The Coach House Team

Nancy Billias - Administrator

My life so far has been very rich and varied. The one constant feature has been a deep faith in the possibility of God, and the one constant activity throughout has been listening to the divine. I have listened to and for God in the person of refugees, as a resettlement coordinator, in the person of clients as a psychotherapist of over 30 years, to Deaf people as a social worker, as a cloistered Benedictine nun, and to students as a teacher of philosophy at the undergraduate level for over 20 years. Born and raised in the United States, I came to the UK for ten years in the 1980s. I then returned to the States, with intention of retiring here. I am so glad that God has led me to this place!

I hold a Master of Theology in Pastoral Counselling from the University of Edinburgh as well as Master’s degrees in Biblical Theology and Psychoanalytic Theory, and a doctorate in Continental Philosophy. I’ve published one book and co-authored a second. The first was a sonnet-form translation of Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus, while the second is called The Ethics of Silence. In this work, my co-author (a behavioural economist) and I asked people from all over the world and from very disparate fields where they encountered silence in their everyday lives, and why silence is so important in our interactions with each other.

So coming to a place where silence is treasured is a wonderful fit for me. I look forward to meeting and welcoming people who value silence, and to being a part of the burgeoning community team.