Some of Deb’s thoughts on Spiritual Care:
Even if you are “spiritual but not religious” there is someplace that you center in your spirituality. It might be in something traditional, or something in your own life, building your own web of understanding and practice.
Wherever it is, it can be very helpful to work with someone who has been on those journeys and shepherding people on them for the last thirty years. Sometimes, just having a sounding board who knows the questions to ask can clarify and deepen our belief system.
Religion is really just the collective “rules and teachings” agreed upon when spiritual people get together in a group. Some of us are both. But we need to remember that “Spirit” does not belong to one religion or another. We can feel it while not belonging to any religion at all. I think nothing is more fun than exploring with people how they experience the Spirit in life.
Easy / Hard Experiences with this stuff …
Sometimes, life can cause us to revisit both positive and negative times and on occasion, those experiences may have been tied to religious or spiritual expressions – OR – we might feel that religious or spiritual expressions might help us make sense out of things that have happened to us, and we don’t know where to start.
For people who are already affiliated with a faith community (whether Christian, or other), “pastoral care,” i.e. having someone to accompany you on your journey, is a given. But for those who are NOT connected to that kind of group, Spirit Alive is another option.
My thirty-plus years as an ordained minister providing pastoral care to individuals of all (and no) faiths — Christian, Jewish, Muslim, neo-pagan, Bahai, Hindu, agnostic, atheistic, and more — all from a position of respect and deep curiosity, leads me to be excited to explore with you the path that you are on as you seek to make sense out of life.
There’s a little coaching, but also a lot of deeply spiritual connection in a way that has meaning for you.
Mine is an LGBTQI, trans-racial, adoptive family that encompasses most sectors of the spiritual universe. I am not frightened by ambiguity or complexity, and I love to learn and grow alongside of others who are figuring out the Path of Light that is right for them.
If a more traditional experience of working with a trained Spiritual Director is your preference, I am happy to provide you with possible names.
I may be anchored in the Progressive Reformed Protestant tradition of Presbyterianism, but the teachings I follow affirm an all-loving, accepting Creator whose Spirit laughs and celebrates our triumphs, who wants us to succeed, and who weeps with us over the inhumanity of the world.
Only through authentic exchange can we learn to ask the same questions and be comfortable getting different answers. And it is only by growing in that practice that we can work toward the reconciliation that comes from Justice-Love that Jesus and the other great Teachers and Truth-Tellers have come to earth to teach us.
For many of us, it’s the Spirit who helps us build the road as we are walking on it. To see the products of my work with the churches I serve, please visit their websites by clicking on the church name.
I periodically post meditative videos called Prayerful Pause with the Pastor.
Each runs between 6 and 13 minutes. CLICK HERE to view.