About Rev. Chris

Rev. Christopher J. Portelli (aka Rev. Chris) was ordained an interfaith and interspiritual minister by One Spirit Interfaith Seminary (NYC) in 2016, and he completed the Interspiritual Counseling program (ISC) there in 2018. He was asked to give the Commencement Address on behalf of ISC by his classmates that year at Riverside Church in NYC.

Faculty and Graduates of the 2018 InterSpiritual Counseling (ISC) program at One Spirit gather at Riverside Church, New York City, for Commencement. From left to right: Rev. Dr. Khadijah Matin, Rev. AnnE. O’Neil, Rev. Shoba Hughes, Rev. Chris Portelli, Rev. LeVaughn McPherson, Rev. Susan Cergol, Rev. Therese Bimka, Willie Allison and Patrice Colle.

He has served as a First Year Seminary Dean and an ISCC Supervisor at One Spirit Learning Alliance. He performs weddings, baby blessings, house blessings, funerals, and memorial services, and offers individual and group spiritual counseling.

He specializes in working with members of the LGBT community in search of a deeper connection with the Divine. Raised Roman Catholic, he studied and followed the spiritual teachings of Teilhard de Chardin, Thomas Merton, Pope John XXIII, and Dorothy Day. Today he studies and practices Effortless Mindfulness with contemporary Buddhist scholar Loch Kelly.

Rev. Chris lives with his husband, Dr. Wai Khoo, in Cape May Court House, NJ. He recently retired from his position as Attorney at the non-profit New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) in Manhattan. He is founder of the Economic Justice Clinic at NYLAG. The clinic trains law students in poverty law and allows them to provide free legal services to low income and homeless New Yorkers with attorney supervision.

Rev. Chris earned his BA in Philosophy from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, his JD from New York Law School, and a Masters of Philosophy in Public and Urban Policy at The New School. He has recently taught courses in law and public policy at Brooklyn Law School, St. John’s University School of Law, The Milano Graduate School (The New School) and New York Law School. His previous teaching experience includes interdisciplinary courses at New York University, St. Peter’s University (Jersey City), and American University (Washington, DC).