Member Spotlight
Spiritual Direction Colorado is pleased introduce our Member Spotlight. For more information pertaining to any of the Spiritual Directors, click on their name.
+ February 2022 - Connie Shelley
Connie has been a Spiritual Director since 2001.
What led you to become a Spiritual Director?
Listening to the stories of how Spirit is moving in the depth of others is like reading a sacred scripture. Walking with them as they are struggling, seeking or joyful over a new revelation is the greatest gift I could receive.
As a Spiritual Director, - what do you bring to those you companion?
I am grateful if I can simply give someone the gift of Presence and and I hope that they feel listened to. I spend time in prayer before I see someone and then I trust that the Wind will blow in any way that is needed.
Is there a specific experience you would like to share?
For 15 years I spent time listening to women who are incarcerated. It changed me in a thousand ways, but I was especially moved when I realized that I could have been anyone of them, I am not special. They are broken, as am I, and God longs to make us all whole.
+ January 2022 -Joan Alexander
Joan has been a Spiritual Director for 10 years.
What led you to become a Spiritual Director?
The benefits of meeting with my own spiritual director were so great that I began to listen for a call to study myself. I entered my formation program (The Haden Institute) with an open heart - not knowing if it would be a good fit but simply enjoying the teachings and deep connections with other seekers.
As a Spiritual Director, - what do you bring to those you companion?
I bring an open heart and listening ear. This is such a sacred ministry that to find the words to describe it is challenging. I bring a grace-filled humbleness to every session and trust in the presence of Spirit. I am also a trained Supervisor (Lucy Abbott Tucker, my teacher and mentor) who offers supervision to colleagues that are involved in the ministry of spiritual direction.
Is there a specific experience you would like to share?
Yes, I have several specific experiences that include deep sharing from directees in various places of marginalization. Because my spiritual direction practice is a safe place for members, allies and family of the LGBTQ+ community, the life stories that are shared and the theological wonderings my directees bring are very personal. I do share examples in my workshops and they are carefully crafted to protect my directees.
What personal facts would you like others to know about you?
As a woman in a same-gender marriage to an Anglican (Episcopalian) priest and as the mother of two adult sons, I continue to travel the path of inclusion where Spirit walks with us all. I live on Prince Edward Island, Canada where I love to offer labyrinth walks, dream workshops and one-to-one spiritual direction sessions. A large part of my work and ministry is offered virtually - Zoom and I have a (mostly) good relationship.
I am a past facilitator and mentor in two programs at The Mercy Center, Burlingame, CA.
As a workshop facilitator I teach the following: ~ SD Supervision (based on Lucy Abbott Tucker's workbook: SD Supervision: Principles, Practices & Storytelling) ~ Group Spiritual Direction
As a presenter I offer: ~ Spiritual Trauma: Hurting, Happenging & Healing ~ Spiritual Direction with the LGBTQ+ Community & Allies
+ November 2021 -Victoria Tonski
Victoria has been a Spiritual Director for 5 years.
What led you to become a Spiritual Director?
My lens for life itself is a spiritual one and so my deep faith and desire to journey with others on the spiritual path led me to become a Spiritual Director.
As a Spiritual Director, - what do you bring to those you companion?
As a companion I bring a strong desire to support deep listening to self, others and the holy in all things. My training in Somatic Experiencing also informs my work as we attune to body, mind and spirit together in each moment.
Is there a specific experience you would like to share?
Facilitating retreats has provided me with some of the most meaningful experiences over time. A specific experience I cherish was a retreat entitled Simple Pleasures in which we slowed down time to savor sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touches to deeply listen to life itself.
What personal facts would you like others to know about you?
I would like others to know that I am touched by every person with whom I interact and believe that we are interconnected in all things. This being human is a fine thing!
+ October 2021 -Ann Christensen
Ann has been a Spiritual Director for about 8 years.
What led you to become a Spiritual Director?
My interest in people – who they are, their concerns, passions and life journey– and a desire to help them live full lives have always attracted my attention. Each of these questions inevitably lead to spiritual questions, such as life’s purpose, one’s personal purpose, how to listen for God, how God is present in all of this… I wanted to become a spiritual director to be prepared and available for the privilege, honor and absolute wonder of accompanying people on their sacred journey!
As a Spiritual Director, - what do you bring to those you companion?
In addition to the knowledge and understanding gained as a Spiritual Director, I bring training and experience in health and life coaching and spiritual gifts discernment. Currently I am immersed in a Year-Long Certificate Program in Conscious Living, which is a depth approach to inner work using the Enneagram. This brings with it not only a full understanding of the Enneagram, but also practices to awaken individuals to how their old perceptions and stories can be blocking them to their true purpose and meaning, and, in the end, from knowing, trusting and loving themselves and God. I enrolled in this program for my own spiritual growth. I look forward to having opportunities to share the learning and wisdom I have been invited to and formed by with those I companion.
What personal facts would you like others to know about you?
I am a member of the Spiritual Direction Colorado Think Tank. Our purpose is to explore ways that we can engage and connect members as well as seekers in the community. One such way is through small groups, Circles, where people gather around a topic or practice. I will be facilitating a book group beginning October 27th, to discuss Pema Chodron’s book, “Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted living in a brokenhearted world”. I wish to explore with others what it looks like when a consciously lived and practiced spirituality informs effective action and contributes to healing of our world and planet. I enjoy gardening, and movement – from time at the gym to hiking and taking ballroom and Western dance classes with my husband. Tom and I married in Albuquerque 32 years ago, and moved to Colorado Springs a few months later. We raised two daughters and for now, are enjoying the fact that they both live in the state.
+ September 2021 -Roger Butts
Roger has been a Spiritual Director for 8 years.
What led you to become a Spiritual Director?
I was trained at Mercy Center in Colorado Springs. I had such good spiritual directors that I wanted to take the training and learn how to do it myself.
As a Spiritual Director, - what do you bring to those you companion?
Interspiritual orientation. Years of chaplain experiences.
Is there a specific experience you would like to share?
During the time of COVID, I took the opportunity to publish my first book, at age 55. It is called SEEDS OF DEVOTION: WEEKLY CONTEMPLATIONS ON FAITH. It is available at amazon, barnes and noble online and other places books are purchased.
What personal facts would you like others to know about you?
I've been ordained in the Unitarian Universalist tradition for nearly 20 years. My wife is a UCC pastor and serves as minister at Black Forest Community Church, UCC.
+ August 2021 - Lacy Borgo
Lacy has been a Spiritual Director for 7 years.
What led you to become a Spiritual Director?
A life long desire to accompany others in their spiritual lives led me to become a spiritual director. After completing the Renovare Institute, I went through the Ignatian Exercises and through them I realized that I had been having spiritual conversations with people nearly all my life. Listening to what is stirring in the deep, listening to the places of wound and wonder both in myself and others is a place of life and freedom.
As a Spiritual Director, - what do you bring to those you companion?
In spiritual direction I bring a genuine presence and tender curiosity for life in the deep places. I bring a well worn knowledge of spirituality in childhood and how that shapes the spirituality we live as adults. I bring a loving attention to deep desires and attention to a path that integrates them into our adult lives.
What personal facts would you like others to know about you? I practice spiritual direction with adults and children. My spiritual direction training is through Portland Seminary and my supervision training is through the Mercy Center, Burlingame. I teach and offer direction for the Renovare Institute, DMin in Spiritual Direction at Fuller Theological Seminary, and The Mercy Center. My most recent book is Spiritual Conversations with Children: Listening to God Together. I live on the Western Slope of the Rockies where the rhythms of nature continue to shape and form me.
Contact Lacy at lacygooddirt@gmail.com
+ September 2020 - Rachel Parsons
Rachel has been a Spiritual Director for 6 years.
What led you to become a Spiritual Director?
I was drawn to spiritual direction before I knew what it was called. I had cultivated a profound love for helping others navigate spirituality through guided meditation and personal reflection, so I started on a mental health counseling track hoping to "sprinkle in" spiritual growth for my clients where situation and legality allowed. It was not until I began my seminary studies that I first heard of spiritual direction, and I immediately knew that was what was in store for me..
As a Spiritual Director, - what do you bring to those you companion?
I adore body theology. It is my first priority in each spiritual direction session to make sure that the directee’s body is on board with the session through guided meditation. As beings comprised of body and spirit, we cannot tend to the whole directee unless we involve both. As an expression of my love for body theology, I have developed the modality of Body Discernment. Body Discernment is a synthesis of research-based practices designed to fully integrate the body into spiritual growth. The practice operates as a conversation between the body and spirit. Directees have found it useful for every issue from priesthood discernment to minor leg pain!
I also cherish imagination-based meditation. Alongside my integration of Ignatian imagination practices into spiritual direction, I have received formal training in HeartSync. HeartSync was developed by a psychologist who met with patients facing Dissociative Identity Disorder. He then discovered that the same practices lent benefit to everyone, as we all experience some measure of double-mindedness in our lives. HeartSync seamlessly combines the spiritual and the emotional, as it invites divine presence into painful memories and present circumstances. There is a certain element of creativity inherent to the practice as well, which makes for a truly enjoyable and moving spiritual exercise.
I love the feeling of being with someone when they are fully themselves. From a young age, I was told that I have a presence that invites others into complete authenticity. I believe that this presence is essential for my approach to spiritual direction. I struggled in my upbringing with the message that I wasn’t practicing my religion “right,” or the feeling that the way I wanted to engage with the Divine was at best “fringe,” and at worst, heaven forbid, “eastern.” I seek to create spiritual direction spaces that do the exact opposite. The mission statement of my practice, Fratres Dei Spiritual Direction and Ministries, is that it is an open invitation to cultivate spiritual curiosity. Spiritual curiosity is the willing to ask, “What if I ran out into that field?” “What if I prayed while I fold laundry?” “What if I went back to Egypt to try and free my people from Pharaoh?” It is the vitalization of the world. I do spiritual direction because I believe that every person has a unique way of interacting with the Divine and engaging spiritually. It is an infinite joy to me to help others unravel what that is and how they may fully embrace it, so that ultimately the world may be completely alive as a spiritual and physical place.
Specializations:
Self / Body-Soul Integration Occupational / Spiritual Caregiver Burnout Ecstatic Dance / Body Movement Discernment Faith Crisis Spiritual or Religious Doubt Head-Heart Connection Friendship with God Fellowship with Nature Imagination-Based Meditation Interfaith Relationships General Spiritual Growth or Refreshment Intimacy with the Divine Spiritual Maturity Spiritual or Religious Transition Spiritual or Religious Trauma Spiritual Practice Exploration Issues of Anger with God / Misotheism LGBTQIA+ Issues (Affirming) Nonreligious Spiritual Growth Bodywork
Is there a specific experience you would like to share?
I once had the honor of facilitating a Body Discernment session with someone who had faced years and years of difficulty getting close to others. This difficulty was the result of childhood experiences of rejection for "coming on too strong" in her friendships. By listening to her body, we were able to locate this long-stored pain in her chest and allow space for it to speak and grieve. It was loud, messy, and beautiful. As a result, she found herself feeling free to pursue a budding friendship without fear.
What personal facts would you like others to know about you?
I am an interfaith minister at People House Denver and have served as both a hospice and hospital chaplain. I received my Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care from Denver Seminary, where I conducted graduate research on the inherently physical nature of human spirituality. My poetry has been published in Spiritual Direction International's journal, "Listen: A Seeker's Resource for Spiritual Direction." I love hiking and biking the mountains of Colorado and enjoying live music in Denver. I can most likely be found playing my guitar or banjo, reading on my balcony, or dancing with my Creator. I live in Arvada with my lifelong best friend, whom I met in middle school drama club, and our cat, Abraham DeLacey Giuseppe Casey Thomas O'Malley the Alley Cat. I invite you to explore Body Discernment, Spiritual Caregiver Burnout Care, HeartSync, Ecstatic Dance, and online spiritual direction at fratresdei.com. Please enjoy a free first session at fratresdei.com/schedule-online. You are also welcome to contact me for any reason at rachel@fratresdei.com or (720) 534-9491.
+ August 2020 - Kelly Arora
Kelly has been a Spiritual Director for 20+ years.
What led you to become a Spiritual Director?
Spiritual direction has been a meaningful practice for me personally, and I felt called to support others as a companion on their journey.
As a Spiritual Director, - what do you bring to those you companion?
My desire is to companion people as a guest in their unique spiritual worlds without imposing my values, beliefs, meanings or practices on them. I bring breadth and depth of experience in many spiritual traditions (several denominations of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Core Shamanism). Doctoral degrees in religious and theological studies also provide a rich context for journeying with people who come from diverse spiritual backgrounds and experiences.
I have a special passion for people living with or caring for someone who has a chronic health condition. I have lived with rheumatoid arthritis for over 20 years, and I know firsthand how important spirituality is to ongoing healing and well-being.
Currently, I am immersed in core shamanic practices. I offer shamanic guidance and healing to spiritual companions interested in connecting with the spirit realm through this ancient pathway.
Is there a specific experience you would like to share?
Chronic illness is a spiritual event: it challenges us with ongoing losses, unprocessed grief, and questions of meaning (especially the question of Why?). Spiritual direction has been an invaluable resource for me as a person who lives with an incurable health condition, and I'm passionate about being with other people in their illness experiences.
Spiritual direction helps support ongoing healing as we shift between times of relative wellness and times when illness returns to the foreground of life. A spiritual companion also provides a safe space to heal spiritual pain that adds to suffering. From experience as both a spiritual director and a directee, I know that spiritual companionship helps people experience well-being in the midst of chronic illness.
What personal facts would you like others to know about you?
I teach spiritual care at Iliff School of Theology and in the Interprofessional Graduate Certificate and M.S. in Palliative Care programs at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. In 2020, I published a book "Spirituality and Meaning Making in Chronic Illness" that describes my illness journey and helps other people navigate the spiritual dimension of long-term health conditions. I live in Highlands Ranch where our family enjoys spending time in nature.
Contact at krarora@comcast.net
+ July 2020 -Mary Greenwood
Mary has been a Spiritual Director for 6 years.
What led you to become a Spiritual Director?
The great and rewarding joys of my own internal process, and journeying on the spiritual path, led to wanting to share the process . I hold a Masters of Divinity, and my school offered the 2 year Benedictine Spiritual Direction program as an additional certification, while in seminary. It was wonderful!
As a Spiritual Director, - what do you bring to those you companion?
I think I bring the wisdom, compassion, and a listening heart, that comes with the joys and pains of living life through the decades. I have learned that there is no separation between the dark, and the light, that we must accept both to find the true rewards of the richness of our physical experience here on Earth. I encourage my directees to share with confidence those experiences of their own. I value their questions, and processes, as we together, walk the path of life. I practice open compassion, joy, and acceptance of another 's" story", and where they would like to go to write the next chapters...
Is there a specific experience you would like to share?
The hard road of a recovering alcoholic, was so interesting, and how 12 step spirituality combined with his Catholic faith of origin has led him to the most deep, and rich experience of God. Now a new Dx of Parkinson's is challenging him further. Through our journey together we have learned much, and have grown deeper through the dark walk, but have emerged to embrace the mystery of simply saying, "YES!", to all that our lives have brought to us.
What personal facts would you like others to know about you?
I am a yoga teacher who has embraced Eastern Philosophy and wisdom traditions to enhance and expand my own spiritual journey, and faith of origin. I am a Board Certified Healthcare Chaplain, through the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. I have been witness to, and ministered to over 500 deaths, and know that I know, of an afterlife. I have travelled the world, spending much time in Africa. I have 2 beautiful and amazing daughters, as well as a lovely significant other. I strive to practice whole person health and wellbeing, in body, mind, and spirit each day.
Contact at maryjang234@gmail.com