Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rev. Christy Snow. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Rev. Christy, thanks for joining us today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
So many people have blessed my life and kindness is something I experience often from others but when I read the question I immediately remembered a conference that I was attending as a featured musical guest. I had made myself very available, above and beyond what I was asked to do in order to support any speaker or workshop facilitator with music and I had volunteered for administrative tasks, etc. I was having a great week and was just so filled up that I wanted to give back so I kept doing so. Then on the last night of the conference there was an auction and one of the items was a three month mentoring package with a man that I deeply respected and very much wanted to know and study with named Rev. David Leonard. I remember checking to see exactly what my bank account balance was and I kept bidding on this package right up to the last penny. Someone from the back of the room kept outbidding me until finally her bid was way over my last one and completely out of my range; “sold to the lady in the back!” She walked from the back of the room, past me, up to the stage and retrieved the postcard that had the information to collect on the mentoring. Then she walked straight to my chair and said; “I’ve been watching you this week, how quick you have been to be there for everyone else and how much you have blessed us with your music. When you give from your heart like that you are giving to God, and you can’t out give God honey” and as she said that she handed me the card. Rev. David Leonard became one of my mentors and ministerial teachers and he continues to be an incredibly important father figure in my life. Thank you Rev. Pat King for your generous and life changing gift!
Rev. Christy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I graduated college with a business marketing degree and immediately hit the road to be a full time touring musician. I had a few jobs as a marketing specialist and consultant in my life but most of my business experience has been as an entrepreneur. I have been a professional musician since 1989 with 14 self produced and released recordings that range from acoustic rock to spiritual chants, and meditations. Somewhere along the way I just kept saying yes to what wanted to be expressed as me and my life. I am an ordained minister with 20 years experience, I have had two spiritual communities, the latest of which, Awaken Spiritual Community, I founded January 1, 2018. I am a life coach (Solution Coaching), and co-owner of three businesses with my wife Celeste; Awaken Within Retreats, Woodland Weddings, and Snow Marketing. Each of these facets to my life evolved organically and share a common theme. My music, ministry, coaching, retreats, custom weddings, and even marketing all have the common theme of empowering others to be their authentic self, to shine, and to live their dreams. When we do that as individuals we lift those around us as we go and the world is a better place.
I love the question of what sets you apart. Musically you can ask Alexa to play Christy Snow music and you might hear an acoustic rock song with suggestive lyrics or a spiritual chant inviting the listener to open their heart, a hypnotic flute and drum instrumental or a guided meditation. My coaching is proactive, there’s homework, there’s a commitment to up level your life and be the solution you are seeking and sometimes our sessions are held hiking up a mountain or sitting in a field because nature heals and because I love sharing our beautiful North Carolina farm in the foothills. My personal retreats are custom fit just like the weddings I officiate; I take the time to really understand what the person or couple is wanting to experience. I’m a great listener and visionary so when a marketing client is describing what they want, I hear their “why” and we operate from there to deliver results that matter. My spiritual community is founded on inclusivity, diversity, and honoring the goodness and potential in everyone which I wish didn’t set us apart as a church but it does. I tell people to question everything to learn what they really believe through experience instead of telling them to follow anything or anyone blindly and that is definitely different in the religious/spiritual world. So I guess the best and quickest answer to what sets me apart is authenticity, radical inclusion and a compassionate heart.
I am most proud of my willingness to sit in the fire of transformation and look for the gift instead of shrinking away and my ability to guide others to do the same. I have a tendency to run toward discomfort, invite it to dinner, and listen to the story it tells. When I’m coaching or teaching I am very honest and don’t hold back in calling it as I see it, with love of course but if someone is coming to me to help shift their life, I am not doing them any favors by listening to them retell the same story over and over without asking them if they are ready to have a different experience. The same direct approach is there in all my businesses, it’s just who I am.
If you want to listen to music that is positive, thought provoking, and aimed to uplift and shift, check out ChristySnow.com. If you are looking for a spiritual community in person and online that embraces all people and honors all paths while teaching practical, positive spirituality and reminding you that who you are is Divine and a gift, join us at AwakeningCarolina.org. If you need help sharing your passion for your business or organization, Snow Marketing is here for you. If you are ready to have relationships that work and peace and purpose as your compass let’s talk about a coaching session or retreat. For a wedding day that is customized to reflect the unique elements of your love, let Woodland Weddings help you out. SnowVenturesNC.com is the hub for all that I do, you can find me there and I also have a Patreon page to share music, messages, meditations, and an online community connection.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The biggest lesson I have had to unlearn in my life is that I was born of sin and separate from my Source/God but to take it a step further, that I was also tarnished and broken for being gay. So not only was I taught that I was born with original sin, I also bought the lie that God messed up in making me and I could never be free unless I denied who I am, and also that the bible was to be taken literally and never questioned. Unpacking and unlearning this has taken a lifetime and unlearning it has made me who I am today, sharing the gifts I am here to share. All of my businesses are founded on authenticity, love, and living life to the fullest and it would have been impossible to help others in the arenas that I have if I was still carrying the shame and guilt I had as a child. Unlearning shame and separation has allowed me to thrive personally and professionally and for that I’m grateful.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I served my first spiritual community for 10 years and then I decided to go back on the road as a guest speaker, musician, and retreat facilitator. I did that for a few years until one day I took the platform at Unity of Charlotte. I had been a guest there many times but that day in February of 2017 was different. I felt a whoosh, a pull, a call and I knew that I was supposed to apply to be their new minister. Their minister search had just begun and the process would be months long with a decision in December. I got on their calendar to speak a few more times over the coming months, I expressed my interest in the position, I interviewed and interviewed well, plus offered a workshop and question and answer session for the community. During the course of that year and my multiple visits there, I rekindled old connections and made new ones and felt sure that this was my next move. I felt so sure in fact that I stopped booking other speaking and singing engagements and put all of my eggs in that one basket. When the call came from the president of the board on December 10, 2017 and I was told that they were going with someone else I was dumbfounded and really in disbelief. I had already been working for them, in my mind; I had decorated my office, revamped their order or service and website and had events planned that would connect them to the community at large and so much more. I was excited an ready to start my new job only to find out that I did not get it. I was confused because the feeling pulling me to lead a community again was unmistakeable, I believed it, I trusted it and so I just assumed it was Unity of Charlotte. I allowed myself time to grieve, release, and really let go and wish them well. Then just after Christmas I took myself on a silent retreat to sit in the fire and look for the gift and it came. I was supposed to found a new community not try and fit in to an existing one and so I did. Awaken Spiritual Community was founded January 1, 2018, less than one month from my rejection notice. There is no rejection, only redirection.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.snowventuresnc.com
- Instagram: @christysnow.lovinglife
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=762689831
- Youtube: @revchristysnow
- Soundcloud: christysnowmusic
- Other: Patreon – https://patreon.com/ChristySnowTeaching?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
