says I aspire
to a manner of life that challenges the church. What does all this mean, and
what relationship does it have to my life in a religious community? It means
that I intend to offer all to God and pray that each action and interaction is
filled with love and gratitude... blessed, broken, and given and that I intend
to do this in community."
