About Dana
I bring over two decades of experience helping individuals and communities navigate transformation and growth. As Senior Pastor at South Church in Andover and an ICF Coach-in-Training, I combine seasoned leadership experience with professional coaching expertise to support individuals seeking meaningful change.
My path to coaching emerged from a deep passion for walking alongside individuals on their journeys of growth and discovery. Through years of pastoral work and leadership, I've witnessed the transformative power of asking profound questions and creating spaces where people feel truly seen and heard. I believe that within each person lies the wisdom and creativity needed for meaningful change – sometimes we just need a partner to help us access it.
Through my training at Princeton Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity & Executive Leadership Certificate) and with the International Coaching Federation, I've developed expertise in:
My path to coaching emerged from a deep passion for walking alongside individuals on their journeys of growth and discovery. Through years of pastoral work and leadership, I've witnessed the transformative power of asking profound questions and creating spaces where people feel truly seen and heard. I believe that within each person lies the wisdom and creativity needed for meaningful change – sometimes we just need a partner to help us access it.
Through my training at Princeton Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity & Executive Leadership Certificate) and with the International Coaching Federation, I've developed expertise in:
- Guiding individuals through periods of significant change
- Supporting leaders as they step into new challenges
- Helping people align their work with their deepest values
- Creating brave spaces for exploration and growth
- Fostering creativity and imagination in leadership
I welcome clients of all backgrounds, beliefs, and traditions who are ready to expand their sense of what's possible.
News & Media
Local clergy help to build a home in Andover
Eight local clergy spent a recent morning together to help build a house with Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity and many of them are from Andover congregations. This was the first time the clergy had the opportunity to build together, and they agreed that it was a wonderful experience.
Those participating in the daylong event included Mike Hodges, Christ Church Andover; Rev. Lee Bluemel, North Parish of North Andover Unitarian Universalist; Rev. Jen Vath, Christ Church Andover; Rev. Dana Allan-Walsh, Senior Pastor, South Church, Andover; Pastor Debra Adams, Trinitarian Congregational Church, North Andover; Senior Pastor Jon Paul, Free Christian, Andover; Senior Pastor Katrina Wuensch, West Parish, Andover; and Rev. Alex Shea Will, Associate Pastor, South Church Andover worked together.
“Partnering with Habitat has been one of my proudest moments in ministry," said Rev. Will, associate Pastor of South Church. "A church using its resources to help create affordable housing is exactly what Jesus would want us to do. Getting the chance to use our hands and bodies to help build the homes our new neighbors who will soon live in, on Lupine Road in Andover, is an incredible joy and blessing.""There is something deeply powerful about doing the physical work of welcoming and making room for our neighbors," he added. "The Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity supervisors on site are incredibly friendly, helpful, and easy to work with. No matter your skill level, there is a way for you to help at a Habitat build." This is Andover’s first affordable homeownership community project which is a collaboration between Andover Community Trust and Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity. Read more here.
Those participating in the daylong event included Mike Hodges, Christ Church Andover; Rev. Lee Bluemel, North Parish of North Andover Unitarian Universalist; Rev. Jen Vath, Christ Church Andover; Rev. Dana Allan-Walsh, Senior Pastor, South Church, Andover; Pastor Debra Adams, Trinitarian Congregational Church, North Andover; Senior Pastor Jon Paul, Free Christian, Andover; Senior Pastor Katrina Wuensch, West Parish, Andover; and Rev. Alex Shea Will, Associate Pastor, South Church Andover worked together.
“Partnering with Habitat has been one of my proudest moments in ministry," said Rev. Will, associate Pastor of South Church. "A church using its resources to help create affordable housing is exactly what Jesus would want us to do. Getting the chance to use our hands and bodies to help build the homes our new neighbors who will soon live in, on Lupine Road in Andover, is an incredible joy and blessing.""There is something deeply powerful about doing the physical work of welcoming and making room for our neighbors," he added. "The Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity supervisors on site are incredibly friendly, helpful, and easy to work with. No matter your skill level, there is a way for you to help at a Habitat build." This is Andover’s first affordable homeownership community project which is a collaboration between Andover Community Trust and Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity. Read more here.
More than 150 years after her death, a former slave finally has the memorial she deserved
Lucy Foster, who was born in Boston in 1767, was taken from her family at age 4 and offered as a gift at the wedding of an Andover farmer and his wife.
She spent a dozen years as a slave in the home of Hannah and Job Foster, who granted her freedom when she was 16, said Char Lyons, church historian at South Church in Andover. The church became Foster’s spiritual home, and when she died in 1845, she was buried in an unmarked grave in its burial grounds....Foster’s gravestone was publicly unveiled following a memorial service at South Church that celebrated her life and the students’ commitment to honoring her.
While it took 174 years for Foster to get a gravestone, remnants of her life in Andover have been well documented in archeological circles since the 1940s. Whitney Battle-Baptiste, an associate professor of anthropology and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said Foster’s former home on Woburn Street is considered the first African-American residence to be explored by archeologists. It was excavated in 1943 by Adelaide and Ripley Bullen, records show. Foster’s home sat on an acre of land left to her by Hannah Foster, who died in 1812, the Bullens wrote in 1945. Hannah Foster also left Lucy Foster a cow and a small amount of money, the students said. Their research found that Lucy Foster, who had two children, likely supported herself by running an outdoor tavern at her home and and got some financial help from South Church. Her residence was also believed to be a stop on the Underground Railroad, they said. It burned in 1845, the same year Lucy Foster died, the Bullens wrote. Read more here and here and here.
She spent a dozen years as a slave in the home of Hannah and Job Foster, who granted her freedom when she was 16, said Char Lyons, church historian at South Church in Andover. The church became Foster’s spiritual home, and when she died in 1845, she was buried in an unmarked grave in its burial grounds....Foster’s gravestone was publicly unveiled following a memorial service at South Church that celebrated her life and the students’ commitment to honoring her.
While it took 174 years for Foster to get a gravestone, remnants of her life in Andover have been well documented in archeological circles since the 1940s. Whitney Battle-Baptiste, an associate professor of anthropology and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said Foster’s former home on Woburn Street is considered the first African-American residence to be explored by archeologists. It was excavated in 1943 by Adelaide and Ripley Bullen, records show. Foster’s home sat on an acre of land left to her by Hannah Foster, who died in 1812, the Bullens wrote in 1945. Hannah Foster also left Lucy Foster a cow and a small amount of money, the students said. Their research found that Lucy Foster, who had two children, likely supported herself by running an outdoor tavern at her home and and got some financial help from South Church. Her residence was also believed to be a stop on the Underground Railroad, they said. It burned in 1845, the same year Lucy Foster died, the Bullens wrote. Read more here and here and here.
WBUR Interview: In Merrimack Valley, Thousands Without Gas Make The Most Of An Unconventional Thanksgiving. Listen here.
Interfaith Service Offers an Opportunity for Healing
Clergy members and church goers from different faiths and communities gathered at South Church in Andover Sunday evening for an interfaith Thanksgiving worship. The interfaith service, which was the largest one the church has held, was an opportunity for people to come together for a night in a world that is filled with such division, said Rev. Dana Allen Walsh of South Church.
Walsh was the organizer of the event, and said the idea for the service followed soon after the Sept. 13 gas explosions that left impacted residents in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover in a state that required healing.
“We hoped it would be an opportunity for healing and for people to come together,” said Walsh. Read more.
Walsh was the organizer of the event, and said the idea for the service followed soon after the Sept. 13 gas explosions that left impacted residents in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover in a state that required healing.
“We hoped it would be an opportunity for healing and for people to come together,” said Walsh. Read more.
EDITORIAL: 'Love your neighbor...as yourself' In Pittsburgh, 11 adults were gunned down by a white nationalist while they gathered to pray and bless a baby in a Jewish synagogue. One of the victims of this deadly shooting was a Holocaust survivor. Over 70 years after the fall of Nazi Germany, we are still fighting the atrocity of anti-Semitism in our world.
When Jesus (who was Jewish) was asked what the greatest commandment is, he responded, “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” We show our love for God through how we treat our neighbor. And we don’t get to decide to love only our neighbors who believe, vote, look, think, or worship in the same way that we do. We cannot self select who our neighbor is. There’s a spark of the divine in each of us. Read more. |
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South Church Surprises Congregation: Take from our Offering Plate
It was a turnaround Sunday as South Church in Andover worshipers recently took from the weekly offering plate instead of donating to it. The church's "Love Boldly" campaign went very well as some 400 envelopes with about $5,000 were taken and the money was used to do something meaningful for someone. For example, an 8-year-old bought three dog bones to bring to the Salem, N.H., Animal Shelter while the South Church staff decided to pool their money and bake 16 loaves of pumpkin bread that they delivered with baskets of apples to the faith communities in Andover. “It was a simple thank you for those groups,” said pastor Rev. Dana Allen Walsh. "This was a powerful exercise as people looked to God for direction and really thought about how to help someone ... it's been a difficult fall for many with weather disasters and divisive politics." She said the "Love Boldly" campaign was a first at the church and was also a surprise as just five people knew about it. On Sunday, Sept. 24, the turnaround happened as each person in worship was invited to take an envelope from the offering plate instead of leaving one.
“There are only two rules," Walsh told her congregation. "Use the gift for good and return and tell us the story.” Read more.
“There are only two rules," Walsh told her congregation. "Use the gift for good and return and tell us the story.” Read more.
Ash Wednesday To-Go
Dana Allen Walsh and Alex Shea Will, co-pastors of their Central Street parish, spent about 90 minutes giving out ashes at the Andover train depot, greeting commuters taking the 7:06 a.m. train to Boston. Then they greeted coffee lovers on Main Street, making stops at Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks.
[Will] and Walsh hit the road with their ashes reminding people that Lent does not have to be a dour and depressing time in one's life.
"Rather, Lent urges us to think about our lives - not so we might fear what is to come, but rather so we might live more fully in the present,” Will said. "Our church may be 305 years old, but our thinking isn’t. This is only one of the ways we hope that South Church will feel like a vibrant and relevant piece of the Andover community for years to come."[READ MORE]
[Will] and Walsh hit the road with their ashes reminding people that Lent does not have to be a dour and depressing time in one's life.
"Rather, Lent urges us to think about our lives - not so we might fear what is to come, but rather so we might live more fully in the present,” Will said. "Our church may be 305 years old, but our thinking isn’t. This is only one of the ways we hope that South Church will feel like a vibrant and relevant piece of the Andover community for years to come."[READ MORE]