Personal Background

My life has been a trip through liminal spaces.

I was raised in Howard Beach (Queens, NY) and spent my early years near Jamaica Bay's ever-shifting boundaries of water, marsh, and sand.

My early exposure to the beach, with its continual fluidity, instilled in me an appreciation for liminal spaces—those in-between places where boundaries blur and new possibilities emerge.

Years later, I lived near the rugged beauty of the Irish coast, another liminal space between cultures and continents, where I completed my academic studies.

Today, I reside in Grand Rapids, Michigan, near the shores of Lake Michigan, another powerful liminal space.

My career has blended university teaching and academics, marketing, and business. Today, I’m engaged as a writer, teacher, and real estate professional. Each shift has taken me to spaces between skills, disciplines, and roles.

My Irish and English ancestry further deepens my connection to liminal spaces, where entwined cultural identities weave the past and present.

Creativity and meaning arise in these in-between spaces, which the Irish call thin places - where boundaries dissolve and new possibilities emerge.

I am at home in liminal places, in spaces in between, with one foot on the beach and the other in the water.

Education, Affiliations, & Advocacy

  • Education

    Trinity College Dublin
    Dublin, Ireland (1992-1996)
    Ph.D. in Social Philosophy

    Research focused on social philosophy and political economy. Areas of concentration included social ethics, Christian social thought, and liberalism.

    International Academy of Philosophy
    Schaan, Liechtenstein (1991-1992)
    M.Phil in Philosophy and Political Economy

    Study focused on contemporary continental philosophy, including personalism and phenomenological realism.

    Franciscan University
    Steubenville, Ohio (1987-1990)
    BA in Theology, Philosophy, and Politics

    Studies included personalism, phenomenological realism, political philosophy, and Catholic social thought.

  • Independent Studies

    Monk in the World
    Online course in lay monasticism - 2024
    Abbey of the Arts

    Anam Cara Spiritual Direction
    Two-year online program - Ongoing
    Institute for Life Long Learning

    Studies in Radical Orthodoxy
    Independent Guided Study - 2021
    Centre of Theology & Philosophy
    University of Nottingham, UK

    Early Irish Christianity
    Online Learning Program - 2020
    University College Cork, Ireland

    Irish Spirituality & Culture
    Ongoing Guided Study - 2020 to present
    Disart Centre of Irish Spirituality & Culture
    Dingle, Ireland

  • University Teaching

    Mount Aloysius College
    Cresson, PA 1997 - 1999
    Assistant Professor, Philosophy

    Milltown Institute
    Dublin, Ireland 1992 – 1999
    University Lecturer of Philosophy

    Maynooth University
    Maynooth, Ireland 1992 - 1996
    Visiting Lecturer of Philosophy (Adjunct)

    All Hallows College
    Dublin, Ireland 1994 - 1996
    Visiting Lecturer of Philosophy (Adjunct)

  • Affiliations

    • Abbey of the Arts
    Dispersed monastic community inspired by Celtic and Benedictine spirituality.

    • The Iona Community
    Iona, Scotland

    • The Northumbrian Community
    Northumberland, UK

    The Community of Hilda & Aidan
    Northumberland, UK

    • Centre of Theology & Philosophy
    Nottingham University, UK

    • Institute for Christian Personalism
    The Netherlands

    • The Westar Institute
    Historical Christianity Research Institute

  • Cultural

    Of Irish and English ancestry, Gregory engages with the following organizations:

    Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies
    University of Notre Dame

    American Irish Historical Society
    Documenting, preserving, and promoting the story of the Irish in America.

    Cornwall Cultural Association
    Supports the preservation of and learning about Cornish culture.

    The Celtic League
    An Inter-Celtic organization that campaigns for the Celtic nations' political, language, cultural, and social rights.

    Irish American Heritage Center
    Preserving Irish history, art, and culture.

    Moreover, Gregory has traced much of his ancestry
    Read More.

  • Advocacy

    Gregory volunteers at the Grand Rapids Inner City Christian Federation( ICCF) and has taught the first-time home buyers class.

    With a heart for animals, Gregory supports Mercy for Animals, an organization dedicated to improving the conditions of factory-farmed animals.

    He is also involved locally with Hearts of Hope Animal Rescue and the Humane Society of West Michigan .

    Gregory is also a supporting member of CreatureKind a Christian ministry dedicated to animal welfare.

    He is also a supporting member of Together for the Common Good, an international organization promoting social renewal through Christian social teaching principles.