Meet Debra, your spiritual companion
Thanks for exploring Pax Luminaria and learning about me! I too am an explorer — curious and passionate about our cosmic connectedness and the mystery and miracles of our different, beautiful belonging together.
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The following is a short sketch of my life, my experiences, and what has led me to follow this amazing spiritual deepening path.
I’m eager to learn about your story! Contact me so we can connect in person.
Who I am...
I am a certified and experienced spiritual director, trusting the Spirit’s move and revelation. I am eager to listen attentively to what’s on your mind and heart so we may explore, discover and celebrate the Divine through your experiences.
I am a lover of stories, filled with beauty, gift, pain, vulnerability, and strength, for they form a sacred tapestry with the Infinite Holy and weave us together. I behold cosmic mystery and revelation attentively listening in silence, word and world, creative artistic expression, and the dusty stuff of life.
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I am compelled by 3 values guiding my companioning:
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You are a child of God (God’s Beloved);
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You belong just as you are, from where you are;
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Your story is Spirit-infused - sacred, dynamically changing and worth celebrating.
I am passionate about the Spirit’s move within us individually and among us as groups.
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I am sustained by the practice of wonder. I love the tapestry of emerging patterns and surprising new discoveries in our lives and in the world. I love learning and imagining. You may find me with my head in clouds and conversations; my hands holding journals, books, and art materials; my feet heading to woods, water and harvest; and my heart leaning toward other souls on my path.
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I am a white woman committed to learning about and working toward justice around diversity, equity and inclusion. I believe we were all created wonderfully and differently, each with inherent Divine essence and dignity — and yet our practices too often bring me to my knees in lament.
I am a Christ-follower, embracing the call to love God and those on my path. I am seeking to help reconcile God’s sacred holy design for diversity as a beautiful gift and window into God’s revelation.
I am Protestant by upbringing, trained by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, Michigan and embrace the entrustment that everyone belongs, desires to be known and loved, and offers capacity for transformative change and gifts.
Some details about my background...
Prior to spiritual companionship, I worked with graduate and undergraduate students as an education professor focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with a Phd from Michigan State University. My teaching, research and vision for sacred presence through diverse inclusive communities informs numerous collaborative adventures.
I partner with my husband, a pastor, former professor and avid fermenter. Together, we have three fantastic adult children, and I consider their wonderful spouses as my children as well. I am also a grandmother to all of their children, who are alive with wide wonder.
Mostly, I am a beloved child of God
who practices gratitude for God’s constant care, healing and loving grace in my life.
My experience in leading groups:
Through education and extensive experience with
groups, God has prepared me to facilitate with competence, creativity, and compassion.
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Several learning and life experiences have honed and developed my expertise: master and doctoral studies, research, trainings, and opportunities for structuring and nurturing brave, caring spaces.
My work with groups centers on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I have been trained in Group Spiritual Direction, Courageous Conversations, Difficult Conversations, Restorative Circles and Colossians Way curriculum.