Spiritual Direction

Spiritual Direction is an intimate and contemplative spiritual process between an individual and a trained Spiritual Director. Together the pair explore the spiritual aspects of being human, often within the context of major life circumstances or life changes. 

In spiritual direction, you reflect deeply on the experiences in your everyday life. Gradually, as you contemplate, you may begin to recognize God’s presence and grace in your life. Spiritual direction is not about being directed. Rather, it is very much about being encouraged to draw closer to God or Spirit. Spiritual direction invites you into this relationship whether you attend a church, mosque, synagogue, temple, or none of these.

Providing a space where a person can explore and discover the deeper currents of their own life is a gift beyond imagining because it ripples out in every direction for the good. Spirit cannot be contained. Spiritual direction is world-shaping work!

To learn more about working with one of the spiritual directors below, please contact us through the form at the bottom of our page. Tom Morgan, our Outreach Coordinator for Spiritual Formation, will get back to you and help you find the best director that fits you and your needs.

Meet our SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS

Our Spiritual Directors come from and practice in their own religious traditions, a rooting that is open to and honors the weaving of the Spirit through diverse traditions. This foundation frees us to learn from, partner with, and serve all who come.

DARLENE CARLSON believes in the sacred space of spiritual direction with Spirit present and leading into a holy grounding with our Creator. She sees her role as a companion, to accompany and witness the gift of hearts opening and revealing unique spiritual journeys closer to true self and relationship with God.

Darlene received her formal training as a Spiritual Director at Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington, D.C. She works as a retreat facilitator (with Retreat Reflect Renew) and as faculty for the Bread of Life Listen to Your Life program. She has led numerous faith sharing and prayer groups over the past fifteen years and has over 25 years of experience as a middle school teacher and catechist. Darlene enjoys nature walks and playing tennis and especially loves reading and quiet evenings at home with her family.

At this time, Darlene is available to meet at the Bread of Life office, in Auburn, or via Zoom.

ERIN MATTESON is ordained in the Church of the Brethren and is a spiritual director, mentor and supervisor to spiritual directors, musician and retreat facilitator. She is consistently enlivened by expanding experiences and deepening understandings of faith and spirituality. Erin has enjoyed working with the spiritual formation programs of Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA, where she was trained in spiritual direction and supervision, and now enjoys working with Bread of Life’s spiritual director formation program as well. Erin has a passion for creating safe space for deep listening and compassionate companionship for the greening and growing, deepening and ripening of each one, and so all creation. She lives in Modesto, CA with her life partner of nearly 35 years where she loves making music, spending time with creation gardening, at the ocean or in the woods, walking or jogging, and watching the Chicago Cubs play baseball whenever she can.
Erin is available to meet via Zoom.

EUN JOO LECH has experienced spiritual direction to be pure grace. She relishes her role of accompanying everyday people (from all stages and walks of life) into the loving and generative welcome of the Holy Spirit through compassionate listening. She believes that regularly carving out time in your life for self-care can encourage, restore, and illuminate your unique journey. At the crossroads of every transition, questions about our identity surface. Eun is a Korean immigrant and mother of 5 bi-racial children (ranging from adult to single digits). Her lived experience and her studies make her knowledgeable and adept at helping others navigate the unique challenges and gifts that arise with having a second and third culture identity. She finds deep joy in sitting with those in transitional seasons, whether as a young adult, new parent, empty nester, mid-lifer, or a seasoned soul entering into their golden years. Her admonishment is to approach critical times of change as sacred invitations for opening your schedule, mind, and heart to perceive the new and ongoing activity of the Spirit in your life.

Along with her spiritual direction training completed through Sustainable Faith, she has a B.A. in Ethnic Studies from UCSD. In addition to individual direction sessions, she has led various cross-cultural, faith-oriented and spiritually-seeking small groups with a diverse mix of people and opinions. She has been an educator for 15 years and is currently leading an afterschool tutoring program for students of immigrant parents. She is obsessed with all things dirt and growing as an avid gardener, a slow runner, a curious world-traveler, and is most enamored with her Polish-American husband of 24 years and her continually growing family members who morph into giant human beings as they grow in age.

At this time, Eun is available to meet at the Bread of Life Center or via zoom.

JANE RABIN  treasures the sacred spark and mysterious aliveness within every human being regardless of religious affiliation or background and loves accompanying each seeker on his or her unfolding spiritual journey.  She has worked with many clergy and others drawn to devote their lives to church, synagogue or other worship organization and also with those not attracted to organized religion.  Jane has taught Jewish meditation groups and served as a chaplain in a hospital setting and led many direction groups.  She loves to listen for what is unfolding in the unique stories of each individual and to probe beneath the articulated words to discover and unlock the deeper meanings, the joy and the yearnings being voiced.

Jane was trained as a spiritual director by Bread of Life and has been serving in this capacity independently and/or as a BOL staff member for over twenty years. She cherishes the spiritual opportunities that continually appear in her own life, most often unbidden.  She loves music and spent the earlier part of her adult life as a professional cellist. She currently lives on the East Coast near her daughter and her daughter’s family.  She enjoys being in nature as well as hiking, kayaking and ping-pong.

At this time, Jane is available via Zoom only.

JEFF MITCHELL came to spiritual direction attending to his own needs, and found a calling to listen compassionately to others. He considers himself a companion with others on the journey, and is honored to listen and affirm those seeking to explore and share their sacred stories. Serving people in the church and community as a pastor for 35 years has impressed upon him that all people matter and long to be welcomed and heard.

Jeff has been a Spiritual Director for 15 years, having received formation at Bread of Life. He is a presenter for the Centering Prayer Workshop for Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.; and enjoys leading retreats, workshops, and classes. His themes include Spiritual Formation, Leadership, and Contemplative Christianity. His book, The Gift: Ancient Secrets of Solomon’s Wisdom, is historical fiction recounting Solomon’s relationship with Zadok, his spiritual director and priest. Together, they explore and examine what are to become Solomon’s Seven Pillars of Wisdom and Spiritual Formation.

KATE LAYMON is a soul friend by nature, offering supportive listening and a hospitable presence that welcomes all parts of the soul. She deeply enjoys accompanying others in discovering the mystery of God in their story and in the unfolding conversation. She knows, from personal experience, that this journey can be messy, mysterious, and sometimes even frustrating! She offers welcome and acceptance for wherever you find yourself on your spiritual journey.
Kate has accompanied business owners & young professionals, college & seminary students, writers, pastors and missionaries, and moms of all ages in their spiritual journeys. She has also walked with those questioning and deconstructing their faith, and those who wrestle with their belovedness and God’s goodness.
Kate received her spiritual direction training in a contemplative approach from Selah, a ministry of Leadership Transformations. She has a background in psychology and spent several years working with foster youth and children in the mental health system. She experienced her own mental health struggle with postpartum depression as a new mom. It was through this experience that the no-strings-attached love of God really came home and opened up a deeper conversation with God and eventually led to a call to spiritual direction.
Kate is available to meet at Bread of Life, in Auburn, Citrus Heights, or on Zoom.

MARILYN BUEHLER values the truths reflected in all spiritual traditions. She honors each person’s unique journey.  Spiritual direction is an opportunity to explore your unique inner quest, and tend to the sacred in your life and to how you are being prompted to express that in daily life.  Marilyn provides a contemplative listening presence, reflects, and invites questions to deepen your awareness of the sacred.

Marilyn is an Esoteric Christian minister with a Master’s of Divinity, and is certified as a spiritual director through the Franciscan Spiritual Center in Marylhurst, Oregon. Marilyn enjoys time in nature, walking along the American River, and being in the mountains.

At this time, Marilyn is available via Zoom and occasionally available for in person appointments at Bread of Life.

SANDI JOHN has practiced the art of spiritual companionship since graduation from the Bread of Life program in 2013. Affirming the constant Sacred Presence in liberating Love and Wonder, and trusting in the sacred dignity and worth of each person, she offers a relationship of trust, of Holy and human companionship, where each person is invited to journey toward their fullest self. Coming from a mainline Protestant Christian tradition, Sandi now welcomes accompanying persons from all faith traditions and no faith tradition who wish to navigate the deep call of the Holy to live their true authentic selves. Having served as a pastor, a hospice chaplain, and in various health care roles and ministries, she now serves as a Spiritual Director and Spiritually-Integrated Psychotherapist.

Sandi values living in the crossroads of contemplation and social justice action for the healing of the soul of the world. She finds herself drawn to and offers to accompany an integration of embodied spiritual practices, engaging in nature, and other holistic practices of body, mind, and spirit. With 50 years’ experience at the intersection of health care and faith in many settings, she especially offers companionship to those in social justice movements, those seeking to discern their role in liberatory spaces, those in ministries in spiritual communities and healthcare. She also feels a particular affinity for persons with a trauma history, in 12-step recovery programs, seeking sexual and gender authenticity, and walking the journey of grief.

Sandi is available to meet via Zoom.

SUSAN COSIO is an ordained Covenant pastor, a spiritual director, a board-certified chaplain and a contemplative retreat leader. She loves to help create space so others can experience the presence of the Spirit, whether one-on-one, in groups, or in a retreat setting. She particularly enjoys coming alongside those in vocational discernment. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Fuller Seminary, with additional coursework completed at North Park Seminary in Chicago. Susan completed her Spiritual Direction training at the Journey Center in Santa Rosa.
Susan is available to meet in person at Bread of Life, in Auburn or Davis or on Zoom.

TOM MORGAN provides Spiritual Direction at Bread of Life and at Mercy Center in Auburn. Born and raised in Germany, he is a military veteran, and has a background in student affairs at several universities with extensive experience living and working in an Asian-American context. He provides spiritual direction for a broad range of individuals from various faith traditions, including spiritual seekers, veterans, clergy, young adults, and those from the evangelical tradition. Tom also has pastored several churches in the Sacramento region. His other interests include monastic and contemplative spirituality, the Enneagram, various Christian meditation practices, and encountering God in art and nature.

Tom received his formal training as a Spiritual Director and also as a supervisor of spiritual directors through Christian Formation & Direction Ministries in Los Angeles.

At this time, Tom is available to meet at the Bread of Life office, in Auburn, or via Zoom.

WYN CANE was raised in a rural setting and grew up with a love for nature and seasonal changes. Silence, observation, listening, and discovery as she roamed the hills became an integral part of her. Her interest in spiritual direction grew out of annual silent retreats, retreats for boys at the high school level, participation and facilitation in a contemplative group rooted in the practice of “lectio divina,” Days Apart, and women’s retreats.

Wyn was trained at the Spirituality Center in Los Angeles. She also is a trained Hospice Volunteer and Stephen Minister, and has contributed to the Day with Directors at Bread of Life. She believes there is a divine spark, a source of wisdom, and knowing at the heart of human existence and finds it a privilege to companion those who choose a deepening of their spiritual journey.

At this time, Wyn is available to meet at the Bread of Life office or via Zoom.

The following directors are not accepting directees at this time.

CAROL ABBOTT is a retired educator and writer with an abiding interest in lifelong learning. A gardener and outdoor enthusiast, Carol embraces discovering God in nature, everyday occurrences, and diverse faith traditions. Carol was the parent of a child with special needs, and has extensive experience in companioning parents, caregivers, and people facing end-of-life issues. After experiencing the liberating and transformational effects of spiritual direction in the 1990s, she completed her spiritual direction training at Bread of Life in 2006.

In addition to individual spiritual direction, Carol facilitates spiritual direction groups and has been  a member of the Bread of Life faculty for the Listen to Your Life program. She is in awe of the mysterious ways that God works through each person’s life story. She finds that learning from others and mutually exploring the beauty of their sacred story is an honor, privilege, and a source of hope.

SANDRA LOMMASSON is the founder of Bread of Life and a Spiritual Director. Her passion is creating processes and pathways for awakening to the depth dimension of life in the everyday moments where we are each met by the Holy. Since 1996, she has been involved in the formation of Spiritual Directors and leaders of religious and public organizations.

Sandra also serves as a retreat leader, dialogue facilitator, and mentor. She has published several articles about Spiritual Direction and served on the Council of Spiritual Directors International from 1999-2005. She is mother of two grown children and delights in six very special grandchildren. She was formed as a Spiritual Director and then as a supervisor through Mercy Center, Burlingame.

LUCIE CHALIFOUR is a layperson in the Catholic Church and has been a healthcare worker, a childbirth educator, and a doula. She has a deep understanding of how the sacred rhythms of living and dying can mirror and be integrated within the journey of the heart and soul.

Lucie also serves as a facilitator for one-day retreats or extended experiences for church-related and non-religious groups. Guided meditation and storytelling in facilitated groups are a way of inviting participants to open their eyes to the extraordinary within the ordinary. She offers direction for small groups as well as individuals. Appointments are available in Sacramento at Bread of Life as well as Woodland. She was formed as a Director through the Bread of Life internship program.

Looking for a Spiritual Director?

If you are interested in spiritual direction, please submit the form below. Tom Morgan, our intake coordinator, will be in touch with you about finding a director that meets your needs.