Associate Chaplain - Revd Dr Urzula Glienecke

Urzula Glienecke, PhD, is one of our Associate Chaplains.

Urzula began her time as an Associate Chaplain at the end of a turbulent year of the Covid-19 Pandemic.

She is a Latvian theologian, artist and activist living in Scotland. She grew up in the Soviet occupied territory of Latvia, went on the barricades for freedom of thought and faith when she was 17, started to study theology as soon as the faculty reopened in Riga and has been part of worldwide ecumenical movements and networking of all faiths and none ever since. She is passionate about social and environmental justice and working together with people on the margins as well as preserving our diverse and wonderful environment.

Urzula has studied and worked in Latvia, Norway, Germany, Spain, Republic of Ireland (PhD in Mission Theology with emphasis on Interreligious understanding and Pastoral Psychology 2011), Scotland and travelled around the world. She has one unvisited continent left!

Urzula is a Member of the Iona Community, Common Concern Networks Poverty and Inequality, Environment, LGTBQ+, Faith and Spirituality; Church Action on Poverty and the Church of Scotland. 2019-2021 she was placed at Greyfriars Kirk and the Grassmarket Community Project in Edinburgh which “takes an innovative approach to creating community, providing sanctuary and support to people dealing with multiple complex issues. These include homelessness, mental/physical health problems, learning difficulties, poverty, substance misuse, physical abuse and more”.[1]

She enjoys contemporary art, music, good company, the Great Outdoors and open-minded, ecumenical, creative, diverse and progressive worship which entwines the values of peace, justice and environment. She is a practitioner of Self-Compassion, especially in the context of Trauma Therapy.

She would be delighted to conduct LGTBQ+ weddings

Urzula‘s art webpage can be seen here: artseekingmeaning.com

Some of her liturgies can be found here: https://www.ionabooks.com/product/living-rough-living-sheltered-pdf-download/