Braid

three or more intertwined threads woven together to make something strong and beautiful

In September 2014, The Reverends Christopher Chase and Rebecca Edwards founded Braid Mission, a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of California reaching out to youth in foster care. Inspired by stories of the unique challenges facing foster youth and convicted by their faith, Rebecca and Chris set out to create a new spiritual community built around mission to the foster system.

The Braid Mission tapestry is composed of three main threads:

Foundation: Remain firmly rooted in love

Braid Mission believes that Divine Love is the energy that brings us together, heals the wounds of foster care, and restores a person’s sense of worth, value, and self.

Action: Support the foster youth of San Francisco

Braid Mission is a non-profit organization whose intergenerational mentoring program is designed to support Bay Area youth who have experienced life in the foster care system.

Invitation: Build deep relationships

Braid Mission is a spiritual movement where you can discover your potential to transform others’ lives and find your own life transformed.

Our City

San Francisco’s unique economic climate places additional pressures on the foster system. The city’s high cost of living makes it difficult for families to afford an extra bedroom in which to house foster youth. As a result, over 60% of San Francisco foster youth are placed outside the city. Shuffled from placement to placement far from the city they call home, foster youth of San Francisco seldom remain in the same school or with the same friends for long. The cycle of loss and transience that all foster youth experience is especially profound in San Francisco.

Learn more about foster youth

Our Team

Chris Chase and Rebecca Edwards

co-directors | Revs. Christopher Chase and Rebecca Edwards were inspired to begin Braid in 2014 when they envisioned a movement beyond the walls of the church that invites youth and adults from all backgrounds to see, know, and feel a Love that heals all wounds. Both Rebecca and Chris are ordained in the Episcopal Church, and they bring many combined years of experience in youth/young adult ministry, education, ministry development, and ecumenical ministry to Braid Mission.

Barbara Ludlum

Cards of Hope coordinator |Barbara retired as a finance executive at KQED public broadcasting. When not writing cards and letters, she is a rabid knitter and has a passion for travel and trekking. Barbara has sent dozens of Cards of Hope over the last couple of years, and she is looking forward to helping you put *your* hope in the mail!

Marselys Lucero

Edgewood Center coordinator | Marselys is a Bay Area native studying theology in Berkeley. He enjoys watching A’s games, going to stand-up comedy shows, listening to podcasts, and responsibly watching Netflix. He is afraid of heights but loves roller coasters. He believes in Braid because we help to create relationships between mentors and youth that become friendships based in accompaniment and love.

Wendy Cliff

team facilitator | Wendy Cliff is a fourth generation Bay Area resident, wife, and mother, with a background in marketing and education. She is ordained in the Episcopal Church, works for education equity, and loves interfaith dialogue.

Jen Goldstein

team facilitator | Jen is a public educator with 10 years of experience as a teacher, teacher coach, and human capital director in New Orleans. She moved to the Bay Area in 2015 and now works for the Stanford d.school K12 lab, focusing on their principal fellowship program. She is passionate about ensuring all children have the opportunity to be their best selves and is excited to be a part of the work of Braid.

Davidson Bidwell-Waite

team facilitator | Davidson is a deacon in the Episcopal Church. His work career included jobs in city government, legal practice, and management. In his retirement, he spends his time working against gun and police violence and human trafficking, and in support of foster youth and Haiti. He loves ballet and traveling and walking around the City.

David Stickley

team facilitator | David has lived in San Francisco for 20 years, most of that time in the Mission. He works for the chaplain’s department at San Francisco General Hospital and is a Deacon in the Episcopal Church. He enjoys music, camping, movies, hiking, and spending free time with his dog.

Bob Kossler

team facilitator | Bob is an Associate Priest at St. Francis Episcopal Church in San Francisco. Bob is also an Engineering Director at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Bob brings over 15 years of pastoral care experience to Braid Mission.

Terry Johnson

team facilitator | Terry is a spiritual director and yoga therapist, currently studying the intersection between embodied spirituality and yoga practices. Her previous non-profit experience includes work with The Community of St. Therese of Lisieux, which seeks to help women looking to leave lives of sex trafficking and addiction.

Mike Thomas

team facilitator | Mike lives in Marin and is retired after working for 40 years as a counselor, teacher, and coach at St. Ignatius School. He spends time volunteering at Guide Dogs for the Blind, in a first grade class at Vallecito School, and as a coach at Hamilton Meadow School. He loves to run, mountain bike, play tennis, and play basketball when he is not helping to care for his two grandchildren, Teddy and Sloane.

Cynthia Cravens

team facilitator | Cynthia lives in San Francisco and works at Hospitality House’s Community Arts Program, a program that provides free studio space, art supplies, workshops, exhibition support, along with social services, to residents of the Tenderloin without stable housing. She enjoys medieval history, making medieval Illuminated manuscripts, sewing, reading science fiction, attending Sci-Fi/Fantasy conventions, and watching Marvel Comic book movies. In short, she is a genuine nerd.

Marisa Jennings

team facilitator | Marisa recently retired as a senior finance executive in high tech. She is active in the Episcopal church, passionate about social justice, and is a patient care volunteer with Hospice By the Bay. She enjoys hiking in the nearby hills of Marin with her husband and dog.